"Logan." Aurora pleaded
Logan looked at Adam. "I'm sorry, Adam. If any other man was your father, I could accept you. But you know what Nicholas did to your mother."
Adam knew. He knew his mother feared his father. He had come to loathe the man from their encounters. A new feeling seeped into Adam. He didn't know what it was, but it made him ill.
Logan turned to his wife. "Were you hoping that I'd raise him as my son in ignorance?"
"He can still be your son. My love, I know you've bonded with him."
Logan stroked Aurora's cheek with the back of his fingers. "Aurora, we don't have children. As much as we've tried, we don't. I know how much you crave motherhood. You're my wife and his mother. I can't promise I won't be hostile to him. We've lost too much."
Adam watched his mother and her husband. He still felt angry at Aurora. If she hadn't left him with Sarah, his life wouldn't have been miserable. If only she had kept him, they could have been happy. His wish had come true, but why did she abandon him in the first place? To protect him. From what?
"What would Nicholas and your father do if they knew you were my mother?"
"Father would take you from me and raise you as his son. With Nicholas as your father, I'd be forced to marry him.
Would that have been bad? He would be with a family that wanted him. "What's so bad about that? You don't have to marry Nicholas. You could tell your father what he did to you."
"I..." Aurora froze, staring at Adam. "My father wouldn't listen to me. He's a mean man who always gets what he wants." She said softly.
"Not always. He can't set up shop in Scandinavia, and you didn't marry Nicholas." Logan pointed out.
"He didn't want me to marry Nicholas. He wanted control of shipping."
"He has that now, doesn't he? Why would he force you to marry Nicholas?"
"...To avoid a scandal." Aurora shifted uncomfortably in the seat.
Logan watched his wife hard. "...He has tapes?"
Aurora nodded.
"That son of a bitch!" Logan slammed his fist on the table.
The family sat in silence. Logan thought hard about getting out of their predicament. While Aurora struggled to find a way to keep Adam safe, Adam remained conflicted by the new information he had gathered and sat quietly, pondering.
"What are you going to do with me?" The boy asked.
Aurora looked at her son; his face was solemn, and his stare was unyielding. She felt like a stranger under his watch. "I don't know. Legally, Sarah has a right to you. I can...probably help you run away where she can't find you."
"Why not just send me to your father?"
"Sweetheart, if he gets his hands on you—"
"It'll be better than living on the streets!"
"But Nicholas—"
"Hold on, Aurora. Adam's right. Your father thinks he is my son. We're the only ones who know that Nicholas is his father. And none of us are going to tell him. He'd be safer with your father."
"But he's my son. If my father takes him, I'll never be his mother."
"In the years of trying to keep him safe, were you ever his mother?"
"I..."
"Your son lived like a street rat! To keep him from your father, you wanted to raise him in secret, but to keep him from his father, you abandoned him."
"I didn't abandon him!"
"Either way, your son will always be out of your hands. It'll be better for him with his grandfather."
Aurora covered her mouth and wept bitterly. "I only wanted to be a good mother."
Aurora crossed the table and hugged Adam tightly. "Micino, I'm so sorry. Believe me, my love, I've always loved you. I always wanted you. I'm sorry I let you go."
Adam wanted to hug his mother back, but his hands wouldn't move. Despite the short time they had spent together, Aurora was everything Adam imagined a mother would be and more. Not once did he feel at home living with Sarah. He felt safe and loved with Aurora. Her scent was home to him. He had wished she was his mother before. Why was he hesitating?
"You're willing to go to your grandfather?" Aurora whispered, searching his eyes.
Adam nodded.
"Ok..."
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Aurora called Assistant Morbidelli, and after confirming he hadn't left the city, she invited him over to talk urgently. She explained their predicament with Adam, showing him the original birth certificate and the contract she had with Sarah. Assistant Morbidelli read through the documents, nodding as Aurora spoke. At the end of her explanation, he smiled and inquired whether she would be attending the gathering, which she denied. Aurora stated that while she agreed to leave Adam in her father's care, she refused to divorce Logan. Again, the man nodded, then left without a word, taking the documents with him.
The next day, Assistant Morbidelli arrived at the Jordahl's home just before breakfast. He sat with the family, watching Adam's every move. The man's scrutiny unnerved the boy, causing him to regret his decision.
