{"id":860,"date":"2026-10-22T08:50:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:50:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/?p=860"},"modified":"2026-10-22T08:50:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:50:59","slug":"the-last-person-i-expected-to-see-at-my-thirty-four-week-appointment-was-the-man-who-had-divorced-me-six-months-earlier-and-the-moment-adrian-moretti-saw-my-stomach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/?p=860","title":{"rendered":"The last person I expected to see at my thirty-four-week appointment was the man who had divorced me six months earlier, and the moment Adrian Moretti saw my stomach"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n
\n

The last person I expected to see at my thirty-four-week appointment was the man who had divorced me six months earlier, and the moment Adrian Moretti saw my stomach<\/h1>\n
\n

Chapter 1<\/h2>\n
\n

The last person I expected to see at my thirty-four-week appointment was the man who had divorced me six months earlier, and the moment Adrian Moretti saw my stomach, Chicago\u2019s most feared mafia boss forgot how to breathe. Seconds later, he counted backward, looked straight into my eyes, and asked the one question I had spent eight months dreading: \u201cIs that baby mine?\u201d<\/p>\n

For months, I had imagined running into Adrian again.<\/p>\n

In those fantasies, I was composed. Beautiful. Untouchable.<\/p>\n

I had speeches rehearsed in my head for the man who ended our marriage through an attorney and vanished from my life as though three years together could be reduced to signatures on paper.<\/p>\n

None of those speeches included being eight months pregnant in a clinic waiting room.<\/p>\n

Adrian stopped in the doorway so abruptly that the two men behind him almost collided with him.<\/p>\n

His eyes found mine.<\/p>\n

Then they dropped to my stomach.<\/p>\n

Everything in his face changed.<\/p>\n

Chicago knew Adrian Moretti as a man who never lost control. He ran Moretti Holdings from a glass tower overlooking the river, owned legitimate companies across the city, and controlled businesses nobody discussed unless the doors were locked.<\/p>\n

Politicians returned his calls.<\/p>\n

Judges avoided his name.<\/p>\n

Men who crossed him tended to disappear from Illinois.<\/p>\n

But standing there staring at me, Adrian looked almost frightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow far along are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty-four weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

His expression froze.<\/p>\n

I watched him calculate.<\/p>\n

Six months since our divorce.<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, my pregnancy test.<\/p>\n

His eyes darkened.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs the baby mine?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no point lying anymore.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian dropped to his knees.<\/p>\n

Right there in the waiting room.<\/p>\n

His security chief immediately looked away.<\/p>\n

Adrian lifted one scarred hand toward my stomach but stopped before touching me.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay I?\u201d<\/p>\n

That nearly broke me.<\/p>\n

During our marriage, Adrian rarely asked permission for anything. He protected, arranged, decided, and controlled.<\/p>\n

Now he waited.<\/p>\n

I nodded.<\/p>\n

His palm settled against my dress.<\/p>\n

Our daughter kicked instantly.<\/p>\n

Adrian inhaled sharply.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe moved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe does that when she\u2019s annoyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes lifted to mine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen she definitely belongs to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

I hated how much that hurt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou divorced me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was six months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI found out afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n

His jaw tightened. \u201cYou decided I didn\u2019t deserve to know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sent an attorney to end our marriage, Adrian.\u201d<\/p>\n

His face shifted.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t even come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat isn\u2019t what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe papers said I had become a security liability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence.<\/p>\n

I swallowed hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou made me believe I was something dangerous you needed removed from your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian stood slowly.<\/p>\n

The fury rising in his face wasn\u2019t aimed at me.<\/p>\n

It was aimed inward.<\/p>\n

Before he could answer, the nurse called my name.<\/p>\n

Adrian immediately said, \u201cI\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes snapped toward me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is my child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this is my appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve missed eight months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t get to make up for that by controlling the ninth.\u201d<\/p>\n

For once, Adrian Moretti stepped back.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even his security chief looked surprised.<\/p>\n

Then Adrian lowered his voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay I come?\u201d<\/p>\n

I remembered hearing our daughter\u2019s heartbeat alone for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo orders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAgreed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo threatening the doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

