Chapter 5 - THE NIGHT GIOVANNI MET LILY
Giovanni’s car reached my building in eleven minutes.
I knew because I watched every second on the dashboard clock.
Camila sat in front.
Giovanni sat beside me.
Neither tried to make conversation.
When the car stopped, I was out before the driver completely opened my door.
Two police vehicles were already outside.
My heart climbed into my throat.
“Why are police here?”
“Mrs. Alvarez called them,” Camila said.
I ran inside.
Tyler stood in the lobby with one officer.
Another officer was speaking to Mrs. Alvarez.
Lily was in her arms.
My daughter saw me.
“Mommy!”
Everything else disappeared.
I dropped to my knees.
She ran into me.
I held her so tightly she squeaked.
“Mom.”
“Sorry.”
I loosened my arms.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded.
Her dark curls were messy from sleep.
She wore pink pajamas covered in tiny dinosaurs.
Her stuffed rabbit hung from one hand.
“Daddy was mad.”
I closed my eyes.
“I know.”
“He wanted your papers.”
“I know.”
“Mrs. Alvarez said grown-ups can wait when kids are sleeping.”
Despite everything, I smiled.
“Mrs. Alvarez is very smart.”
Then Lily noticed Giovanni.
She leaned around me.
“Who’s that?”
Giovanni had stopped several feet away.
For the first time that night, he looked uncertain.
I almost enjoyed it.
“That’s Giovanni.”
Lily studied him.
“Is he a policeman?”
“No.”
“Doctor?”
“No.”
“Does he fix sinks?”
Giovanni blinked.
I laughed.
Mrs. Alvarez laughed.
Even one officer smiled.
Giovanni crouched slightly so he was closer to Lily’s height.
“No.”
Lily frowned.
“Then what do you do?”
He considered the question with ridiculous seriousness.
“I solve problems.”
Lily immediately pointed toward the elevator.
“Our kitchen light blinks.”
Giovanni glanced at me.
“I walked into that.”
“Yes, you did.”
Tyler’s voice cut across the lobby.
“Can we stop pretending this is funny?”
Lily stiffened.
My smile disappeared.
I stood and moved her behind me.
Tyler looked at Giovanni.
“What is he doing here?”
I stared at him.
“You went to my apartment while our daughter was sleeping.”
“Our apartment.”
The words hung there.
I felt Giovanni go still.
I said, “Excuse me?”
Tyler realized his mistake.
“I meant the building.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You said our apartment.”
The officer looked between us.
Tyler exhaled.
“I own the building.”
Mrs. Alvarez’s mouth fell open.
I already knew.
Hearing him admit it still felt like being slapped.
“How long?”
“That isn’t relevant.”
“How long?”
“Three years.”
Mrs. Alvarez muttered something in Spanish that required no translation.
I asked, “Why did you hide it?”
“I didn’t hide anything.”
“Your ownership company is called Lake Cedar Residential.”
“That’s standard.”
“You raised my rent.”
“Market rates changed.”
“You raised it six hundred dollars in three years.”
“Again, market rates.”
“You knew I was working double shifts.”
“That has nothing to do with property management.”
“You mocked me tonight for barely paying bills that you helped create.”
The police officer cleared his throat.
“Ma’am, this sounds like a civil matter.”
“I understand.”
I looked at Tyler.
“But entering my apartment is not.”
“I’m the property owner.”
“You cannot enter whenever you feel like it.”
“I had reason to believe documents belonging to me were inside.”
“Which documents?”
He hesitated.
Exactly long enough.
Giovanni spoke.
“Perhaps the lease.”
Tyler glared at him.
“This has nothing to do with you.”
“Then stop making it interesting.”
Tyler looked at the officer.
“I want him removed from my property.”
Giovanni reached into his jacket.
Camila calmly handed something to the officer before Tyler could react.
The officer read the card.
His posture changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
“Mr. Fierro.”
“Officer.”
Tyler looked furious.
“He’s trespassing.”
Giovanni looked at me.
“Am I?”
“You’re my guest.”
“There.”
His eyes returned to Tyler.
“Problem solved.”
Lily tugged my dress.
“Mommy?”
I bent down.
“Yes?”
“I’m tired.”
That ended the argument.
I picked her up.
She immediately laid her head on my shoulder.
The officer told Tyler to leave for the night.
Tyler tried to argue.
The second officer stepped closer.
Tyler finally walked outside.
Before leaving, he turned toward me.
His expression was frighteningly calm.
“Jess.”
I waited.
“You have no idea what you’re interfering with.”
Giovanni answered.
“She understands enough.”
Tyler looked at him.
“This isn’t your fight.”
Giovanni’s face became unreadable.
“You involved a five-year-old.”
Something in his voice made Tyler stop.
Then he left.
Upstairs, my apartment looked untouched.
I checked every room anyway.
One bedroom.
One bathroom.
A small kitchen.
A living room filled with Lily’s drawings.
