“And Elena?”
Sloane became quiet.
I noticed.
“What about Elena?”
“There is something I never told you.”
My body tightened.
“What?”
She looked almost nervous.
“I found her before you did.”
The air changed.
“When?”
“Three weeks before the restaurant.”
I stared at her.
“That was when you said you learned about the boys.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Your grandfather’s trust listed potential descendant claims that had been quietly investigated by Matteo’s attorneys. Elena’s name appeared in an encrypted file.”
My pulse accelerated.
“You contacted her?”
“Yes.”
“She never mentioned you.”
“I asked her not to.”
“Why?”
Sloane stood.
“Because I needed to know whether the children were real.”
I stood too.
“You had them tested?”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“I saw them.”
I waited.
Then understanding came slowly.
“The restaurant.”
Sloane’s face softened.
“What about it?”
“My driver was delayed.”
“Yes.”
“The restaurant was on the route to the conservatory.”
“Yes.”
“You knew I would stop if I had time.”
“You always stop there before major family events.”
I stared at her.
The room in my memory rearranged itself.
My driver’s sudden mechanical problem.
The reservation hostess greeting me immediately.
The four boys washing their hands at exactly the moment I entered.
Elena appearing seconds later.
My heart pounded.
“You arranged it.”
Sloane said nothing.
“That wasn’t an accident.”
“No.”
The truth struck harder than anything Matteo had done.
Sloane had engineered the entire encounter.
“Did Elena know?”
“No.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That a nonprofit foundation wanted to discuss funding therapy equipment for her clinic. I asked her to meet a representative at the restaurant.”
I stared at her.
“And the boys?”
“Her babysitter canceled.”
“You knew that would happen?”
Sloane almost smiled.
“I paid her babysitter five thousand dollars to develop food poisoning.”
I blinked.
“You’re insane.”
“Perhaps.”
I dragged a hand over my face.
“You put my children in my path.”
“Yes.”
“Why not just tell me?”
Her smile vanished.
“Because your phones were monitored. Your office was monitored. Your house was monitored. Matteo had access to almost everything.”
She stepped closer.
“And because if I had simply told you, Dominic, part of you might have wondered whether Elena wanted money, whether the boys were really yours, whether it was manipulation.”
I hated that she was right.
“But if you saw them yourself…”
She shrugged.
“I suspected biology would handle the introduction.”
I laughed despite myself.
“Four identical six-year-old copies were persuasive.”
“I thought so.”
Then she became serious.
“I needed you angry enough to refuse the engagement before Matteo could move to the next stage.”
A chill moved through me.
“What next stage?”
Sloane looked away.
I knew instantly there was more.
“Sloane.”
She reached into her bag.
