Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN WHO RAN AWAYMariana was found four hours later at a ferry terminal near the Seattle waterfront.
She was weak, frightened, and still wearing a hospital bracelet beneath an oversized coat.
She refused to return to Vance Harbor.
Instead, she asked police to take her to another hospital.
Then she requested an attorney.
By afternoon, investigators arrived at my ICU room.
Rachel remained beside me.
I told them everything.
The blood transfer.
The admission alias.
Luca’s affair.
The video.
The authorization code.
The SUV.
For the first time, the story no longer belonged to Luca.
It belonged to evidence.
That evening, Detective Aaron Blake delivered an unexpected message.
Mariana wanted to speak with me.
Rachel objected.
I accepted.
The meeting happened by secure video.
Mariana appeared pale and exhausted.
For years, I had imagined confronting her.
I had expected rage.
Instead, I felt almost nothing.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“For which part?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“All of it.”
She admitted the affair had resumed ten months earlier.
The pregnancy was Luca’s.
But the secret surgery had not been planned.
She had begun hemorrhaging after a pregnancy complication.
Luca brought her through the private entrance to prevent hospital staff from discovering their relationship.
Then my accident happened.
“He panicked,” Mariana whispered.
“He told me he could save both of us.”
“By taking blood from me?”
“He said you were stable.”
“I wasn’t.”
“I know that now.”
Then I asked about the message on the mirror.
Mariana looked toward someone outside the camera.
“Luca told me something the week before your accident.”
“What?”
“He said your marriage had become an obstacle.”
My breathing slowed.
“An obstacle to what?”
“His future.”
May you like
Mariana began crying.
“He said everything would be easier soon.”
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