Fidelity (Infidelity #5)

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the guard. I did. I had. He wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. My concern was Vincent. Angelina’s cousin came to see me. He wouldn’t be deterred without accomplishing his goal.

Right before I reached for the dining room door, I turned back to Adelaide. Her expression was the one I described as plastic. I’d seen it many times in pictures and videos. Adelaide Montague had spent too many years perfecting the perfect shell. Her ability to mask her thoughts and feelings was one of her greatest defenses. It had been the times I’d broken through that mask that had melted my heart. Seeing the plastic smile in my home brought an ache to my soul. I didn’t ever want that expression, but right now it wasn’t meant for me. She too was intelligent. She knew something was happening even if she didn’t understand the particulars.

In three strides I was before her; squatting near her chair, I reached out to her knee. “Rest, please. Let Lennox help you upstairs. I know you can make it on your own. You can do anything you set your mind to. There has been a lot happening and discussed today. Now, rest.

“This doesn’t concern you or Alexandria,” I went on. “Let Lennox and I handle this. We can resume this conversation later.” I tilted my head toward the now-closed door, the one that if open would face toward the windows at the back of the house. “Besides, it’s getting dark.”

“Adelaide,” Silvia offered, “let me bring you some fresh soup upstairs.”

Deloris nodded as Lennox whispered something to Alexandria.

“Thank you, Silvia,” I said with a nod and a feigned smile. Had my lips actually curled upward or was it more of a grimace? I wasn’t sure.

Silvia’s gaze met mine. In her brown eyes was the understanding I wanted from everyone. That wasn’t possible. Understanding took a base of knowledge that only Silvia and I shared.

With a squeeze of Adelaide’s hand and a kiss to her cheek, I took a step in front of Paulie and pushed back the door. As soon as we cleared the threshold, he began to explain.

“Sir, I couldn’t—”

With the uplift of my hand, I stopped his words. I didn’t want to hear his apology or reasoning. It wasn’t necessary. Turning from the attached room toward the entry, our footsteps echoing upon the bleached wood floor announced our arrival. Vincent, Luca, and Eva turned our direction.

“Oren,” Vincent’s voice bellowed through the entry.

“Vincent…” I turned toward his son. “…and Luca, welcome.” Luca had matured since I’d seen him last. How long had that been?

“Well, you see,” Vincent said, “we weren’t sure how we’d be greeted. We weren’t invited.”

I reached out my hand and shook each of theirs, firm and solid, the same as they did in return. “You’re always welcome.” I looked to Eva, appreciating her fortitude as well as her medical skills.

Though she’d been in a verbal power match with her cousin, the head of the family, in that moment she reminded me more of my Angelina. There was nothing docile or submissive in her stance. Her arms were crossed over her breasts, neck straight, and lips held tightly together.

There were many things I could say about the Costellos, many issues I’d had, but how they respected and adored women wasn’t one of them. That was why Angelina could argue with Vincent when I couldn’t. She was one of them, as was Eva. Though their voices had been raised, there was no real hostility, simply a desire to be heard.

I doubted I’d be afforded the same concession.

“Eva,” I said, nodding toward her, “has been a tremendous help as I’m sure you understand.”

Vincent shook his head. “No, Oren, I don’t. We spoke, you and I, but I don’t really know what’s happening. When Luca here told me that Eva was staying with you, well, for her father’s sake, I offered to learn why.”

Eva huffed at the mention of her father. “My father could have called me.”

I smiled her direction. This wasn’t about her. She was his excuse. “Thank you, Eva. We seem good. Are you staying longer?”

“I want to check—”

“The patient,” I interjected, keeping Adelaide’s name out of the equation.

“Yes. And then I’ll decide.”

“Is someone ill?” Vincent asked. “Tell me it isn’t Lennox or Silvia.”

I shook my head. “It isn’t.” I extended my arm toward the long living room that separated the front door from the back hallway. “Please, come with me to the office. We can talk.”

Each step resonated in the silence as we crossed the floor. As we neared the door to the office, Luca spoke. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. It hasn’t changed.”

Though the sun had set, the lights near the pool deck were on. Beyond the pool and lawn, the sound appeared as black as ink, a span of nothingness bordered by a horizon of lights as across the water Long Island shone in all of its glory.

“It hasn’t changed, not much,” I agreed. “Not since Angelina left us… and then Jocelyn,” I added, realizing as I spoke that I rarely said or heard her name since her death. “As you know, I’m not here often.”

“Lennox?” Vincent asked.

My skin crawled at the sound of my son’s name on his lips.