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Todos los capítulos de Don't Trust the Father of My Child: Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 20

49 Capítulos

Chapter 11 — The Approver Who Was Erased

My father's hand stopped above the open car door."What else could you possibly have to say to him?"Ethan had come down the chapel steps. He stood two paces from the car. Renato moved to block him."I never said I was leaving now."After answering my father, I spoke into the phone."We'll finish our conversation later. I'll contact you first.""I'll wait."The same voice came through the phone and from outside the car. Even after I hung up, Ethan didn't turn away. He kept watching me as my father closed the door.My hands shook in my lap as the car pulled away."What did you ask that man to do?""I asked him to give me time to speak.""Is it something you can't tell me?"I turned toward the window. I waited until the chapel steps were out of sight, but the question remained.My father said nothing else the entire way home.The silence felt longer than the funeral service. I darkened the screen with Ethan's number still on it. My mother sat in front. Her neck looked stiff beneath her

Última actualización : 2026-11-07

Chapter 12 — Footsteps Outside the Door

"Keep it exactly as it is. You don't have to decide whom to trust right now."Ethan didn't make promises. He didn't say he'd keep me safe, or ask me to trust him. For once, there was something I didn't have to decide immediately.I closed the file."Why did you stand there until my car left?""Because you said you'd be the one to call.""What does that have to do with it?""I was afraid you might not get the chance to contact me later."I gripped the corner of the file. It was the same hand I'd placed on his arm in the funeral home corridor."I didn't only want to ask about Andrea.""I wanted to know."He paused."But I need to know about my brother too."I nodded, then remembered he couldn't see me."Then I'll start by finding the name that was erased. With the records I have.""If I find it, I'll call you first.""You can call even if it isn't about the file.""What if I don't have anything to say?""Then I suppose I'll have to talk about myself."I opened my mouth, but only touched

Última actualización : 2026-11-07

Chapter 13 — I'll Call You Tomorrow

I stopped myself from reading the name on the letter aloud.Paolo Ricci.The employee they'd said had been transferred. He was the man who used to take his summer vacation in three-day stretches. I'd heard it was because his wife was ill. But I had only ever looked for his name when a folder he managed was slow to open.Visiting hours were from 2:00 to 2:20 p.m. the next day. Ink had pooled at the end of the letters. I held the paper up to the light, then put it down. I didn't know whether it had been written to tell me something or to lure me there.I knocked on my mother's door."Who gave you the envelope downstairs?"She stopped removing her earring and looked at me."It was on the tray by the entrance.""Since when?""Since we got back from the funeral."A black dress hung by her mirror. I looked at her bare ear, red where the earring had been. She'd been in all the same places I had today, yet it didn't feel as though we'd gone anywhere together."What was in the envelope?""Some

Última actualización : 2026-11-07

Chapter 14 — Beyond the Closed Door

Renato shut the car door. My face showed in the front-seat mirror. This visit had become something I'd asked my father to arrange.The medical unit stood behind the warehouses at East Port. It had once been a building for treating night-shift workers who were injured on the job. Now it had fewer windows than the warehouse office. At the entrance, a guard recognized Renato and lowered the hand he'd raised to check our identification.My name was already on the visitor list.Looking at the blank space beside the signature line, I took the pen. I wondered who might look at the moment I signed my name here. I wrote down the precise time of arrival.We passed a room where a man was groaning. I could see the legs of a chair beneath the door. Renato didn't slow down, so I didn't stop either.Paolo was sitting on a bed by the window.Without his glasses I almost didn't recognize him. The right side of his face was swollen, and one hand was in a brace. When he tried to stand, I told him to sta

Última actualización : 2026-11-07

Chapter 15 — You Are Not Using My Account

My father didn't answer. I heard another man stop speaking at his end of the call."You told me to settle the company's medical expenses. Why haven't you paid for Davide?"I spoke while looking directly at Renato."I'm going to find out whether his treatment came out of my money too. If I can't today, I'll come back tomorrow."My father told me to hand the phone to Renato.The hand gripping my arm fell away. Renato took the phone and walked to the far end of the corridor. I stayed beside the door."I'll be in soon," I told the man inside.There was no answer.Renato came back and opened the door. The key turned twice. Listening to it, I hated the relief I felt that my father had given permission.Davide was sitting in a chair by the door. One foot was too swollen for a shoe. A beard had grown over the lower half of his face. When he saw me, he rubbed his knees through his trousers."Are you all right?" he asked.It was what I should have asked him first. I nodded and sat on the edge o

