WHAT HIS FATHER TOOK

The first conversation was short. Nico asked me to stay, and I remained beside him while he and his sister established what each of them knew.

I heard Evelyn ask if he'd received the letters. I heard the pause before his answer.

"One," he said. "I received one this week."

On the other end, she began to cry. He looked toward the window, his face wet before he seemed to notice.

I lowered my eyes, giving him what privacy I could without releasing his hand.

Four days later, we met at a house Rafael's team had rented. Evelyn came with an attorney who'd helped her stay beyond her father's reach. Her dark hair was tied at the nape of her neck. She had her brother's eyes.

She stopped in the living room doorway when she saw him.

He moved his chair toward her.

"Are you going to hug me or stand there conducting an inspection?"

She laughed through her tears, knelt, and wrapped her arms around him. Nico held the back of her neck, his eyes closed.

I went into the kitchen until he called me.

"Eve, this is Adeline."

His sister looked at me in a way that made me lower my head.

"Thank you for being there when he needed someone."

"He's been there when I've needed someone, too."

Nico looked at me. I still wasn't used to being seen like that, as if an ordinary answer mattered more than I'd intended.

We sat together. With Evelyn's permission, Patrick joined part of the conversation by phone.

She explained that she'd worked on reports for several family companies. She'd found payments with no corresponding services, assets transferred at questionable prices, and pressure applied to employees who asked questions. At first, she'd believed Nico would have an explanation. Then she'd heard Matteo use his son's name to justify decisions Nico hadn't personally signed off on.

"I wanted to talk to you away from them," she said. "Dad found out. He said that if I kept pushing, you'd be implicated, too. I knew I had evidence. I didn't know who I could trust."

She'd sought help, gathered copies, and left after a direct threat. Matteo had begun telling people she'd taken money and chosen to abandon the family.

"When you contacted me, I thought he'd sent you," she admitted. "I took too long to answer. Then the crash happened."

Nico pressed his fingers into the side of his chair.

"I should have answered sooner."

"So should I. We can spend the rest of the day doing that. I don't want to lose any more time."

He nodded, looking down.

The next part was harder.

Among the messages Evelyn had given her attorney was a reference to the employee responsible for Nico's transportation on the night of the crash. The same name appeared in records Patrick's team had found. The driver, removed from his position after the collision, had agreed to give a statement about instructions from Matteo's office and the preparations for the vehicle.

I didn't see every file. I heard Patrick explain that the accounts supported each other and that the material would go to the investigators, with precautions to protect the people providing it. Suspicions would remain suspicions until established. Confirmed facts wouldn't be concealed to preserve a family name.

Nico didn't make a speech. He looked at his sister.

"He knew I was coming to meet you."

Evelyn nodded.

I felt cold, although the room was warm.

Nico barely spoke on the drive back. At the apartment, he asked me to sit and began explaining how Rafael could arrange another place for Wes and me.

I listened until he suggested it might be better to stop seeing each other indefinitely.

"Are you breaking up with me?"

He closed his eyes briefly.

"I'm trying to keep you out of this."

"I'm already in it. Not because I'm dating you. I witnessed what happened and handed over the records."

"That makes it worse."

"It makes it something we discuss with Rafael. Not something you decide for me."

He rubbed his face.

"My father nearly destroyed my life to keep control. Do you think I'll risk you just to prove I'm different?"

I stood and walked a few steps, trying to arrange my feelings before I spoke.

"I think you're frightened. And sending someone away feels easier than admitting you can't guarantee everything."

He opened his mouth, then stopped.

I sat again.

"Wes will stay with June while things are uncertain. If Rafael recommends other precautions, I'll listen. If I decide I need to step back, I'll tell you. Can you give me the information and leave that choice to me?"

The silence lasted. I didn't fill it.

Finally, he nodded.

"I can try. I can't promise I'll do it gracefully."

"You've seen me fall asleep sitting up with a cracker in my hand. We passed graceful a while ago."

A tired laugh escaped him. He held out his hand.

I brought my chair closer.

"I don't know how to love someone without trying to prevent everything that could hurt them," he admitted.

My chest tightened.

"That's a new word."

His eyes met mine.

"I know. I meant to use it."

I held his face and kissed him slowly. When I drew back, his expression was open in a way I'd never seen at the mansion.

"I love you, too," I said. "But I still want to talk to Rafael."

He rested his forehead against mine, laughing softly.

"That's a very you answer."

That night, I heard him call Patrick. I stayed in the kitchen, where he could see me, while the water heated for tea.

"Hand over everything," he said. "Including anything I'll have to answer for. I won't trade my sister's silence for my father's reputation."

He ended the call and came to me.

I made room at the table. He stayed.