Chapter 5 - The Morning Trial
The morning sun filtered through the reinforced glass of the suite, painting long, pale stripes across the carpet.
Elina hadn't slept a wink. She sat in one of the velvet armchairs, wrapped in a heavy silk bathrobe Mrs. Higgins had left out for her, staring blankly into the cold ashes of the fireplace.
At 8:00 AM sharp, the door unlocked.
Dante walked in. He looked like he hadn't slept either; the shadows beneath his dark eyes were deep, and his jaw was covered in a heavy, dark stubble. But he wasn't alone. Behind him stood a tall, thin man in a sharp gray suit carrying a metal briefcase, accompanied by a nurse in white scrubs.
"Get up," Dante said without preamble.
"I'm not going anywhere with you until you explain—"
"The doctor is here for the swabs," Dante interrupted, his voice devoid of emotion. "We're doing a buccal swab for DNA. Once the lab downtown runs the expedited profile, we'll have our answer within four hours. Until then, you stay in this suite."
The nurse stepped forward, holding a sterile plastic package. "If you could just open your mouth, miss—"
"No," Elina stood up, her eyes flashing with sudden, furious defiance. She glared past the nurse at Dante. "You don't get to treat me like a specimen! You don't get to kidnap me, lock me in a tower, and treat me like some clone of your dead wife just because it fits your grief-stricken fantasy!"
Dante took two long strides across the room, closing the distance between them so fast she didn't have time to flinch. He reached out, his large hand gripping her chin, forcing her face up so she had no choice but to look into his eyes.
"My wife isn't dead," Dante growled, his face inches from hers. "And if you are who I think you are—if someone wiped your memories, or hid you away, or did something unspeakable to keep you from me—then I will burn every enemy I have to ash until I find out why."
Elina’s heart hammered wildly against her ribs. There was so much raw, bleeding pain beneath his anger that it took her breath away.
She swallowed hard, her voice dropping to a trembling whisper. "And if I'm not? If the DNA test comes back negative, and I'm just a broke waitress named Elina whose mother lied to her... what happens to me then?"
May you like
Dante’s thumb brushed lightly across her lower lip, his dark eyes darkening further. "Then I will apologize, put you in the best car I own, and give you enough money to buy half of Chicago. But until then..." He nodded to the nurse. "Do it."
Ten minutes later, the swabs were packed into the metal briefcase, and the doctor and nurse departed, leaving Elina alone with Dante in the quiet tension of the suite.
