Seduced by the Enemy

by Alyssa J. Montgomery

  ‘Firstly, I don’t believe there was any surrogacy contract—unless she was somehow tricked and taken advantage of. You Borghetti men would say or do anything to get your way but it won’t wash with me. Secondly, although I’m sure you have no understanding of the concept, we have moral rights.’

  Colour washed across her high cheekbones and her cornflower blue eyes lit with challenge.

  The morning sun had risen higher in the sky and now shone through the window behind her, illuminating her so she looked like some golden-haired avenging angel.

  Inferno, she was beautiful when she was all fired up like this.

  ‘Your money might buy you a lot of things, Mr Borghetti, but money can’t buy love and love is the most important thing in the world. You want our bone marrow and either of us would be prepared to give it in a heartbeat, but it doesn’t come without our love. After everything your family has taken from us, you have a moral right to grant us full access to Christiana.’

  He had to stick to the facts and not let this become personal. ‘Jane was well compensated for the role she played in Christiana’s birth. You’ll also be financially compensated, but you will not challenge me on this.’

  Her long-lashed eyes narrowed as she glared at him with resentment. ‘You’re an insufferable, insulting individual. You storm in here and degrade my sister’s memory—claiming she s-sold her child off like some … commodity on the stock exchange …’ Her voice broke and he watched her swallow as though she had a constriction in her throat.

  Cazzo! He didn’t want to stand here and argue with her when she was obviously emotionally vulnerable. He didn’t want to have to tarnish the memory of her sister, but he wasn’t responsible for her loss.

  ‘I’ve seen the contract. I’ve been told Jane threatened to go to the press and tell the story of her surrogacy. She demanded five million euro for her silence. My brother ended up paying her an extra two million to prevent her from going to the tabloids because—rightly or wrongly—he wanted Christiana to grow up believing his wife was her mother.’

  ‘Who told you these lies?’

  Merda. His confidence took a dive. ‘My father.’

  She threw her hands up in the air as she gave voice to a sound of disgusted disbelief and disdain spread across her features. ‘And you believed him?’

  It was a valid point and heat prickled across Luca’s skin. ‘My brother was there. He didn’t deny it.’

  But, merda, Antonio had never stood up to their father and hadn’t Luca sensed undercurrents of unease between the two men that day?

  ‘God, but you Borghetti men are such liars!’

  She’d given him a lot to think about but he wouldn’t be tarred with the same brush as his father. ‘Be very—’

  ‘Family was everything to Jane, and I know she wanted her child more than anything. Antonio was supposed to have filed for divorce. Your insinuation Jane was trying to blackmail the man she was going to marry is both ludicrous and foul. I won’t listen to you continually try to blacken her name.’

  Antonio may have been weak but he hadn’t been evil like their father, and the cheque had come from his bank account. ‘She was paid off, Olivia.’

  ‘Really? Then what the hell did she do with all the money?’

  It was a good question—one he didn’t have the answer to. Yet, he’d seen the bank statement—seen the transfer of the amount from Antonio’s account into Jane’s. ‘You said she died soon after Christiana’s birth?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then it must’ve been in her bank account.’

  A bitter smile had her mouth turning down at the corners. ‘Jane had very little in her account. What she had didn’t cover the cost of transporting her body back to Australia, let alone her funeral.’

  Could he believe her? ‘Money is easily traced.’

  ‘Then trace it!’ The fire was back in those blue eyes. ‘You obviously don’t believe me, so you find out where it went and try to prove your slanderous claims. I don’t believe there ever was any money.’

  They could argue like this back and forth but it wasn’t getting them any closer to securing her bone marrow. ‘Olivia—’

  ‘It’s probably useless to tell you to look into your brother’s filing for a divorce because after his behaviour, I believe he probably lied to Jane about even seeing his lawyer.’ She turned her back on him and paced away before turning back sharply again and continuing. ‘You can believe whatever you want about Jane and I can’t stop you, but know this—my mother and I will meet Christiana.’

