Chapter 10 - The Medical Reckoning
By noon, the news had shattered every financial network in the country.
*BREAKING NEWS: ARREST OF HECTOR AND CARMEN DELUCA IN MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR FRAUD AND KIDNAPPING CONSPIRACY.*
*DELUCA GLOBAL STOCK PLUMMETS AS BOARD DISSOLVED.*
*SECRET HEIR OF JULIAN DELUCA IDENTIFIED.*
We ignored the media firestorm. We had more important matters to attend to.
Elena and I were sitting in the private examination suite of Dr. Evelyn Reed, the chief of pediatrics at Mount Sinai and my most trusted personal physician. Renata was sitting on the examination table, swinging her legs, munching on a box of animal crackers while Dr. Reed gently examined her hands.
“The superficial burns and chapping on her wrists are consistent with prolonged exposure to industrial-grade dish detergents and scalding water,” Dr. Reed said, her tone professional but laced with underlying fury. “There are also faint contusions around her shoulders, consistent with carrying objects far too heavy for a child her size.”
Elena leaned forward, gently blowing on Renata’s red fingers, her eyes welling with tears. “Does it hurt, sweetheart?”
Renata shook her head, offering a tiny, brave smile. “Not anymore. Mommy put the magic cream on it.”
*Mommy.*
Hearing Renata say the word naturally, without hesitation, made Elena’s breath hitch. She leaned down and kissed Renata’s forehead, lingering there for several long seconds, breathing in the scent of her daughter’s lavender soap.
“Medically, she will heal quickly,” Dr. Reed said, writing a prescription. “The emotional recovery will take time, but having a stable, loving environment will work miracles. She is exceptionally resilient, Mauricio.”
“Thank you, Evelyn,” I said.
While Dr. Reed finished writing her report, my phone vibrated. It was a secure message from Gabriel Vance.
*Bail hearing concluded. Federal magistrate denied bail for Hector and Carmen citing extreme flight risk and access to undisclosed foreign assets. They are being transferred to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Brooklyn pending trial. Paola was granted five million dollars bail, but her passport has been seized and she is under house arrest.*
A heavy weight lifted from my shoulders. They were locked away. They could never touch Renata again.
“Daddy?” Renata called out, pointing to the window.
Snow was falling again, coating the trees of Central Park in a thick, glittering blanket of pristine white.
“Yes, baby?”
“Can we go to the toy store? The big one with the giant piano on the floor?”
I looked at Elena, who was smiling—a real, radiant, unbroken smile that lit up the entire room.
May you like
“We can go wherever you want,” I said, lifting Renata down from the table into my arms. “Today, tomorrow, and every day after this.”
***
