Chapter 12 - DEREK CAME TO ROME
Derek appeared on Italian television the next morning.
He stood outside the American embassy.
He wore the navy suit I bought him for our anniversary.
His hair was perfectly combed.
His face looked exhausted in a carefully photogenic way.
“My wife is experiencing a mental health crisis.”
I stared at the television.
Maya sat upstairs where she could not hear.
Derek continued.
“I love Claire.”
“I am terrified for our daughter.”
“She has become involved with an internationally known criminal organization.”
Alessandro stood behind me.
He said nothing.
Derek held up a photograph.
It showed me leaving the Moretti property.
Someone had taken it from outside the gate.
“My only concern is bringing Maya home safely.”
I wanted to throw something through the television.
Then a reporter asked about Maya's injuries.
Derek's expression changed perfectly.
“Children fall.”
My vision blurred red.
“She had a bruise from playing at home.”
“My wife has unfortunately manipulated that innocent accident.”
Alessandro reached for the remote.
I stopped him.
“No.”
“I want to hear everything.”
Another reporter asked about the hospital documents.
Derek smiled sadly.
“I cannot discuss my wife's employment history.”
“However, I hope people understand that Claire has struggled for many years.”
I laughed.
Alessandro looked at me.
“He practiced that.”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he pauses before every lie.”
Derek did it again.
“My family wants no conflict.”
Pause.
“We only want Maya home.”
Pause.
“And we pray Claire accepts the help she needs.”
The interview ended.
I stood.
“I’m going to the police.”
Marco nodded.
“Good.”
Alessandro looked surprised.
“What are you going to tell them?”
“Everything.”
“Even the hospital?”
“Especially the hospital.”
Two hours later, I spent nearly four hours giving a statement.
Bellini recorded it.
I described Derek's abuse.
The night Maya was shoved.
The forged hospital documents.
The flash drive.
The threats.
The photograph.
The hidden connection to Baby Seventeen.
When I finished, Bellini pushed tissues toward me.
I had not realized I was crying.
“You understand this will become complicated.”
“It already is.”
“American authorities will need to cooperate.”
“Fine.”
“You may be asked to return eventually for proceedings.”
“I know.”
“Are you afraid?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
I looked at her.
She gave a small smile.
“Fear keeps people cautious.”
“Shame keeps them silent.”
“Do not confuse the two.”
For the first time in years, I felt believed by someone with authority.
Then Bellini slid a document toward me.
“What is this?”
“An Italian emergency protective order concerning Maya while your custody matter is reviewed.”
I stared.
“Derek cannot remove her from Italy without court authorization.”
My eyes filled.
“Thank you.”
“Do not thank me.”
“Thank the evidence.”
Outside the station, reporters waited.
Marco guided me toward the car.
Then someone shouted my name.
“Claire!”
I knew the voice before I turned.
Derek.
He stood behind the barrier.
For one second, my body forgot everything I knew.
My shoulders tightened.
My stomach dropped.
My hands became cold.
He looked exactly like the man I had slept beside for six years.
That was the horror of it.
Monsters rarely looked like monsters when you loved them first.
“Claire.”
I stopped walking.
Marco touched my arm.
“Keep moving.”
Derek raised his hands.
“Please.”
I turned.
Reporters swarmed toward him.
“You don't need to do this.”
My voice came out steadier than I felt.
“Do what?”
“Destroy our family.”
I stared at him.
“You shoved Maya into a table.”
His jaw tightened.
“It was an accident.”
“You told her she shouldn't have gotten in the way.”
Cameras turned toward him.
For the first time, his mask slipped.
“You're twisting everything.”
I almost smiled.
There he was.
The real Derek.
“I’m done twisting anything for you.”
His eyes moved past me.
Alessandro had stepped from the second car.
Derek laughed.
“This is unbelievable.”
“You leave your husband and run straight into another man's house?”
I felt shame rise automatically.
Then stopped it.
“No.”
I said it to myself more than him.
Derek frowned.
“No what?”
“No more.”
“No more explaining.”
“No more apologizing.”
“No more letting you decide what I should be ashamed of.”
His face hardened.
“I am still Maya's father.”
“Then start behaving like one.”
A reporter gasped softly.
Derek stepped toward the barrier.
Police stopped him.
“You think Moretti will protect you?”
He pointed toward Alessandro.
“You don't know what he is.”
I looked back.
Alessandro stood completely still.
“I know enough.”
Derek smiled.
It was the smile he used before hurting me without witnesses.
“Then ask him about Sofia.”
Alessandro's expression changed.
Derek saw it.
His smile widened.
“Ask him where his wife was the night before she died.”
I turned toward Alessandro.
“What does he mean?”
Alessandro did not answer.
Derek laughed.
“She was with me.”
The street became silent in my head.
“What?”
Derek reached inside his jacket.
Police immediately moved.
“Easy.”
He withdrew a photograph.
He held it up.
Sofia.
Derek.
A hotel lobby.
A timestamp from four days before her death.
Alessandro looked like someone had struck him.
Derek stared at him.
“Your wife came to Ohio because she knew who the real threat was.”
Then he looked at me.
“And Claire?”
His smile vanished.
“She was trying to warn you about him.”
I looked from Derek to Alessandro.
Two men.
May you like
Two histories filled with lies.
And suddenly I had no idea which one was manipulating me.
