Chapter 5 - A Father’s Debt
When Grace opened her eyes, the afternoon sun was casting warm, golden rays across the white duvet. The sharp cramps in her stomach had subsided. A gentle thumping sound rhythmically echoed in the room.
It was the baby monitor. Her daughter’s heartbeat was steady, strong, and rapid.
Tears of relief spilled down Grace’s cheeks. She rested her hands over her belly, whispering a prayer of thanks.
“She has a strong heart,” a deep voice spoke from the corner.
Grace startled, pulling the blanket up to her chin. Vincent was sitting in an armchair near the window. He was no longer wearing his heavy overcoat. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing faint silver scars along his forearms, but his posture was respectful, sitting several paces away so as not to crowd her.
“The doctors told me the baby is out of danger,” Grace said, her voice raspy. “They said someone paid for everything. The room, the medicine, the doctors. Was it you?”
“Yes,” Vincent said.
“I can’t pay you back,” Grace said immediately, her defenses springing up like iron walls. Life had taught her that nothing in this world came without a hidden cost. “I clean offices at six dollars above minimum wage. I don’t have collateral. If you expect something from me—”
“Grace,” Vincent interrupted gently. “You don't owe me a single penny. Not now. Not ever.”
Grace frowned, looking at him closely. “Why are you doing this, Mr. Caruso? Because you knew my mother?”
Vincent stood up slowly. He reached into his pocket and placed two objects on her bedside table.
The first was the silver pendant she had worn around her neck. The second was an identical pendant, made of worn sterling silver, engraved with the same initials: *V & R.*
Grace’s breath froze in her lungs.
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“Your mother didn’t find that pendant in an antique shop,” Vincent said, his voice cracking with emotion. “I gave it to her the night I asked her to marry me. Twenty-nine years ago.”
***