  Luca didn’t deal well with opposition, particularly in this case, when he believed it went against Christiana’s best interests. He moved towards Olivia and used his height to try to intimidate her out of her unyielding stance. ‘I will find out what happened to the money. In the interim, the amount I’m offering to pay you for the bone marrow test will leave you very comfortable financially.’

  ‘Keep your filthy money, Borghetti,’ she told him forcibly. ‘My bone marrow isn’t for sale. I’ll only trade it for the opportunity to get to know Christiana and to have ongoing contact with her. ‘

  Chapter 4

  Incensed didn’t even come close to describing Luca’s rage the following morning as he paced the floor of his hotel suite and considered his position.

  In the context of all he knew, Olivia Temple’s demand was outrageous. Unthinkable! Yet, unless she was a very good liar, he could be convinced she’d had no idea about the true circumstances of Christiana’s birth.

  To him, it seemed likely Jane Temple had covered up the truth—pretending she and Antonio had a future together and a love relationship rather than admitting she’d signed up to be a surrogate mother. It followed she’d told her family Christiana had died rather than admit the truth, because nothing would make him buy the story that Antonio was about to leave his wife.

  Their father would never have allowed it.

  His father.

  Damiano Borghetti had been no father to him. The man epitomised everything in a father Luca never wanted to emulate. If anything, Luca was probably overprotective of Christiana now as he tried to be everything Damiano had never been to him.

  Luca pushed away the man’s image to concentrate on the problem at hand.

  Yesterday he’d argued against Olivia and her mother meeting Christiana. Jane Temple’s sister had asserted moral grounds.

  As much as he didn’t want to concede any ground, she had a point.

  If the situation was reversed, he’d insist on being a part of Christiana’s life. But, then, family was important to him—the protection of children was important to him. And, for all Olivia claimed she wanted to care for Christiana, how long would it be before she decided to return to Australia and how upsetting would her departure be for Christiana if the two formed a bond?

  But, the real point condemning Olivia in his eyes was that she was prepared to use her bone marrow as a bargaining chip.

  No decent human would hold out on donating life-saving bone marrow to a child.

  The last mouthful of his strong, black coffee was bitter and cold, rather like his encounter with Olivia. She might possess the looks of a blue-eyed angel but if she was anything like her sister, her soul might belong to the devil.

  He’d grill Damiano when he returned to Italy to see if he could work out whether there was any truth in Olivia’s claims. Right now, he didn’t have time to find out.

  Christiana didn’t have the time for him to find out. His niece needed a compatible bone marrow donor and it was up to Luca to make the Temple women provide a sample.

  Grabbing his dark grey suit jacket from the back of a nearby armchair, he strode towards the door of his hotel suite. Olivia wouldn’t be expecting another early morning visit. He’d catch her at a disadvantage, spell out the last financial terms he was prepared to offer, hustle her and tell her she had two hours to agree or he’d be on his way back to Rome and would accept no further contact from her. Faced with his terms for pa
yment or nothing, she may well fall over herself trying to sign on the dotted line. If she did, Christiana was better off without her in her life.

  ***

  Expecting Olivia to answer the door, Luca was unprepared when an elderly version of Olivia appeared.

  ‘Mr Borghetti. My goodness, you’re identical to Antonio.’ Rather than having the door slammed in his face, the woman opened it wider and ushered him inside out of the chilly, winter wind. ‘Come in. I’m Olivia’s mother, of course. Your news has come as quite a shock but I can’t tell you what it means to me to have the opportunity to meet Jane’s daughter.’ Her faded blue eyes burst with excitement as the words tripped from her lips. ‘Olivia said you have a photo of her. She said Christiana’s like Janie was at that age.’

  For the second time in as many days, he was at a distinct disadvantage. Mrs Temple obviously thought she was about to meet Christiana when nothing could be further from the truth.

  He cursed Olivia for having raised her expectations.

  ‘Is Olivia home?’ he asked, putting off having to be the one to disappoint Mrs Temple by telling her there wasn’t going to be a meeting anytime soon—if ever.