His brow furrowed. \u201cWhy would I threaten your doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou threatened my dentist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe drilled the wrong tooth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdrian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll behave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minutes later, Adrian stood beside me while our daughter appeared on the ultrasound monitor.<\/p>\n

A tiny fist.<\/p>\n

A rounded cheek.<\/p>\n

A steady heartbeat.<\/p>\n

For the first time, I saw tears gathering in the eyes of a man other people were terrified to look at the wrong way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs she healthy?\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sloan hesitated.<\/p>\n

Her hand stopped moving over my stomach.<\/p>\n

Then she looked at me instead of Adrian.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something we need to discuss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

Dr. Sloan turned the monitor so I could see it clearly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the heart,\u201d she said, tracing the screen with the tip of her pen. \u201cSee this wall between the two lower chambers? There\u2019s a gap. And this valve here is narrower than I\u2019d like.\u201d<\/p>\n

The room went very quiet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d Adrian asked.<\/p>\n

His voice was steady, but his hand had found the edge of my bed and was gripping it hard enough to turn his knuckles white.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s called a congenital heart defect,\u201d Dr. Sloan said gently. \u201cIt\u2019s more common than people think, and it can be treated. But she\u2019ll need a specialist team and likely surgery within days of birth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDays,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll confirm everything with a fetal echocardiogram. Dr. Pierce at Lakeshore Children\u2019s is the best pediatric cardiac surgeon in the Midwest. I can arrange an appointment for tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Eight months of kicks and hiccups and a nursery painted pale yellow, and I had never once imagined this.<\/p>\n

Adrian cleared his throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever she needs. Specialists, equipment, a private jet to Boston, a team from Switzerland.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdrian.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can have a plane ready in an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdrian, stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes met mine.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo orders,\u201d I reminded him softly.<\/p>\n

For a second I watched him fight himself. Then his shoulders dropped.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to hear what the doctor says before we decide anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I want a minute alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded and stepped into the hallway, though I could tell it cost him.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sloan squeezed my hand. \u201cShe\u2019s strong. I can see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

When I finally walked out ten minutes later, Adrian was standing against the wall with his head bowed. Luca, his security chief, stood a respectful distance away pretending not to listen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Adrian said without looking up. \u201cFor all of it. I don\u2019t know what else to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could start by telling me why.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy you did it. The papers. The attorney. Three years, and I didn\u2019t even get a phone call.\u201d<\/p>\n

He frowned, truly confused.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat papers?\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe divorce papers, Adrian. The ones you signed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never signed anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m telling you the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI held those pages in my hands. Your signature was on every one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian straightened slowly. A muscle ticked in his jaw.<\/p>\n

\u201cSix months ago,\u201d he said, \u201cI was shot outside my office.\u201d<\/p>\n

My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt never made the news. My people kept it quiet. Two bullets, one near my heart.\u201d He touched his chest, just above the scar. \u201cI was unconscious for nineteen days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not possible. I would have known.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho told you I\u2019d asked for a divorce?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour attorney. Gregory Haines.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd who told you not to contact me?\u201d<\/p>\n

I opened my mouth.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t remember.<\/p>\n

Haines had called me the same week. He said Adrian wanted a quiet separation. That the marriage had become a danger to me. That any attempt to reach him would only make things worse.<\/p>\n

I had believed every word.<\/p>\n

Because Adrian never explained himself. Because it sounded exactly like him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI woke up in a private clinic,\u201d Adrian said quietly. \u201cThe first thing I was told was that my wife had already left. That you wanted nothing from me. That you\u2019d signed everything and moved out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did sign,\u201d I said, my voice shaking. \u201cBecause I thought you wanted me gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I believed you\u2019d walked away.\u201d<\/p>\n

We stood in the hallway, two people who had spent half a year hating each other for something neither had done.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho told you I left?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

Adrian\u2019s face turned to stone.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy uncle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luca stiffened behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoss,\u201d he said softly, \u201cwe have a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Luca lifted his phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cVincent\u2019s car just pulled up outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