When Nicholas arrived with Sarah, he was taken aback by the Assistant Morbidelli's presence. Nicholas greeted the man respectfully and happily explained the presence of the woman accompanying him and his intention to help the Baggio family recover Aurora. Nicholas ranted about the strength of old families and the need to stick together. He gladly exposed that Adam was not Aurora's son. He pointed out that the couple had no other children and blamed Aurora's illness on Logan. Assistant Morbidelli nodded during Nicholas' rant. Adam realised that Assistant Morbidelli just smiled and nodded, and apart from asking a few questions, you had no idea what he was thinking.
"I would take care of her, and together we would produce a child suitable to inherit the Baggio name. I have been loyal to her all these years; I only hope to return everything to its rightful order." Nicholas promised the elder man.
"Indeed." Assistant Morbidelli said drily.
He looked at Sarah with the same intense look he had at the gallery. Sliding a paper and pen across the table to Sarah, he asked her to sign it. Sarah looked at the blank paper, then at Nicholas, who nodded his approval. Assistant Morbidelli compared the signature Sarah gave to the one on the contract.
"Ms. Williams, do you recognise this document?" He asked, handing the contract to the woman.
Sarah took the document and carefully flipped through it. Her hands shook with increasing intensity as she turned every page.
"It does not matter. Your signature is on it." Assistant Morbidelli said, snatching the contract back. "As Mr. Francesco's temporary caretaker, you have violated this contract on multiple grounds."
"What's going?" Nicholas asked, his eyes shifting between Sarah and Assistant Morbidelli.
"Mr. Olíveira, thank you for your aid in finding Ms. Aurora and her son. Mr. Baggio will reach out to you later. Forgive me, but there is much to be done to legally return the boy to his parents. I must ask you to leave without Ms. Williams." Assistant Morbidelli indicated the exit.
"He's not their son!"
Nicholas' loud and aggressive tone annoyed Assistant Morbidelli. The older man gave Nicholas a hard stare for a few seconds. "It is best to be humble when you are ignorant, Mr. Olíveira." He warned.
Nicholas spoke slowly and firmly. "I'm not ignorant, Assistant Morbidelli. I investigated that boy. He is not Aurora's son. Ms. Williams is his birth mother and has his birth certificate and passport to prove it."
Assistant Morbidelli pushed the birth certificate to Nicholas. "This is Mr. Francesco's original birth certificate."
Nicholas scanned the document and glared at Sarah. "You lied to me?!"
"Remember your position, Mr. Olíveira. Do not behave so unsightly." Assistant Morbidelli said indifferently.
"You can't be serious about accepting Logan and his son. They will ruin—"
"Are you questioning Mr. Baggio's decision regarding his family?" The elder man said coldly.
Assistant Morbidelli commanded the room. He never raised his voice, but his deliberate manner of speaking and his looks were so threatening and terrifying that even Nicholas seemed cornered and afraid. Adam watched the man carefully and wondered whether his grandfather was the same.
Assistant Morbidelli raised his hand, stopping Nicholas from apologising, and again indicated to the exit. Without further resistance, Nicholas got up and left. But not before throwing a seething scowl at Adam and Logan. His eyes would also pass over Aurora briefly before he disappeared.
Following Nicholas' departure, Assistant Morbidelli insisted on leaving with Adam and Sarah. Aurora tried to ask for another day or two with her son. But, in a reprimanding tone, he reminded her that the summer gathering was a few days away and he needed to have Adam's original birth certificate restored as the official one before the boy got to Italy.
Aurora embraced her son. She had done it so many times before, but now it felt like the last chance she would ever have. Fighting back tears, she kissed him for the last time. "I love you, Piccolo. Listen to your grandfather. He hates repeating himself."
Adam looked at his mother. Letting go of her was easier this time. He was sad, but not enough to cry. This time, he didn't feel like he had lost something. Logan gripped the boy's shoulder and wished him 'good luck', while Sophia hugged him and told him to 'stay sharp'.
With that, Adam and Sarah left the Jordahl's home with Assistant Morbidelli. Aurora, Logan, and Sophia stood in the yard, watching their departure. As the car began to move, a thought rose to the front of the boy's mind, causing him to panic.
"Wait! Mom?" He called to Aurora from the window. "Was Manuel the one who reported Big G?"
"Big G?" Aurora asked, confused.
"Her boyfriend," he indicated to Sarah.
"Yes. Why?"
"Manuel and his family are in danger. Big G's brother, Togo, was looking for the snitch; Nicholas sold him out."
"I'll let him know."
"Bye."
Aurora smiled at him. "Bye."
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