Beneath Her Bastard Boss

Chapter 136

Chapter 136

The surgical waiting room was quiet again now, save for the occasional shuffle of a nurse’s sneakers passing by the open door. Keira was curled in a chair cradling a cup of coffee. Luca figured it would be stone cold by now. Blair sat cross–legged by the window, thumbing through a magazine on her lap, but the way she wasn’t spending any time on each page, he doubted she was even reading it.

Roman sat beside her, his hand rubbing up and down her back as he checked his watch again.

Luca’s phone buzzed in his lap.

Nick De Santis’s name showed on the screen. Luca stared at it for a beat, thumb hesitating above the screen..

Of all the moments for his father to call!

For one brief second, he thought about letting it ring out, telling himself he would call back later. After Sutton woke up. After he saw the baby. After he knew they would both be okay.

But it wasn’t just Sutton lying unconscious in recovery. He still hadn’t been allowed to see her.

It was also Nick’s grandson in that NICU.

And if–God willing… Sutton didn’t hate him when this was all over, maybe Nick’s daughter–in–law too.

He swiped to answer.

“Ciao, Papa.”

“Luca,” Nick’s voice sounded clearer than expected.

Luca closed his eyes briefly and leaned forward in the chair.

He was bracing himself to tell his father what had happened, but before he could speak, his father went on.

“We are here. At JFK. Just landed.”

Luca’s eyes snapped open. “Wait. What?”

Antonio’s voice piped in faintly in the background. “We’re still waiting on Bella’s suitcase… they lost it.”

“We?” Luca said, chest already tightening.

Nick grunted. “Yes, we… your brother, Bella, and me. We came to meet Sutton. Your fiancée. We wanted to surprise you.”

Luca didn’t speak for a full second. Sutton wasn’t his fiancée yet.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, inhaled through gritted teeth.

“Papa, why the hell would you travel all the way here without telling me? You had a heart attack a few months ago.”

Nick gave an exhausted sigh, the kind built exclusively by disappointment carried over multiple generations. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not supposed to be flying yet.”

The doctor cleared me for travel. I figured it was time

Luca winced.

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Chapter 136

dismissiveness, the tight line of his mouth

chosen.’

worth,” Nick added, “I don’t trust a woman who runs.

Luca’s stomach rolled.

whispered, voice

“What?”

“She’s in the hospital.”

Silence.

cyclist hit her. She fell, and they rushed her here. She had to have emergency

saying?” Nick’s voice dropped, quieter but more

Sutton’s stable now. The baby’s in the NICU. He came early. Not even thirty weeks. They both

Bella’s voice now clear in the background.

Luca murmured, though he was anything but calm. “We’re at Lenox Hill. I’ll

forty–four minutes. We have Bella’s case now, but we would have left it had it

ended the call, staring down at the phone like it had caught

over. “Your father is

“They’re on their

“You okay?”

honestly. “No, I’m

forty–five minutes later when Luca stepped into the lobby and spotted the three of them moving through the revolving door, which meant he’d

on the handle of his cane was firm. His tailored suit jacket was a size too big now. The doctors had told him to lose weight after his surgery. But he still held the air of a noble Italian with a long family tree that made him proud. Seeing

the tiled

sized him up, one brow slightly arched. “You don’t look

really

any more before pulling Luca forward and resting

say anything about Luca loving Sutton—maybe because, during their last conversation, Luca had claimed he was marrying her for the child, not for love.

found out.

have it in him

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Chapter 136

all of them silent… until Nick suddenly slowed. Luca turned to see why his father was slowing

of pain crossed his aging face. Then he pressed his hand into his chest harder. He

“Dad?” Antonio asked.

he brought his other hand up to his chest. The cane he had been holding

in two strides; Antonio moved as well. Bella

on!” Luca felt

Antonio caught him under the arms before he could hit the

a gurney–now!” Luca shouted to whoever would listen. His voice cut across space,

“What happened?” Someone asked.

didn’t answer; instead, he yelled out. “We need help now.” He