  ‘You’ve just missed her. She teaches a year six class at the local primary school, and she had to go in early today because she coaches the senior debating team. They’re competing in the state finals this evening,’ she told him proudly.

  A teacher. The revelation threw him.

  A successful, dedicated teacher by the sound of it.

  If she was a teacher, she must care about children. Although it would be easier for him to find she was cast from the same mould as her sister, he realised he had to fight against the prejudices he’d formed about the Temple women.

  You thinking badly of them because of Jane’s behaviour is no different from all the prejudices you faced in the business world. His conscience reminded him how he’d had to battle against his father’s reputation and prove he was different from Damiano.

  ‘Sorry you’ve caught me in my dressing gown. I had no idea you were calling in this morning. I’ll put the kettle on, then I’m longing to see the photo of Christiana.’

  ‘Mrs Temple …’

  ‘Please call me Marjorie.’

  ‘Marjorie,’ he said reluctantly, uneasy about losing formality between them, ‘has Olivia told you Christiana’s a very sick little girl?’

  The happy expression bleached from her face. ‘We’re both praying one of us will be a match. I can’t believe the Lord would take her away from us when we’ve only just found her. Not when we’ve already lost Jane and—’ her words caught on a slight sob, ‘—her father. Harold would’ve loved to have been able to bounce his grandchild on his knee.’

  ‘You lost your husband recently?’

  ‘Olivia didn’t tell you about Harold?’

  ‘No.’

  All her muscles seemed to weaken as she sank onto the couch and twisted the edges of her dressing gown belt in her fingers. ‘Olivia still blames herself. Harold had a massive heart attack straight after the phone call about Janie. Olivia tried to resuscitate him but there was nothing she could do.’

  Cazzo! He’d had no idea.

  Before he could begin to process the full flow-on ramifications of Jane’s death, Marjorie looked up at him and the wounded agony in her eyes hit him hard.

  ‘Olivia’s been through a dreadful ordeal. We both have been. But, she’s been my strength. She’s the only thing that’s kept me going.’ A hopeful light replaced the anguish in her eyes. ‘Now, I’ve got Christiana and I’m determined to start living life to the full again. I can’t believe she’s been alive all this time.’ She shook her head and frowned. ‘I don’t understand why Janie said she’d died.’

  ‘I …’

  ‘Please can I see the photo of Christiana?’

  How could he deny it? It didn’t really matter that Jane had lied to her family. This woman and her daughter had suffered incredible losses. The way he’d treated Olivia and his firm decision to deny her and her mother access to Christiana had been coloured by all he knew of Jane Temple and her dealings with Antonio. Cynical by nature, it was difficult for Luca to put those impressions aside, yet Olivia’s words taunted him.

  And you believed him? she’d accused when he’d admitted it’d been his father who’d blackened Jane’s name.

  Meeting Marjorie, he realised he had to start giving these women the benefit of the doubt and at least try to get to know them before he made a decision as to whether or not he’d allow them to meet Christiana.

  Testing Marjorie’s reaction he said, ‘I’m prepared to compensate you very well financially if—’

  ‘So Olivia said.’ She drew her shoulders back. ‘Young man, I know nothing of your world or your customs, but here in Australia, your offer to pay us for our bone marrow is extremely insulting. Christiana is my granddaughter and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. There’s nothing Olivia wouldn’t do for her.’

  ‘Olivia told me she wouldn’t—’

  ‘Olivia’s very angry with you. Yesterday afternoon when I arrived home, she was angrier than I’ve ever seen her. I don’t know exactly what was said between you but she’s far from kindly disposed to you. She blames your brother for Jane’s death.’

  ‘And you don’t?’

  All emotion was blanked out of her expression and she fixed her gaze on an object on the far side of the room. ‘I don’t know what to think. Jane loved your brother and spoke glowingly of him. I like to believe he loved her too, but he let her down when she needed him.’ She shook her head and her grief was so palpable he had to stop himself from reaching out to comfort her. ‘Before she left Australia, Jane had been in an emotionally abusive relationship. Olivia had no idea because she was away at university. By the time she stepped in to help Jane break away from her boyfriend, the young man had already started beating Jane.’

