Chapter 15 - Secrets in the Garden
Three weeks after the collapse of Vance Capital, absolute peace returned to the Westchester estate.
The sky over the hills was a brilliant, cloudless blue. The white rose garden near the conservatory was in full bloom, casting a rich, soothing fragrance across the manicured lawns.
Elena sat on a cushioned bench in the center of the garden, holding a glass of iced chamomile tea. Her baby bump was now distinctly rounded beneath her soft yellow summer dress—she was five months pregnant.
Dr. Aris stepped into the garden carrying a small medical folder, a warm, reassuring smile on his face.
"How is the mother-to-be feeling today?" Dr. Aris asked, sitting beside her on the bench.
"Wonderful," Elena beamed, placing her hand gently over her stomach. "The baby has been kicking all morning. I think he or she is as impatient as Dante."
Dr. Aris chuckled, opening the folder. "Well, I have the preliminary ultrasound results from yesterday’s scan. Your vitals are perfect, Elena. Your blood pressure has stabilized completely since the stress of last month dissolved. But... there is one detail I think you and Dante should look at together."
"Is everything alright with the baby?" Elena asked, a sudden flash of worry in her eyes.
"The baby is exceptionally healthy," Dr. Aris assured her quickly, his eyes twinkling with light warmth. "In fact, both of them are."
Elena froze. Her tea glass stilled in mid-air. "Both of them?"
Dr. Aris smiled broadly. "Twins, Elena. You are carrying twins."
Elena’s heart leaped into her throat. A wave of overwhelming emotional warmth washed over her, bringing soft, happy tears to the corners of her dark eyes. Twins. Two little lives growing beneath her heart—a symbol of double the love, double the hope, and double the future they had built out of the ashes of their past.
"Does Dante know?" she whispered, her voice trembling slightly with joy.
"Not yet," Dr. Aris said. "I left the second ultrasound printout in an envelope on his desk ten minutes ago."
Elena stood up quickly, a radiant smile lighting up her entire face. "I need to see him."
In the second-floor study, Dante was sitting behind his mahogany desk, reading through a stack of estate property deeds.
He picked up a white envelope marked CONFIDENTIAL MEDICAL REPORT left by Dr. Aris. He opened it casually, pulling out the black-and-white thermal printout of the ultrasound.
He stared at the image.
He was not a medical doctor, but he knew how to read structural blueprints. And on that small piece of paper, clear as day, were two distinct, perfectly formed little heartbeats highlighted by the ultrasound scanner.
Dante’s breath caught in his throat. The powerful head of the Moretti family—the man who had faced down syndicate bosses, assassin squads, and corporate warlords without flinching—suddenly felt his hands shake.
"Two..." he whispered to the empty room, his voice choked with awe.
The study doors opened softly. Elena walked in, her dark eyes shining with tears of happiness. She stood by the desk, looking down at him.
"Dante?" she asked softly.
Dante stood up slowly, the ultrasound photo still gripped tightly in his trembling hand. He walked around the desk, stopping right in front of her. He dropped to his knees before her, gently pressing his face against her rounded stomach, wrapping his broad arms around her waist.
Elena ran her fingers through his dark hair, feeling the subtle trembling of his shoulders.
"Two, Elena," Dante choked out, his deep voice muffled against her dress, filled with a raw, profound emotion he had never shown to another living soul. "We are having twins."
"Yes, my love," Elena whispered, tears flowing freely down her cheeks as she smiled. "Two little angels."
May you like
Dante looked up at her, his dark eyes filled with absolute reverence. He reached up, cupping her face in his large, warm hands. "I promised to give you a home, Elena. But you... you have given me an entire universe."
He pulled her down into a deep, tender kiss, holding her close as the soft afternoon sun filled the study with golden warmth.
