Chapter 18 - The Night Gabriel Couldn't Settle
The answer to Marco's silence arrived on the same night Gabriel developed a fever.
Emily was folding tiny clothes when Grace called from the nursery. Gabriel had been unusually sleepy after feeding, and his temperature was higher than his pediatrician's instructions allowed them to manage at home without evaluation. He was still very young, and the doctor had emphasized that fever in a newborn required urgent medical attention.
Emily called the after-hours service. The nurse advised her to bring Gabriel to the emergency department immediately. Sofia was sleeping peacefully, but Emily could not simply leave her without a plan.
Grace took the diaper bag. Dante was due to visit the next morning, but Emily called him now.
"Gabriel has a fever. The pediatrician wants him seen at the hospital. Grace can stay with Sofia, and I'm taking Gabriel."
"Which hospital?"
She told him.
"I'll meet you there. Do you want me to drive?"
"No. Grace is taking us. Come separately."
"All right."
At the hospital, the triage nurse examined Gabriel and brought them to a pediatric treatment room. Emily held him while the medical team explained the tests they needed to perform. She remembered the special care nursery, the monitors, and the helplessness of watching her son breathe through equipment he was too small to understand.
Dante arrived with no entourage. He washed his hands, asked whether Emily wanted him beside her, and took the chair she indicated.
"I'm scared," she whispered.
"I know."
"Don't tell me he's going to be fine."
"I won't. We have doctors here, and we're going to listen to them."
He reached for her hand but stopped short. Emily took it.
The medical team evaluated Gabriel and began treatment while awaiting results. They explained the reasons for careful monitoring and told the parents what changes to report immediately. Emily listened, asked questions, and wrote down the answers. Dante did not interrupt her.
Hours passed. Gabriel cried during a procedure, and Emily felt the sound tear through her. Dante stood close enough to help but did not try to take the child away from her.
Near dawn, the doctor told them Gabriel's condition was stable, although he would remain under observation. The medical team suspected an infection and would adjust the plan as test results became available.
Emily sat down so suddenly the chair creaked.
"He's stable," she repeated.
"Yes," Dante said.
She closed her eyes. For the first time since the fever began, she allowed herself to breathe fully.
Dante called Grace with Emily's permission, letting her know Gabriel was being monitored and Sofia was safe. He then called his assistant to cancel every meeting for the day.
Emily heard him say, "I am not available. My son is in the hospital. The legal team has the records it needs."
He did not ask someone to congratulate him for staying. He simply stayed.
At nine, Marco arrived at the hospital after checking with Emily. He looked as if he had not slept.
"I heard Gabriel was admitted," he said. "How is he?"
"Stable," Emily replied. "The doctors are watching him."
Marco nodded. "I'm glad."
She looked directly at him. "I also heard your voice on the recording."
His expression changed. Dante looked between them, then offered to step out. Emily shook her head.
"You can stay. This concerns the foundation you signed away to other people."
Marco sat down. "I did object. I asked for Emily's consent in writing. Price told me she had already signed. Vanessa said you were resting and didn't want to be disturbed."
"Did you ask to see the document?"
"Yes. They showed me a scanned signature. I didn't verify it."
"Did you ever ask me?"
"No."
Emily looked at him. "Why?"
Marco lowered his head. "Because I was afraid of challenging Dante while he was involved with Vanessa. I thought if I kept quiet, I could review the accounts later. I told myself the program was probably legitimate."
Dante's face tightened. "You were afraid to challenge me?"
Marco met his eyes. "Yes. You had made it clear you didn't want anyone asking questions about Vanessa."
The words sat between them like a fact no one could soften.
Dante looked down. "You're right."
Emily felt tears rise, but she kept her voice steady. "If you had asked me, I would have told you I never signed."
"I know," Marco said. "I should have called you. I should have asked."
She nodded slowly. "Then tell the investigators exactly that. Not the version that makes you sound brave. The version where you saw something wrong and walked away."
"I will."
Marco left an hour later.
Dante stayed beside Gabriel's bed while Emily slept in the chair. When she woke, he was reading a handout about infant fever and asking the nurse a question about follow-up. There was no performance in it. Nobody was watching except her.
During Gabriel's hospital stay, Emily remembered the first time she had seen him in an incubator. She had been exhausted after delivery, frightened by the respiratory support, and terrified that a single machine sound might signal disaster. The memory had returned so strongly that she could almost smell the antiseptic from those first days.
Dante noticed when she stopped answering the nurse's questions.
"Would you like me to write these down?" he asked quietly.
She nodded.
He took the information sheet, checked the medication schedule with the nurse, and asked Emily to confirm that the notes matched what she had heard. He did not try to replace her judgment. He simply shared the work while her attention was pulled elsewhere.
When the nurse stepped out, Emily sat back.
"I thought this would stop feeling frightening once they were home," she said.
"I did too."
"Every time Gabriel seems quiet, I remember the machines."
"We can ask the doctor which signs mean we need to call and which are normal for him. I don't want either of us guessing."
Emily looked at him. "That would help."
They wrote a short list of questions together. It was the first time in a long while that working with Dante felt like sharing a burden rather than negotiating for his attention.
Later, Grace brought fresh clothes and a phone charger. She was tired, but Sofia was settled with a trusted caregiver who had come by the apartment while Grace made the trip. Emily thanked her sister for the hundredth time.
"You're allowed to call me when you're scared," Grace replied. "You just don't have to pretend you're the only person who can handle the babies."
Emily smiled weakly.
The hospital room was not peaceful, but it was full of people making clear choices about how to help. Nobody was waiting for Emily to beg. Nobody had decided her needs were inconvenient. The difference was not enough to erase her memories, but it made the present bearable.
When Gabriel finally settled to sleep, Dante turned down the overhead light and took the next chair. Emily rested her head against the pillow and closed her eyes. For an hour, she let herself be a tired mother rather than the person responsible for every detail.
By the following afternoon, Gabriel was improving. The medical team continued monitoring him and later arranged discharge with specific instructions once they were satisfied he was well enough. Emily returned to Grace's apartment exhausted and relieved. Sofia greeted her brother's arrival with a furious cry that made Grace laugh through tears.
"She missed him," Grace said.
"She missed having someone to complain with," Emily replied.
Dante helped unpack the supplies, then asked whether Emily wanted him to stay for the evening feedings. She nodded.
Later, when both babies were asleep, the adults sat at the kitchen table with cold tea.
"I don't know what to do with the fact that you showed up," Emily said. "Part of me wants to trust it, and part of me is angry that I have to notice."
"Both feelings make sense."
"I don't need you to agree with everything I say."
"I'm not agreeing to win an argument. You needed me before, and I wasn't there. This time I was. It doesn't erase the first time."
Emily looked toward the nursery. "No, it doesn't."
The next day, Detective Ellis sent another update. The full recording confirmed that Marco had asked for written consent and then left the meeting. Price and Vanessa had continued without him. Marco's silence remained a failure, but there was no evidence he had created the forged forms.
The forensic team had also recovered one final message from Evelyn's deleted files.
It was written after the twins were born, before the threatening photographs arrived.
Price had sent it to Evelyn:
If Emily refuses the settlement, release the hospital photo and make her look unstable. The public will believe she is using the children to punish Dante.
Emily stared at the screen.
The photographs had not been random cruelty.
May you like
They were part of a plan to make her doubt her own voice.
And the same people who had stolen her signature were preparing to steal her credibility.