  Santo Cristo. Everything in Luca railed against violence, but it also struck him how Marjorie spoke about Olivia stepping in. Why hadn’t the parents helped their daughter?

  ‘Jane was emotionally vulnerable when she arrived in Italy but the tone of her letters and telephone calls changed after she met your brother. She was so happy and couldn’t believe Antonio loved her despite her disability.’

  ‘I’m sorry. I don’t know any of this. How was she disabled?’

  ‘She was born with congenital talipes or clubfoot. She had several surgeries to correct it and it did improve, but it was severe and I don’t think the surgeon we saw did a good job …’ She shrugged her shoulders and looked defeated. ‘It was never completely fixed, so she continued to walk awkwardly.’

  Luca struggled to reconcile his brother’s involvement with Jane. Antonio had been a renowned playboy before their father had ordered him to settle down and marry Lavinia Kalemi. He’d had his pick of supermodels—perfect ten women always hanging from his arm. That he’d become involved with a woman with an obvious disability added another layer of disbelief to what Jane Temple had apparently told her family. But, then again, Luca found it hard to reconcile that Antonio had chosen Jane to be a surrogate mother.

  ‘When Jane discovered Antonio was married she was heartbroken, but he promised he’d leave his wife despite your father’s opposition to their divorce.’ Faded blue eyes met his. ‘Jane did the wrong thing. Christiana wasn’t planned. Jane fell pregnant knowing Antonio’s wife was infertile and hoping the child would give Antonio the strength he needed to stand up to your father and file for divorce.’

  Madre de Dios. This was another new take on Jane’s pregnancy. It appeared Jane’s mother had also been in the dark about the surrogacy arrangement. ‘You truly believe that’s what happened?’

  ‘Absolutely, but I’ve never told Olivia what Jane did. She’s always thought it was an accidental pregnancy and I let her go on thinking it because I knew she’d disapprove of Janie’s actions and I didn’t want her to think badly of the little sister she’d always loved so muc
h.’ She wrung her hands in her lap. ‘Anyway, when Antonio found out about the baby, he plucked up the courage to introduce Jane to your father. He told your father Jane was pregnant and that he’d spoken to his lawyer about getting a divorce.

  ‘Your father was livid. Apparently, he was highly insulting to Jane. He said he didn’t care how much Antonio thought he loved her, he needed to think beyond himself and there was no way a ‘cripple’ would ever marry into the Borghetti family.’

  God, but Luca could imagine that would be Damiano’s reaction. The unlikely story started to seem more likely. ‘If that’s true, I’m sorry. My father is a bigoted, callous old man.’

  ‘Your father didn’t care your brother was stuck in a loveless marriage. Jane said your father only cared about the business ties he had with Antonio’s wife’s family. He told Jane she had to have an abortion and he threatened to destroy your brother if Antonio filed for divorce.’

  A leaden weight dropped into Luca’s chest. He began having real doubts about all he’d been told by his father about Jane. Antonio definitely hadn’t loved his wife. If he’d fallen in love with Jane, despite her disability, then Luca had a new-found respect for his brother. Yet, the surrogacy documents and bank transfer he’d found in Antonio’s personal paperwork backed up Damiano’s version of events.

  Unless … His father was corrupt and manipulative. Could he have doctored the truth to cover up Antonio’s love affair and bullied his brother to such a degree Antonio had gone along with the surrogacy story?

  Cautioning himself not to let his imagination run riot, he stuck to the hard, solid proof he’d found. ‘I’ve seen papers Jane signed agreeing to be a surrogate mother for my brother and his wife,’ Luca said firmly, but as gently as he could. ‘I’ve seen the bank transaction.’

  Marjorie’s lips thinned. ‘I don’t know what you think you’ve seen, Mr Borghetti. I know neither of my daughters would ever be prepared to give up their child.’

  Luca’s back teeth ground together. As much as he had no wish to see his father, it looked as though he’d have to pay the old man a visit as soon as he returned to Rome.