Vincent Moretti swept through the clinic doors like a visiting bishop.<\/p>\n

He was sixty-two, silver-haired, and dressed in a navy cashmere coat. Everyone in Chicago knew him as the family\u2019s elder statesman, the man who kept the peace, the one who had raised Adrian after his father died.<\/p>\n

He carried a bouquet of white roses.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdrian!\u201d he cried warmly. \u201cLuca called me. I came as soon as I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLuca called you?\u201d Adrian asked.<\/p>\n

Luca looked at the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cForgive me, boss. I thought the family should know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vincent crossed the lobby and took both of my hands, his eyes shining.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd look at you. A mother. After all this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

I made myself smile. I had spent three years learning how to smile at Vincent Moretti.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Vincent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI always said you were the best thing that ever happened to this family. When Adrian\u2019s mind was clouded, I told him so. I told him a hundred times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClouded,\u201d Adrian repeated quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrief, nephew. You\u2019d been through so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFunny. I seem to remember being unconscious.\u201d<\/p>\n

A flicker passed over Vincent\u2019s face. It was gone almost before I saw it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, whatever the misunderstanding was, it\u2019s behind us now. A baby brings families together.\u201d<\/p>\n

He kissed my cheek.<\/p>\n

His lips brushed my ear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThirty-four weeks and not a single complication,\u201d he murmured. \u201cDr. Sloan really is a fine doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pulled back, smiling, and handed me the roses.<\/p>\n

I stood there holding them as though they were burning.<\/p>\n

Adrian didn\u2019t notice. He was already steering his uncle toward the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an appointment, Uncle. We\u2019ll talk later.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, of course. Family first.\u201d<\/p>\n

He left the way he came, flowers and kindness trailing behind him.<\/p>\n

The moment the doors closed, Adrian turned to Luca.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet me everything. The court filing, the notary, every call Gregory Haines made in the last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, boss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd don\u2019t tell Vincent a word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luca swallowed. \u201cUnderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forty minutes later, we sat in the back of Adrian\u2019s black Suburban, parked in a private garage downtown. Adrian\u2019s laptop glowed between us.<\/p>\n

On the screen was the divorce decree.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d seen it a hundred times.<\/p>\n

Adrian zoomed in on the signature at the bottom.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat isn\u2019t mine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks exactly like yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe A is wrong. I loop it. This one is stamped.\u201d<\/p>\n

He opened another file.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe petition was filed on March fourteenth. I was shot on March eleventh. Gregory Haines submitted it three days later, while I was still on a ventilator.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho authorized him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian\u2019s eyes didn\u2019t leave the screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a power of attorney. Signed by the family\u2019s senior counselor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVincent?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVincent.\u201d<\/p>\n

I felt dizzy. I pressed one hand against my stomach, and our daughter kicked hard, as if to say she\u2019d heard it too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would he do this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted me out of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut why wait six months? Why not\u2026\u201d I couldn\u2019t finish the sentence.<\/p>\n

Adrian turned to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t he just get rid of you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he needed me not to look for you,\u201d he said slowly. \u201cHe needed me to believe you left. And a man who thinks he\u2019s been abandoned doesn\u2019t ask questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

My heart pounded.<\/p>\n

Something was still wrong. Something small and sharp that I couldn\u2019t name.<\/p>\n

Then I remembered Vincent\u2019s whisper.<\/p>\n

Thirty-four weeks.<\/p>\n

I had told Adrian that number in the waiting room, a few minutes before Vincent arrived. Luca had only said we were at the clinic.<\/p>\n

How would Vincent know the weeks?<\/p>\n

How would he know Dr. Sloan\u2019s name?<\/p>\n

\u201cAdrian,\u201d I said, barely breathing. \u201cI never told anyone my doctor\u2019s name.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot my friends. Not my family. Nobody.\u201d<\/p>\n

His face slowly drained of color.<\/p>\n

\u201cVincent knew,\u201d I whispered. \u201cHe\u2019s known about this pregnancy for months.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last person I expected to see at my thirty-four-week appointment was the man who had divorced me six months earlier, and the moment Adrian Moretti saw my stomach Chapter… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=860"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":861,"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860\/revisions\/861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovenews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}