Page 17 of A Life Chosen

“Notre Dame Hospital,” Mathias instructed as he pulled open the passenger door and got in. He needed time to think. He couldn’t focus on anything, his mind buckling, refusing to cooperate.

His second got in behind the wheel, glancing over at him before slamming the door and putting the keys in the ignition. The drive to the hospital took an eternity, Rayan navigating the car through the city as it filled with midday traffic. But Mathias barely noticed.

His father was dead. He wondered why that information was so difficult to comprehend. He’d been expecting the news for weeks, confident about how little it meant to him.

So what the fuck is happening?Mathias didn’t even know why he was going to the hospital. For one last look? Physical evidence that the man was gone from this world?

Mathias felt a sharp pain in his chest, and his hand shot out, clutching the dash to steady himself. There were so many things he’d wanted to tell the old man. How badly he’d fucked him up, for one. How much of his life he’d devoted to the pursuit of being better—or rather, being nothing like his father at all. Instead, he saw it unraveling, sacrifices that amounted to nothing. A man who hadn’t cared then sure as hell didn’t care now.

It was as though he was being wrenched open, the pathetic little boy clawing his way out, spilling with need, none of the usual tricks working to subdue him. Mathias was so much more than this, but at the moment, it was all of him.

A hand gripped his shoulder. When Mathias looked up, Rayan’s face was lined with concern. “What’s going on? Are you sick?”

Shaking his head, he brushed away the man’s hand, turning to stare out the window as the streets flashed past.

Rayan pulled into the hospital parking deck. Cars were packed into every available spot. They drove from one level to the next, Rayan muttering a string of curses until finally, on the top level, he maneuvered the Mercedes into an uncovered space. Mathias got out and headed to the garage elevator as the clouds darkened inthe sky. He was barely aware of Rayan one step behind, following him through the sliding doors to the hospital reception.

“Federico Mancini,” he said to the receptionist once they were within earshot. The woman looked up, startled.

“I’m sorry, but you are…?”

Mathias stopped then as though his life was encapsulated in that question. There was no good answer.

“His son,” he said finally, the word ringing false.

The woman glanced at her computer, typing away, before giving him a long look. “I’m sorry, sir, but Mr. Mancini passed away this morning.”

Mathias gripped the desk. “I know that,” he said, his voice curling viciously. “I’m here to see him.”

The woman blinked, recoiling, then glanced back to check the screen. “He’s in the C Wing, ninth floor, room 908. He should be there for another hour or so until they move him.”

Mathias didn’t stop to thank her. Instead he turned and headed for the elevator.

As they waited, Rayan spoke softly. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Mathias countered, looking straight ahead at the illuminated arrow on the wall.

His second fell silent. They rode the elevator through the chaos of the hospital, visitors and medical personnel stepping in and out with each lurching stop. On the ninth floor, they walked through a series of automated doors, the hollow sound of their footsteps projected down the hallway. As they approached the room, Mathias could hear Sofia’s thin wailing voice. He stiffened. In the fog of haste, he hadn’t considered that his father’s family would be there. Mathias wondered who had told his mother. Sofia would have done everything in her power to ensure that Marguerite had not been informed of his father’s death. But Mathias knew one thing—his mother had her ways.

They rounded the corner, and Sofia appeared, wrapped in the arms of Freddie Junior, a doctor in a white coat standing to one side. The door to the room behind them was shut, but Mathias could see the number clearly: 908. Sofia looked up as he approached, her reddened eyes widening.

She pulled away from her son and pointed directly at him. “How dare you come here!”

Her shriek echoed through the empty hallway, causing the doctor and a passing nurse to glance up in alarm. Mathias watched Freddie tense beside her.

“Get out!” his half brother spat.

“I want to see him,” Mathias said, his voice sounding dull even to his own ears. The doubt he’d felt at the reception desk reared again. He was unaccustomed to this paralysis. The pain in his chest returned.

But Sofia advanced, blocking him from moving any farther down the hallway. “I hope you know he left everything to us—his wife and children,” she said pointedly. “You and that woman aren’t even mentioned in the will.”

“You’re not welcome here,” Freddie snapped. “You need to leave.”

“Careful,” Rayan warned sharply, stepping forward, and the man visibly shrank.

None of the usual fury burst forth. Mathias was tired of fighting for something he would never have.

The doctor held up his hands, watching them with concern. “What’s the problem here? Family are allowed to see him before he’s moved. Are you family?”

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