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"The past will only truly be behind me once those men are convicted."
"I know, sister. I’m still trying to make sense of all this craziness: Moses not being Moses, the babies’ birth certificates being a sham...Jesus, it feels like something out of a movie."
"And then there’s that so-called cousin, Enya. Who is that woman, Madison? Thinking about it now, after everything I’ve discovered, I don’t think they were even related. Why did he agree to take her to dinner with us the day I found out I was pregnant?"
She falls silent, deep in thought. "I have no idea."
I shake my head, bewildered.
I always wanted children, but not so soon, and certainly not without planning, with a guy I barely knew. But what I’ve learned over the past few days goes beyond simply getting pregnant by a new boyfriend. I spent months living in a lie.
"What was his reaction when you told him you were pregnant?"
I try to recall. I was terrified, as we’d only been together for two months.
"He didn’t seem scared—he seemed happy, which is strange considering what the detective uncovered."
"Yeah, that reaction doesn’t align with the fact that he lied about his name. I don’t want to hurt you with what I’m about tosay, but think about it: if he truly loved you, he would’ve told you the truth about who he was."
"I never thought of it that way. So what do you think happened?"
"I think it started as a game. He wanted to be with you because you’re beautiful, and then he got genuinely involved. I don’t know if he loved you, but when he found out you were pregnant, he wanted you—and the babies too. But by then, he’d lied too much to reveal his real identity."
"I still can’t believe how foolish I was, Madison."
"You weren’t. Don’t blame yourself for that scumbag’s lack of character." She pauses and hugs me. "Regardless of the police investigation, I know Zeus will dig into your ex’s past. There’s more to this story than we initially thought, sister."
"You’re scaring me."
"I don’t want you to be scared—I want you to stay alert. Zeus has already told me he’ll keep the bodyguards watching over you, Eleanor, and the kids."
"Bodyguards?"
"Yes, he assigned them as soon as I told him about how you ended up in a coma."
"My God, you married a saint, Madison!"
"Far from it, Brooklyn. I’ve already told you the story of their family. All the Kostanidis brothers have their sins to bear, but above all, they’re honorable men. Now I need to go, sister, or my bossy Greek will come fetch me in his impatient caveman style."
Despite the heavy topic, I laugh because I can totally imagine Zeus doing just that.
Madison is almost at the door when I call out to her.
She turns back. "What is it?"
"What if he’s already given up?"
"Athanasios?"
"Yes. What if the kiss didn’t mean anything?"
"Clearly, you’ve never dealt with a Greek man before, Brooklyn. They don’t give up on what they want so easily. I don’t know why Athanasios left, but I’d bet a lot that it wasn’t a definitive departure. You said he assigned you to another neurologist just to avoid any ethical conflicts between doctor and patient. That doesn’t sound like something a man like him would do unless he was serious about pursuing a relationship."
Brooklyn
NINETEEN
After we say goodbye,I enter my children’s room. The lamp is on because, according to Eleanor, neither of them likes to sleep in the dark. I take the opportunity to look around carefully.