Chapter 2 - The Man in the Rain
“Which one is your husband?” Luca asked.
The rain ran from his silver-dark hair onto the collar of his black overcoat, but he did not seem to notice the cold.
He was looking only at me.
More specifically, he was looking at the blood drying at the corner of my mouth, the swelling near my temple, and the tear in my bridesmaid dress where my knee had struck the stones.
Behind him, four black vehicles idled along the country club drive. Men in dark suits had stepped out of the other cars, though none approached without being summoned.
That was how Luca’s world worked.
Danger waited at a respectful distance until he gave it permission to move.
I had forgotten how terrifying that could be.
I had also forgotten how safe it once made me feel.
“Luca,” I whispered, “I didn’t call you to hurt him.”
His gaze remained fixed on the glass doors.
“I asked which one he is.”
“Please.”
Only then did he look back at me.
His face had changed since I last saw him. There were deeper lines beside his mouth, a thin scar near his right eyebrow, and gray beginning at his temples. But his eyes were the same.
Dark.
Patient.
Furious in a way that did not require movement.
“I will not touch anyone you do not ask me to touch,” he said. “Now tell me which man put blood in your mouth.”
Through the rain-streaked glass, I saw Richard standing beside my father near the bar.
He had one hand resting on Dad’s shoulder. He was speaking with the compassionate seriousness he used whenever he wanted to establish himself as the only reliable witness.
Mom stood nearby, holding my coat.
Chloe had left the dance floor.
Her bouquet lay abandoned on a table.
Richard was telling them something.
Even from outside, I could predict the words.
Nebula disappeared.
Nebula had been emotional all day.
Nebula might have had something to drink before the ceremony.
Nebula was embarrassed about causing a scene.
My family would be worried.
Then relieved when Richard offered to take me home.
He would transform himself into the solution before I could name him as the danger.
“The man beside my father,” I said. “Black tuxedo. Blue pocket square.”
Luca saw him.
His jaw tightened once.
Then he removed his coat and placed it around my shoulders.
The fabric was warm from his body and heavy enough to cover the torn dress.
“You are coming with me.”
“I can’t just disappear.”
“You called me to come get you.”
“My sister’s wedding—”
“Will continue.”
“My parents will think—”
“Your parents are currently listening to the man who hit you.”
The truth cut through every excuse.
Luca glanced at one of his men.
“Marco.”
A broad man with close-cropped dark hair approached immediately.
“Bring Dr. Russo to the car,” Luca said. “Tell Elena to prepare the guest suite.”
Marco’s attention flickered toward my face. His expression hardened, but he said only, “Yes, sir.”
“Luca, I need my purse. My identification is inside.”
“You have your phone?”
“Yes.”
“Keys?”
“In the purse.”
“You do not need keys to a house you are not returning to tonight.”
The patio door opened.
Warm light spilled across the wet stones.
Richard stepped outside.
His face changed when he saw Luca.
The transformation was small but unmistakable. Richard knew who he was.
Almost everyone in Columbus’s wealthier circles knew the Moretti name, though Luca operated mostly in Chicago and New York now. Richard had once made a joke at dinner about “old-world criminals who bought respectability through real estate.”
I remembered telling him not to speak so casually about people he did not understand.
Now he understood.
“Nebula,” Richard said carefully, “come inside.”
Luca moved half a step in front of me.
Richard’s gaze dropped to the coat around my shoulders.
“This is a family matter.”
“No,” Luca replied. “A family matter is an argument over seating arrangements. This is an injured woman asking to leave.”
Richard smiled faintly.
The expression was meant for witnesses.
“She fell.”
Luca looked at the brick wall, then at the blood on my mouth.
“Did the wall close its fist?”
Richard’s eyes sharpened.
“She has been drinking.”
“I have not,” I said.
He ignored me.
That was another technique.
Speak around the woman until she began doubting whether her voice entered the room at all.
Richard addressed Luca.
“My wife has a history of emotional episodes. She becomes confused when she feels overlooked.”
Luca turned toward me.
“Are you confused?”
“No.”
“Do you know where you are?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to leave with him?”
Richard answered before I could.
“She needs to come home.”
Luca’s voice became colder.
“I asked her.”
I looked at Richard.
For three years, I had lived by calculating what happened after every refusal.
If I contradicted him publicly, he punished me privately.
If I left the room, he followed.
If I called someone, he read the message history.
Even now, with Luca standing between us and five cars waiting, my body expected consequences.
Richard saw the hesitation and mistook it for control.
He held out his hand.
“Come on, darling. Everyone is worried. We can discuss this privately.”
The patio door opened wider.
My parents stepped outside.
Chloe followed, still wearing her wedding gown.
“What is happening?” Mom asked.
Richard turned immediately.
“Nebula called an old acquaintance after she fell. I’m trying to calm her down.”
Dad looked at me.
His face drained of color when he saw the blood.
“Oh my God.”
Chloe lifted her dress and hurried toward me.
“Neb, are you hurt?”
Richard moved to block her.
“She’s fine.”
“I asked Nebula.”
My sister looked directly at me.
I wanted to tell her.
Instead, the old reflex tightened my throat.
Richard’s hand lowered to my thigh beneath the table.
Smile, darling.
Five minutes.
We both know what happens when we go home angry.
Luca did not push me.
He simply stood there, creating a space where my answer could exist.
“Richard hit me,” I said.
The words entered the rain.
My mother froze.
Dad’s mouth opened.
Chloe looked from me to Richard.
