She’d never met her father, but she did have a vague memory of a dark-haired man with a beard, cuddling her. Was he her father?Unknownappeared in the line for father on her birth certificate. All the while she was at the convent, there was nothing to remind her that she didn’t have a father, so she didn’t have anything to compare her single-parent existence to.
She picked up the photo. Luca had David’s dimples. Did he have David’s sense of humor and laugh?
Something in her stomach twisted. Her mouth went dry. Could Luca have inherited David’s heart condition?
David never knew he had Sitosterolemia—he had no symptoms of heart disease, had a healthy diet, and exercised—yet he died at fifty of a heart attack. When the coroner declared the cause of death a heart attack, Claire demanded more tests be done as David had low cholesterol and no health issues. A DNA test revealed mutations in two genes, confirming David had inherited Sitosterolemia. David’s doctor patiently explained the test results and details of his cause of death with compassion. She remembered thinking it was good that they hadn’t had children as David’s condition was hereditary. Having been in shock at the time, she didn’t remember all the facts.
She typed Sitosterolemia in the search bar. As she read page after page filled with terrifying statistics, the room darkened and closed around her. The condition was the leading cause of sudden, heart-related deaths in young people, and their parents were never aware anything was wrong. She imagined being a mother whose son or daughter died as a child. She’d be devastated, as would any mother.
But early death was preventable with diet and medication—if the condition was diagnosed, which was rare as even doctors were not familiar with Sitosterolemia.
She had to notify Sophie. Luca had to be tested.
Caressing the photo of Luca, she promised herself she’d figure out how he became David’s son later. She would not let Luca die young.
She searched for cheap flights to Paris.
Chapter 5
Claireplacedherrainshoes, toiletry kit, and makeup clutch at the bottom of her roller bag. Atop them she folded two pairs of slacks, three turtlenecks, a nightgown, socks and underwear. As she rolled the bag to the living room, the doorbell rang. The Uber driver wasn’t supposed to arrive for another hour.
A dripping Marti, clutching a hot pink and white bag, stood at the door. She grinned. “Phone delivery.”
Claire took her coat and hung it in the hallway. “Thank you.”
“Just enter your account email address and password, and all your emails and contacts should automatically download. Do it before I leave for the clinic.”
Claire opened the bag and sat on the couch.
“Going somewhere, like France?”
“Yep. France.”
“No, no, no, no, no. I was kidding. Are you out of your mind?”
“I’m moreinmy mind than I have been since David died.”
Marti sat next to her and gripped her hands. “Isn’t flying to France grotesquely expensive? Your attorney told you David’s estate won’t be out of the courts until after January.”
“I’m flying stand-by. With the bad weather, there should be a seat available because of missed connecting flights.” Claire turned the phone toward Marti. “It works. You’re a genius.”
“Forget the phone. You found Sophie?”
“No.”
“Talk to me.”
“I only know that the Soltner vineyard is in Alsace, near Colmar.” Claire brought her shoulders to her ears and released them with a sigh. “I spent most of last night collecting the latest information on Sitosterolemia.” She pointed to the nine-by-twelve envelope sitting on the coffee table.
Marti picked up the packet. “There’s two inches of paper there. Ever hear of a flash drive?”
“I’m not taking a laptop, and I want to read through the information to see if there’ve been any advances in cures while I’m on the plane. David was a carrier of the gene that causes it. That means Luca has a fifty percent chance of inheriting it. I hope Sophie speaks English.”
Marti held Claire’s hand. “You know that meeting Sophie may bring to light things you may not want to know about David?”
She nodded. “In my heart I believe David was faithful to me, but as you pointed out, he might not have been, and if so, I will have to live with that.” The thought sucked the air from her lungs. “But children die of heart attacks caused by Sitosterolemia, some as young as five-years-old, and, like David, they may not exhibit any symptoms.”
“Why not wait until after the holidays, when it’ll be easier on you? I could even come with you.”
