Chapter 10 - THE NIGHT HUNTER FORGOT HIS FACE
Nine months earlier, Hunter Bennett had worked the overnight desk at a boutique hotel outside Boston.
That life felt impossible now.
Before Grace.
Before the funeral.
Before the Rossi estate.
Before she learned a baby could be stolen and returned by fate.
Hunter remembered the night because of the snowstorm.
Flights were canceled.
Roads were closed.
Travelers crowded the lobby.
Near midnight, a man arrived bleeding from his shoulder.
He gave the name Michael Deane.
No identification.
Cash.
He said he'd been robbed.
Hunter should have called police.
Instead she helped him.
She cleaned the wound.
Found him an empty conference room when the hotel had no rooms available.
They talked for hours.
He was charming.
Funny.
Sad in a way Hunter recognized.
He told her his marriage was over.
Hunter told him almost nothing about herself.
By morning, boundaries blurred.
One night.
One mistake.
He left before sunrise.
Six weeks later, Hunter discovered she was pregnant.
The phone number he gave her had been disconnected.
She never saw him again.
Until now.
Hunter stared at Marco DeMarco.
"No."
Marco laughed.
"You really don't recognize me?"
He removed his glasses.
Turned slightly.
The angle changed everything.
Hunter's stomach twisted.
"Michael."
Lorenzo's expression became murderous.
Marco smiled.
"Surprise."
Grace began crying.
Hunter backed away from him.
"You knew?"
"Not immediately."
"You knew I was pregnant?"
"I found out later."
"How?"
"I keep track of loose ends."
Lorenzo stepped closer.
"You raped her?"
Hunter immediately answered.
"No."
Her voice shook.
"It wasn't that."
Lorenzo looked at her.
Hunter continued.
"He lied about who he was. But I chose what happened."
Marco smiled arrogantly.
"At least she's honest."
Lorenzo aimed his gun at Marco's head.
"Keep talking."
Marco tightened his hold on Sophia.
"You shoot me, she dies."
Behind Lorenzo, Mateo's men were positioning silently in darkness.
Marco hadn't noticed.
"Why did you target Hunter?" Lorenzo asked.
"I didn't."
Marco shrugged.
"She was random."
"Then Grace is your daughter."
"Biologically."
Hunter's face twisted with disgust.
"She's not yours."
Marco's smile faded.
"I agree."
The answer surprised everyone.
"I never wanted children."
He looked toward Isabella.
Though she wasn't there, bitterness entered his face.
"Especially not after spending twelve years pretending infertility made me less of a man."
Hunter understood.
"You knew Grace was yours when she arrived at St. Catherine's."
Marco nodded.
"I recognized Hunter's name."
"And you switched the babies?"
"No."
"Sophia did."
Marco looked at Sophia.
"She ruined my entire plan without knowing it."
Sophia stared.
Marco continued.
"Vittorio intended to kill the Rossi heir. I realized the infant in the nursery was actually mine before he administered enough poison to finish the job."
Hunter's eyes widened.
"You stopped him."
"I reduced the doses."
Lorenzo understood.
"That's why Grace survived."
Marco nodded.
"I corrupted some bottles. Replaced others. Kept the poisoning inconsistent."
Hunter stared.
This man was Grace's biological father.
A thief.
A conspirator.
A liar.
But also, perversely, the reason she was alive.
"Why?"
Hunter asked.
Marco looked uncomfortable for the first time.
"I don't know."
"That's a lie."
"Maybe."
"Why save her?"
Marco's jaw tightened.
"Because she was mine."
Hunter held Grace tighter.
"No."
Marco smiled sadly.
"You're right."
Then gunfire erupted from behind.
One of Mateo's men fired at Marco's guard.
Sophia dropped.
Lorenzo lunged.
Marco fired twice.
The first bullet hit stone.
The second struck Lorenzo in the shoulder.
Hunter screamed.
Lorenzo kept moving.
He tackled Marco.
Both men crashed to the ground near the cliff edge.
Sophia crawled toward Hunter.
Mateo's team eliminated the remaining guards.
Marco and Lorenzo fought brutally.
Marco landed a punch against Lorenzo's wound.
Lorenzo nearly collapsed.
Then Marco pulled a knife.
Hunter saw it.
"Lorenzo!"
He turned just in time.
The blade cut across his side.
Lorenzo grabbed Marco's wrist.
They struggled inches from the cliff.
Then Marco slipped.
Half his body went over the edge.
Lorenzo caught his wrist.
For one moment, Marco hung above the dark Atlantic.
He looked up.
"You should let go."
Lorenzo stared at him.
"You tried to destroy my family."
"Yes."
"You helped my father steal my son."
"Yes."
"You helped Sophia disappear."
"Yes."
"And you poisoned Hunter's life."
Marco laughed weakly.
"Apparently I'm very busy."
Lorenzo's fingers tightened.
Then he pulled Marco upward.
Mateo grabbed him.
They dragged Marco onto solid ground.
Hunter stared.
"Why save him?"
Lorenzo looked at Grace.
"Because someday she may ask what happened to her biological father."
Marco stared at him.
For the first time, he looked ashamed.
Then his phone rang.
Mateo took it.
Vittorio.
Lorenzo answered.
His father's voice was calm.
"I see Marco disappointed me."
"Your grandson is coming home."
Vittorio laughed.
"You don't even know where he is."
Lorenzo looked at Marco.
Marco slowly smiled.
"Actually," he said, "I do."
Vittorio went silent.
Marco looked directly at Lorenzo.
"There's something your father forgot."
"What?"
"I'm the one who designed his safe houses."
Vittorio shouted through the phone.
"Marco!"
Marco ignored him.
He told Lorenzo an address.
An old monastery in the Catskills.
Then Vittorio's voice became deadly calm.
"If you come here, Lorenzo, the child dies."
Lorenzo stared into darkness.
"No."
He handed the phone to Mateo.
"My father has spent my entire life teaching me fear."
May you like
He picked up his gun.
"Tonight he learns what he taught me instead."
