Page 47 of Mafia Pregnancy

With a nod, he scrolls through information on his screen. “Most of what I learned about her we already have fromher employment records. I learned her mother died when she was eleven, and she was mostly raised by her aunt, Molly Richardson, from that point. The father was an oil rig worker and gone more than he was home. Home to him was Alabama, so they didn’t see each other much after Ms. Arden moved here to live with her aunt. They appear estranged.”

I frown at the thought of her father letting his wife’s sister raise his daughter. If I had a child… I cut off that thought, because I might have a child, and I have no idea how I’m going to handle that if I do. “What about any other men? Any possibilities for fathers?”

He reads for a moment before shaking his head. “I couldn’t find any documented romantic relationships since Leo’s birth, and not much before. Not even a relationship status update on social media.”

The detail about no relationships since Leo’s birth strikes me as significant. A woman hiding the identity of her child’s father might avoid romantic entanglements that could complicate her story. “What else?”

“She’s been working through domestic staffing agencies for the past four years, maintaining a good employment record, save for some scheduling conflicts, until this placement.” He looks up as he delivers this information. “According to my contact at the agency, she visited a couple of weeks ago inquiring about immediate openings elsewhere.”

The information shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. She’s planning to run and disappear with the boy before I can discover whatever truth she’s been hiding.

“Continue monitoring the agency and send out discreet feelers to see if she’s approached any others in the area. I want to know if she makes any firm moves to leave.” I lean back in my chair, processing the implications. “What about her friend, Carmen? They seem close.”

He nods. “Carmen Castillo has been with us for almost two years and recommended Danielle for this position. According to surveillance, they spend significant time together outside work hours. If Danielle’s keeping secrets about the boy’s paternity, Carmen likely knows.”

Carmen knows. The realization adds another layer to the web of deception surrounding this situation. Danielle’s closest friend and coworker has been helping her maintain whatever lie she’s constructed. I swallow down a surge of anger, needing to focus. “Keep digging into both of them. I want to know everything about their conversations, their plans, their routines.”

I pause, considering the customs situation that I put on the back burner to find out more about the boy. Leo. I have a name now, and it feels…precious. I blink, throwing Andrei an olive branch by asking about it now. “I put a couple of guys on Rodriguez. Did they report you yet?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the status with Rodriguez?”

Andrei straightens slightly. “The two men you assigned to surveillance confirmed another approach yesterday evening. Someone we believe to be Luca’s representative met with Rodriguez at a restaurant in Little Italy. The conversation lasted forty-five minutes.”

I frown. “Any indication of what was discussed?”

“Our sources suggest Rodriguez has been struggling financially. His daughter’s medical bills from her cancer treatment last year may have depleted his savings.” His expression remains neutral as he delivers information that could explain Rodriguez’s vulnerability. “Luca’s people likely offered assistance in exchange for cooperation.”

I consider the implications. Rodriguez has been trustworthy for three years, handling our customs clearances without problems or complications. Losing him would disrupt operations and force us to find new channels, which always carries risk. “Make contact with Rodriguez directly. Offer him more money to maintain his loyalty, and if Luca has some kind of leverage on him, offer help with that too. It’s easier to retain a loyal colleague than replace him.”

“Understood.” Andrei makes notes on his tablet before extending his own olive branch. “What about the boy? How do you want to proceed with that situation?”

I grit my teeth. If Leo is my son, every conversation I’ve had with Danielle takes on new meaning. Every wall she’s built, every time she’s pushed me away, and every secret she’s kept suddenly makes sense. The depth of the deception is both painful and enraging, but I refuse to give in to the surge of emotions. I have to know the full truth before I can respond. “I want confirmation about the premature birth angle first. If the timing aligns, we’ll discuss next steps. Focus on getting me that medical information about Leo’s birth.”

Andrei nods and stands but pauses at the door. “Radmir, if this boy is yours, it changes the security profile for everyone involved. Children are vulnerabilities that enemies exploit.”

I meet his gaze. “I know what it changes.”

“Do you? Because from where I stand, it looks like you’re about to make decisions based on emotion rather than logic. That’s dangerous for all of us. It would be safer not to acknowledge?—”

“That’s impossible,” I say coldly. “If… No, I won’t be turning my back on the knowledge.” His warning carries weight because it comes from someone who’s never steered me wrong in fifteen years of partnership, but I can’t take that advice. I strive to sound calm when speaking again. “Your concern is noted. Get me the information I need, and let me worry about what I’ll do with the results.”

After he leaves, I remain at my desk, staring out the huge windows. The wind is picking up outside, rattling the windows and sending leaves skittering across the terrace. I can see the palm trees beginning to sway, and the sky is darkening with clouds that promise heavy rain soon. There’s an approaching storm. Possibly in more ways than one.

If Leo is my son, I’m a father who’s missed three and a half years of his child’s life. Three and a half years of first words, first steps, birthdays, bedtime stories, and countless moments that can never be recovered. The thought angers me at the deception, but I try to understand her motivation.

A single mother discovers she’s pregnant by a man who gave her a false name and disappeared without a trace. She has no way to contact him, no way to know if he’d want to be involved, and no idea if his world is safe for children. From her perspective, raising the child alone might have seemed like the only reasonable choice.

From my perspective, it feels like theft.

I spend the next hour reviewing security reports and monitoring the weather, but my mind keeps drifting to the conversation I plan to have with Danielle when she returns. The vulnerability she showed this morning when we talked about Luca and the costs of my world suggested she was on the verge of telling me something important. Is it something that might have been the truth about Leo?

The question is whether I should wait for her to volunteer the information or confront her directly with what I suspect. Either approach carries risks. If I push too hard, she might run before I can get answers. If I wait too long, she might disappear anyway, taking my son with her.

The wind outside grows stronger, and I can see the first drops of rain beginning to hit the windows. The storm is arriving ahead of schedule, which means the afternoon will be more complicated than I anticipated.

A knock at my door interrupts my thoughts. “Come in.”

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