Someone had attempted to access Nico Varric’s pediatric records three times in the previous month.
The credentials belonged to Dr. Adrian Bell.
The most recent attempt had occurred two days earlier.
Liana stared at Matteo.
“He knows.”
Matteo looked at Nico.
The baby had finally fallen asleep again, safe for the moment in Liana’s arms.
Matteo’s face changed.
Not into the expression of a criminal boss.
Not into the ruthless mask newspapers loved to describe.
Into the face of a father who had just realized the danger surrounding his child had never disappeared.
The sun began to rise beyond the mansion windows.
Pale light entered the room.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Matteo had believed the worst chapter of his life belonged to the past.
His wife was dead.
The investigation was closed.
His son’s crying was an unsolved medical mystery.
Now everything had changed.
Elena’s death was no longer an accident.
Liana’s baby had not simply suffered an unexplained complication.
Nico had been part of something hidden.
And the man responsible was still out there.
Liana looked down at the sleeping child in her arms.
The strange mark near his shoulder was barely visible beneath the collar.
A tiny detail.
Easy to miss.
Small enough that countless nurses, doctors, and specialists had apparently looked past it.
Yet that one mark had reopened two graves, exposed a buried experiment, and connected two grieving parents who had never been meant to meet.
Matteo approached Liana slowly.
“Why did he stop crying with you?”
She looked at him.
For the first time, the answer seemed almost clear.
“The uniform.”
Matteo glanced at the red fabric.
Liana nodded.
“Maybe he remembered someone kind. Maybe a nurse wearing this color held him after they took him away. Maybe he remembers Helen.”
Matteo considered that.
Nico’s tiny fingers remained wrapped around the fabric.
Liana’s voice softened.
“Or maybe he just knew I understood.”