Giovanni entered behind me and looked around.
I suddenly felt embarrassed.
That reaction angered me.
“This is it.”
He looked at me.
“What?”
“My glamorous life.”
“I did not say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
His gaze moved toward a drawing taped beside the refrigerator.
A purple house.
Two stick figures.
One tall.
One small.
A yellow sun occupying half the page.
“It looks like a home.”
I stopped.
Tyler always called it an apartment.
A tiny apartment.
A temporary place.
A place that represented everything I had failed to achieve.
Giovanni called it a home.
Lily lifted her head.
“I drew that.”
He walked toward the picture.
“You forgot windows.”
She gasped.
“I did not.”
She pointed.
Tiny blue rectangles were almost hidden beneath the purple crayon.
Giovanni nodded gravely.
“My mistake.”
“You need glasses.”
“I have been told worse.”
Lily smiled.
Five minutes later, she was asleep in my bed.
Mrs. Alvarez went downstairs after making me promise to call if I needed anything.
Camila checked the door locks.
Giovanni stood in my kitchen while I searched a drawer for the lease.
I found it beneath Lily’s preschool paperwork.
“Here.”
Giovanni took the papers but did not read immediately.
“What?”
“You should call an attorney.”
“You keep saying that like attorneys are free.”
“I will pay.”
“No.”
“Jessica.”
“No.”
His jaw tightened.
“I am not charity.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“I don’t want anyone owning my choices.”
He watched me.
“Is that what help means to you?”
“Sometimes.”
“Because Tyler made it mean that.”
The words hit too accurately.
I looked away.
Giovanni placed the lease on the counter.
“Then I won’t pay.”
“Thank you.”
“My attorney can recommend someone who works on contingency if money was improperly taken.”
“That’s different.”
“I know.”
I glanced at him.
“You’re annoyingly reasonable.”
“I practice.”
He opened the lease.
His eyes moved quickly.
Then stopped.
“What?”
He turned to the signature page.
My signature was there.
So was Tyler’s.
I frowned.
“He signed as managing representative.”
“Yes.”
“What am I missing?”
“The date.”
I looked.
Three years earlier.
“Okay.”
Giovanni reached for another document Camila had printed in the car.
It was a corporate filing.
He pointed at Lake Cedar Residential’s acquisition date.
Four months after my lease began.
“So?”
“This company did not own the building when you signed this lease.”
My skin prickled.
“Maybe he acquired it later.”
“He did.”
“Then why is his signature on my original lease?”
I looked again.
The answer was impossible.
Unless the lease I had was not original.
“I signed a different lease.”
Giovanni nodded.
“Do you remember the landlord?”
“Mr. Patel.”
“Was Tyler’s signature anywhere on your copy?”
“No.”
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
I remembered signing at the kitchen table.
Mr. Patel had given Lily a cookie.
He had written his phone number on the refrigerator magnet.
“Then somebody replaced your lease.”
“Why?”
Camila entered from the hall.
“Because the revised version contains a waiver.”
“What waiver?”
Giovanni turned the page.
I read the paragraph.
It was buried in legal language.
I understood only part of it.
Giovanni explained.
“It says any equity contribution associated with the property may be considered rent reimbursement.”
“I never made an equity contribution.”
His eyes lifted.
“Tyler may claim you did.”
“With what money?”
“The investment he hid during your marriage.”
My mouth went dry.
“He used my money to buy the building.”
“Possibly.”
“Then charged me rent to live in it.”
“Possibly.”
“And now he forged a document saying I agreed.”
Giovanni did not answer.
He did not need to.
A small voice came from the bedroom hallway.
“Mommy?”
I turned.
Lily stood there rubbing one eye.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
“I had a bad dream.”
I crossed the room.
She lifted her arms.
I picked her up.
She looked over my shoulder at Giovanni.
“Are you still solving the problem?”
He looked at the papers.
Then at her.
“Yes.”
Lily yawned.
“Good.”
She rested her cheek against me.
“Mommy needs help sometimes.”
My throat tightened.
Giovanni’s expression softened.
“So does everybody.”
Lily considered that.
Then she pointed toward him sleepily.
“You can sleep on the couch.”
I nearly choked.
Giovanni raised an eyebrow.
“Can I?”
“No,” I said.
Lily frowned.
“Why?”
“Because Giovanni has a home.”
“Is it far?”
“No.”
“Does his kitchen light blink?”
He looked at me.
“I sincerely hope not.”
Lily finally let me carry her back to bed.
When I returned, Giovanni was standing by the window.
Chicago lights reflected against the glass.
“I should go,” he said.
I nodded.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His entire posture changed.
“Say that again.”
I waited.
He looked at me.
“When was it filed?”
Another pause.
“Send the complaint to my phone.”
He ended the call.
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Tyler filed an emergency petition.”
“For what?”
May you like
Giovanni’s eyes were cold now.
“Temporary custody of Lily.”