Última actualización : 2026-11-07

Chapter 16 — The Terms for Putting On the Ring

My father gestured to Renato. Once he moved away, the hallway seemed wider. Matteo, however, stayed."Very well. Let's settle this so their families won't have to worry any longer."My father reached toward me. I stood still instead of avoiding him. His hand came to rest on my shoulder."If Matteo's family guarantees the expenses, we can arrange their transfer."I looked at Matteo. He spoke as though he had been waiting for his cue."I've already found somewhere they can be treated."They had discussed this beforehand.My father lifted his hand from my shoulder."Appear together at the engagement announcement next week. People need to see that you're doing well."There was a little box in Matteo's hand. He had kept his palm over it without opening it.The ring I had returned.My phone vibrated. Ethan had replied.*I'll find a way to get both men out. Don't make promises on your own.*I switched off the screen and faced my father."If I put that ring on, can I watch the two of them lea

Última actualización : 2026-11-07

Chapter 17 — Why He Sent the Photograph

I called Matteo over.He read the document and told the receptionist to remove that clause too. She looked for Renato, who emerged from an inner doorway."This is the revised version," Renato said."Then revise it again," Matteo replied.Renato's eyes shifted to me. I put the papers back on the counter. Even after Matteo had given the order, the receptionist watched Renato for permission. I stopped myself from moving closer to Matteo. Changing one sentence on a piece of paper still required my father's approval. Wearing a ring would not change that.Paolo came out in a wheelchair. When his wife rose, he reached for her first. She put down the agreement and took his hand. I watched their fingers close around each other while the unsigned document lay waiting.Davide appeared next, supported by a transport attendant. His wife didn't cry. She examined his face, then zipped his jacket all the way up.I took out my phone and asked the receptionist to confirm where they were being taken. Un

Última actualización : 2026-11-07

Chapter 18 — The Car Collected from the Repair Shop

I stared out the window. I hadn't been wearing a ring on the hand that held Ethan's sleeve in the sitting room."That still doesn't give you the right to send me pictures and demand an explanation.""I went too far using that photograph to confront you."He waited for my response. I didn't take off the ring. I still needed to learn how it was tied to the men's medical expenses. But now that I knew he cared about my answer, it was hard to keep my voice indifferent.I put a hand on the windowsill. What stayed with me wasn't so much his admission of jealousy as his willingness to accept my criticism. I touched the ring, then stopped. It wasn't something I could remove just to answer him."I need to know what I've given up.""Read the agreement before the engagement announcement. Find out whether your property will remain separate after the marriage."I asked whether he knew if the Sante records were kept in a safe and who held approval authority. Ethan was careful to distinguish what he

Última actualización : 2026-11-07

Chapter 19 — The One Who Wouldn't Sign

I pushed back my chair. A wheel snagged beneath the desk with a clunk. The employee beside me looked up."Who's in charge of vehicle maintenance?"He gave me a name in General Affairs. I thanked him and sat back down. The collection date was the morning Andrea died. I sent Ethan only the plate number and the repair shop's name, not the whole accounting file. Andrea had been behind that wheel that night.I didn't call Luca.Instead I checked the record again with my coworkers around me. I matched the model to the plate and opened the payment entry. The stated purpose of the vehicle was an external meeting. Andrea's name appeared nowhere.Someone bumped my chair from behind.I started to close the window, then stopped. Too late.Luca stood there holding a paper bag of lunch."I heard you hadn't eaten, miss."His eyes found my screen. For a moment the bag crumpled in his hand."Did you collect this car?"I asked in front of everyone.Luca set the bag on the desk."May I explain outside?"

Última actualización : 2026-11-07

Chapter 20 — The Car I Wouldn't Go Home In

The meeting wasn't over, but my part in it was. My father told me I could leave. Renato opened the door, and I passed him into the hall.I went into the restroom next to the conference room and locked the door. Bracing my hands on the sink, I rinsed my mouth. I felt sick, but nothing came up. I remembered the lunch bag I'd left on my desk.There was a stack of paper cups on a supply shelf. I took one and drank some water. The rim stuck to my lips. Things were no longer limited to quietly discovering what my father didn't know. I'd stopped a deal in front of him.I messaged Ethan to say I'd brought up the joint approval in the meeting. I still didn't attach the photograph. I needed to keep what I possessed as evidence separate from what I'd just told the others. Then I returned to my desk for my bag.The lunch bag was gone."Did Luca take it?"The employee beside me nodded. I thanked him. For a moment I almost felt hurt that I hadn't eaten the food he'd brought. The absurdity of it str

Última actualización : 2026-11-07

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