If the insult hurt the young woman, she didn't let anything show on her face. Faced with his stubborn silence, Etore declared:
"Obviously you have no intention of answering my question."
"No not at all, I was just waiting for you to be done with your insults, since we can't have a normal conversation please leave the place and don't forget to close the door when you leave."
To the young woman's amazement, he actually headed for the door.
She was relieved but this relief was short-lived. Before leaving, he turned around and said.
"I want to know the truth."
"Think about that tonight. If tomorrow you still refuse to give me an answer, I will have a DNA test performed."
With those words, he ran down the stairs.
As soon as he got downstairs, he dialed a number on his cell phone. In the past, he had had the opportunity to use the services of a discreet and efficient private detective agency. Etore hung up, satisfied. Someone would arrive in five minutes and their mission would be to watch Mayra's house. If she tried to run away with her child-their child, she would be followed and he would know where to find her. Anger twisted his face as he drove off. If the black-haired, dark-eyed child was his and his instincts told him he was, his mother would quickly discover that there was nowhere in the world for her to hide.
No young woman with or without a baby in her arms showed up. Etore received the information as he walked through the streets towards Finsbury. Despite the bitter cold, he had preferred to walk rather than stay behind the wheel of his rental Mercedes, waiting for the traffic to become more fluid. Mayra's current residence was in sight. He turned off his cell phone, slipped it into the inside pocket of his jacket. The ordinary car of the agent he had hired was parked among other vehicles, facing the building. She drove off and pulled away as soon as he reached her.
The detective had told him that a tall, blond young man had taken delivery of a black pram just before 9 o'clock this morning and had left at a fast pace a few moments later. This kind of message did not interest Etore. No way. And the knot in his stomach had nothing to do with jealousy. He was ready to swear it. In fact, he only felt anger at the thought of his baby undergoing the dubious protection of a string of "uncles" and a mother without morals.
If the child was his. Suddenly, an astounding thought shot through him like a dagger. He wanted this child to be his. The shock nailed him to the spot for a few seconds. He pushed that aberration out of his mind and pulled himself together. He climbed the stairs with a sure step. One way or another, he would find out the truth.
******************************
Sleep well, my darling, Mayra whispered as she laid the sleeping baby down in her crib. She left the tiny room on tiptoe then remained motionless for a moment, breathing deeply, to maintain the composure she had kept Until then. Torry's cries for breakfast had roused her from her restless sleep just before half past five. She had fed him, bathed him, had played with him with immense pleasure, forgetting his problems during these privileged moments.
But now, the same problems now came back all claws out! She should confess to Etore Merelas that Torry was her son. Anyway, what's the use of lying? The DNA test result would fall like a cleaver. How would his wife react? she wondered. The beautiful brunette with the contemptuous and haughty gaze, who had been introduced to her as Etore's fiancée, did not seem the type to forgive easily. Mayra felt mentally and physically ill. The memories she desperately tried to forget still came back to her.
Mayra came from a rather wealthy family. As the eldest of the family, her mother Camilla expected a lot from her. But as she grew up she grew further and further away from her mother. Seeing this, she therefore put her expectations on her youngest daughter who, to her pleasure, has never disobeyed her. So she made it in her image. Mayra has often wondered, given her father's serene character, how he could have married a vain woman like Camille. All she thought about was partying and spending her father's hard-earned money. The day her father's company went bankrupt, she didn't hesitate to divorce him. All she wanted was to avoid paying the debts that her father could have contacted. Luckily he had been smart enough to spare his children this terrible dilemma.
After her death, as soon as Mayra could, she left the house and settled elsewhere. She therefore contacted the agency, that a friend had recommended to her which offered her several work opportunities. With her education and her good affinity with children, she was able to make a good reputation as a nanny. This is how she was able to get this job with the Romero and was able to meet Etore who at the same time broke her heart.
She had returned from the island the day before, with the twins she was caring for, Sandro and Amelie. Etore was absent he had to attend a business meeting. Their father, Signor Romero had come to meet them to the great joy of the children who were happy to see their parents again after a separation. When the company helicopter took off for the capital, Romero sighed:
"What a heat! This year, it has been impossible for my wife and me to escape. Too many business meetings, too many receptions. Poor Clarisse, she complains of being suffocated and is in a hurry to see the little ones again. She would be here with us if she weren't so busy making preparations for her birthday party."
If the Romero hadn't had to do without their annual vacation at their villa on the island, they wouldn't have asked Etore, Clarisse's brother, to see how the acting nanny was doing with the children. They would then never have met and would not have fallen madly in love with each other. Now their romantic idyll was over. In a day or two, she would return to England because the nurse in charge of the twins was cured and was going to resume her post in Turgeau where, traditionally, are the wealthy families.
However, their beautiful story was not really over, the young woman had thought. Even though Etore hadn't talked about the future, she knew instinctively that he wanted to see her again before she left the island.