Chapter 6

The air in the infirmary felt thin. Elian sat on the edge of the high hospital bed, his legs dangling. He was thin, and his skin had a gray tint from the week he spent in the dark basement. But his hand never left his stomach. There was no bump yet, only a slight softness that wasn't there before, but to Elian, it felt like he was carrying the entire world.

The door opened with a bang. Julian walked in, followed by a doctor in a white coat. Julian looked at Elian with eyes that held no warmth only a cold, burning curiosity that felt like a knife.

"The doctor is here for the first sample," Julian said. He didn't come close to the bed. He stayed by the door, as if he didn't want to breathe the same air as Elian.

"Julian, please," Elian whispered. "I told you. I have never been with another man. Not once. You are the only person who has ever touched me."

Julian’s jaw tightened. "You were with those men for six days, Elian. My men found you in a warehouse full of criminals. Do you really expect me to believe they just sat there and looked at you? You’re a Rossi. You’re built to lie."

"They didn't touch me!" Elian cried, his voice cracking. "They wanted money! They didn't want... they didn't do this!"

"We will see," Julian said. He nodded to the doctor.

The doctor stepped forward. He used a large needle, pulling several vials of dark red blood from Elian’s arm. Elian winced, his head spinning. He hadn't eaten much since the rescue; his stomach couldn't handle the smell of the mansion’s rich food.

"I will send this to the lab immediately, Don Moretti," the doctor said. "We will have the first results by tomorrow morning."

As the doctor left, a woman stepped into the doorway. It was Valentina. She was wearing a beautiful dress of pale blue silk, and she looked glowing. She walked right up to Julian and wrapped her arm around his.

"Don't let him upset you, Julian," she said softly, her voice sweet as poison. "Some people will do anything to stay in a palace. Even make up a miracle."

Julian looked down at her, and for a second, his face softened. "You should be resting, Valentina. The doctor said your pregnancy is delicate."

Elian felt like he had been punched in the gut. "Your... your pregnancy?"

Valentina looked at Elian with a small, triumphant smile. She placed a hand on her own flat stomach. "That's right, Elian. Julian and I... we are going to have a child. A real Moretti heir."

Elian looked at Valentina. He saw the flicker in her eyes a flash of fear that she quickly hid. He knew she was lying. He knew she had been seeing another man. But Julian was so blinded by his hate for the Rossi name that he couldn't see it.

The next morning, Julian returned with a single sheet of paper. His face was unreadable. He threw the paper onto Elian’s lap.

PATERNITY TEST #1: NEGATIVE. PROBABILITY: 0%.

"No," Elian breathed. "No, this is wrong!"

"Zero percent, Elian," Julian said, his voice dangerously low. "You lied to me."

"I didn't! Julian, please!"

"I don't care about your excuses," Julian said. He stepped closer, his shadow falling over Elian. "You think you’re done? No. We are going to do this again. And again. Over the next few months, until that belly of yours is full and ready to burst, I am going to test you. Twenty-one times, Elian. I will take your blood every few weeks until you are nine months along. I will use every lab in this country to prove you are a whore."

Julian leaned down, his lips close to Elian’s ear. "By the time the twenty-first test comes back negative in your nine month, you will have nowhere left to hide. And then, I will decide what to do with the bastard you’ve brought into my house."

Julian walked out with Valentina. Elian collapsed back against the pillows, sobbing silently. He clutched his stomach, his tears falling onto the "Negative" report. He had nine months of this hell ahead of him. Twenty more tests to survive while Julian loved a woman who was carrying a lie.

"We have time," Elian whispered to his womb. "I will prove you are his."