Finally, Steve said, “There’s talk about a drug ring.”
“Can’t confirm or deny,” Max said.
“But I heard from my cop friend Barney that they’re trying to pin the Lodge as head of operations.” Nate looked down at his beer and spoke too fast. “You don’t think that would shut down the Lodge, do you? I mean, if the rumors are true.”
“They’re probably not true,” Max and Steve said at once.
But Alexander had heard enough. He knew he needed to do something, to step in and get the poison that was Tio Angelo out of their Nantucket universe. He thanked his friends, paid for most of their beers, and went home, his heart hammering. He knew that Tio Angelo wasn’t usually home this late at night. He had friends all over the island, maybe members of his drug ring. He decided to approach his mother first. Maybe Francesca didn’t care about laws as much as your average American, but she cared about the Lodge. She cared about the Whitmores. She was too proud for everything to crumble like this.
But when Alexander pulled into the driveway, he saw an ambulance. Panic bolted through him. Without thinking, he tore out of his car and ran to the front door, which was still open to let the EMT workers out again. He heard cries from upstairs, somonstrous that they sounded like those of a wild animal. When he stormed up the stairs, he found Allegra, Lorelei, Charlotte, and little Nina in the hallway, waiting timidly, their eyes on Alexander’s bedroom.
Alexander raced down the hallway and found his beautiful fiancée on a bed soaked with blood. His mother was beside her, sweating and crying, and the EMT workers were telling them that it was no good to take her in the ambulance. She’d lost the baby, but she’d be all right.
When Janie realized Alexander was there, she cried his name. Alexander came to her and sat on the bed beside her and gripped both of her hands. “The baby’s gone,” she whispered, her eyes lost and glinting. “The baby’s lost.”
That night, Alexander helped Jane to the bath and stripped the sheets. He was exhausted and out of sorts. Downstairs, his sisters and his mother sat around the kitchen table, talking quietly and sorrowfully. Nobody blamed anyone for what had happened. Francesca made plenty of hot chocolate and brought some upstairs for Janie.
“We can try again,” Alexander told Janie, pressing a kiss on her forehead. “We can get married first and do things the right way around.”
Janie looked forlorn. She didn’t want to talk very much, which frightened Alexander. Typically, they were fantastic communicators, expressing their emotions and eager to include others. The following morning, Alexander went back to work and left Janie in bed to mend. They’d have to go to the hospital soon for the surgery that would take the baby out of her, and Janie wanted to rest and mourn till then.
She wasn’t the young, bright, adventurous woman he’d met two years ago. She was broken. All Alexander could hope was that she’d find a way back to him. He reminded her how much he loved her. Over and over again, he said it.
But that morning, as he stood at the front desk with Allegra and dealt with mid-May guests at the White Oak Lodge, Alexander looked across the foyer and saw Tio Angelo, laughing and joking around with his teenage brother Jack. Alexander’s heart turned to fire. He remembered that just last night, he’d planned to ask his mother what she knew about this so-called drug ring and Tio Angelo’s involvement. Now, everyone was mourning Janie’s lost baby—except for Tio Angelo, obviously.
Alexander muttered to Allegra, “I’ll be back in a second.”
“Don’t run too far,” Allegra said. “They’re acting crazy this morning. I think there’s a full moon or something.” She meant the tourists.
But Alexander felt that he was the one acting crazy.
Alexander stormed up to his uncle and said, “Can I talk to you outside?”
Tio Angelo maintained that awful and absurd smile. “Good morning, my boy,” he said in Italian. “I’m terribly sorry to hear about the little accident last night. A tragedy.”
Alexander didn’t want Tio Angelo to say a thing about his fiancée’s miscarriage. “I don’t want to talk about that,” he said in English. “It’s about the hotel. Follow me, please.”
“Look at the big, strong Whitmore, bossing me around!” Tio Angelo said in Italian.
Alexander gave him a horrible look and pressed his hand against Tio Angelo’s shoulder. Tio Angelo threw his hands up and sauntered out of the lobby and into the bright light of the midmorning. The grass was a startling green, like someone had made it in a lab. Alexander didn’t want to talk too close to any of the guests, so he led Tio Angelo all the way to the stables, which were empty save for the horses. He glared at his uncle and said, “We’ve had this conversation before. But against my better judgment, I let you off the hook. What are you up to with Jack?”
Tio Angelo shook his head ever so slightly. “This happens sometimes,” he said.
Alexander scoffed. He knew his uncle was trying to manipulate him, but he didn’t know how, not yet.
“You’re about to lose everything,” Tio Angelo stated, “and you’re taking it out on me.”
“What are you talking about?” Alexander demanded.
“Your little girlfriend has zero ties to you now,” Tio Angelo pointed out. “That baby is gone, buddy. And your vagabond girlfriend will be out of this prison before the summer's through. No matter how much money Francesca throws into that fake wedding, and no matter how much your sisters dote on her, Janie’s out of here. And you know what? I can’t blame her.”
Before Alexander could think of what to say, Tio Angelo spun on his heel and walked out of the stable, back toward the White Oak Lodge. If Alexander wasn’t mistaken, he thought Tio Angelo was laughing gently to himself.
Chapter Eighteen
August 2025
Nantucket Island