He laughed softly, as if I had made an unfortunate accusation during a misunderstanding.
“She slipped. I tried to catch her.”
“You were inside,” Chloe said.
Richard turned toward her.
“What?”
“I saw you come back through the side door alone. You told Dad she was in the restroom.”
Richard’s expression hardened.
Only for a second.
Then he looked wounded.
“You are taking her word over mine?”
“I’m asking what happened.”
“She was upset about the wedding.”
Chloe stared at him.
“Why would she be upset about my wedding?”
“You know how she gets when attention shifts away from her.”
The lie was too cruel.
Too familiar.
My mother’s eyes moved toward me.
“Is that true?”
I almost laughed.
My lip split again instead.
Luca spoke without looking away from Richard.
“Ask your daughter why her husband is answering every question directed at her.”
No one moved.
Richard’s voice lowered.
“Nebula, get in the car.”
“No.”
His eyes found mine.
Everything inside them promised punishment.
“What did you say?”
“I said no.”
The word shook.
It still existed.
Richard stepped toward me.
Three of Luca’s men moved at once.
Not dramatically.
One shift.
One hand near a jacket.
One body positioned between Richard and the driveway.
Luca raised two fingers, and they stopped.
“I promised her I would not hurt you unless she asked,” he said. “Do not make keeping that promise difficult.”
My father finally moved.
He stepped between Richard and me.
“I want to see the security footage,” Dad said.
Richard blinked.
“What footage?”
“The country club has cameras outside.”
For the first time, genuine fear entered his face.
He looked toward the small black dome mounted beneath the patio awning.
I had never noticed it.
Richard had.
He recovered quickly.
“The rain probably obscured everything.”
“We’ll find out,” Chloe said.
Richard turned toward the door.
“I am not participating in this circus.”
He reached for the handle.
Luca spoke quietly.
“If you leave before the footage is preserved, it will look unfortunate.”
Richard stopped.
“Is that a threat?”
“It is advice from a man who understands evidence.”
Sirens sounded in the distance.
I looked at Luca.
“You called the police?”
“No.”
Chloe raised her phone.
“I did.”
Richard’s head snapped toward her.
“You have no idea what you’re doing.”
“I know my sister is bleeding.”
The first patrol car entered the drive.
Then another.
Richard straightened his jacket and became the man officers had believed before.
He arranged concern across his face.
He stepped toward them with open hands.
“My wife fell and became disoriented. She contacted someone from her past. I am worried the situation is escalating.”
The officers looked toward Luca’s vehicles.
Then toward me.
One of them recognized Richard.
“Mr. Trent?”
“Yes. We met at the hospital foundation dinner.”
Of course they had.
Richard donated enough money to make uniforms smile at him.
The second officer, a woman named Officer Ramirez, came directly to me.
“Ma’am, do you need medical assistance?”
“Yes,” Luca said.
She looked at him.
Then back at me.
I answered for myself.
“Yes.”
“Did your husband cause your injuries?”
Richard stepped forward.
“She fell.”
Officer Ramirez held up one hand.
“I asked her.”
I swallowed.
“Yes. He hit me.”
Richard exhaled dramatically.
“She has made allegations during episodes before.”
Officer Ramirez examined my face.
“Do you feel safe going home with him?”
“No.”
The answer came faster this time.
Richard’s composure cracked.
“Nebula.”
Luca moved closer without touching me.
The officer noticed.
“Who is this man?”
“Luca Moretti,” I said. “I called him to get me.”
“Why him?”
Because the police had left me before.
Because my family adored Richard.
Because I had no friends Richard had not isolated.
Because Luca was the only person whose fear of losing me had once been stronger than his fear of scandal.
“He answered,” I said.
Officer Ramirez nodded as if that were enough for the moment.
The country club manager arrived carrying a tablet.
“We preserved the patio cameras,” he said. “The angle covers the door and the north wall.”
Richard looked toward the driveway.
One of the male officers stepped in front of him.
“Please remain here, sir.”
The manager played the footage.
There was no sound.
There did not need to be.
The video showed me walking outside alone.
Richard following.
His body blocking the camera for several seconds.
Then his arm moving.
My head striking the wall.
My body falling.
Richard standing over me.
Adjusting his cuffs.
Leaving.
The officer who knew him from the hospital foundation stopped smiling.
Richard’s attorney had not yet arrived.
His money had not yet organized the story.
For one clear minute, the truth stood alone.
Officer Ramirez turned him around and placed him in handcuffs.
My mother gasped.
Dad looked as though someone had removed the ground beneath him.
Chloe began crying.
Richard looked only at me.
“You will regret this,” he said.
Luca’s face went still.
Officer Ramirez tightened her grip.
“Do not address her again.”
Richard was led toward the patrol car.
As he passed Luca, he smiled.
Not because he was unafraid.
Because he believed he still possessed something we did not understand.
“You think you rescued her?” Richard said. “Ask Nebula what she signed last Tuesday.”
Then he was placed inside the car.
I stared after him.
Last Tuesday.
Richard had brought documents home from the architecture firm. He said they concerned tax planning and hospital donations. He marked the signature lines with yellow tabs.
I had signed them while he stood behind me.
My stomach tightened.
Luca looked at me.
“What did you sign?”
“I don’t know.”
His expression did not accuse me.
That somehow made the fear worse.
Inside the ballroom, the wedding cake remained uncut.
May you like
Outside, my husband had just been arrested.
And somewhere in the respectable suburban life I was refusing to return to, a document carried my name beneath words Richard had never allowed me to read.
