Rivelli arrived in Milan in time for lunch with his mother, the octogenarian Contessa Luisella Mirabelli delle Chiaie, a cobwebby aristocrat with fond memories of Il Duce and very little interest in the world beyond those ancient four walls. She adored her son in a formal sort of way, but found his actual physical presence unsettling, and flinched when he went to kiss her. If there were callers, she would receive them. Rivelli’s office was at the top of the house, where he was connected to the world through every communications device known to modern man. He could command his empire without ever leaving Palazzo Rivelli.

Victoria was jittery, her mind wandering, partly from fever, partly from fear. They were still pumping her full of painkillers and antibiotics, monitoring the fetal heartbeat every few hours, insisting that the temperature was nothing out of the ordinary, just an infection, under control. Whenever she asked if she would lose the baby, they suddenly seemed to have lost their command of English.

Dave visited every day with another story of unavoidable delays. The boss would be here soon, he said. In the meantime, there was nothing to worry about. She must simply sit tight and let the doctors do their job. Rivelli would take care of everything.

The police came back a couple of times, but when they were satisfied that Victoria remembered nothing about the vehicle that had hit her – nothing about the driver, the make, even the colour – they lost interest. The enquiry had moved on. The police told her to concentrate on getting better. They all said the same thing – the doctors, the nurses, the police, Dave. Sit tight, relax, get better, everything is under control.

Then they gave her more painkillers, and she slept for hours.

She awoke in the middle of the night, sweating and in pain, convinced that she was losing the baby. She wanted to tell someone.

Rivelli?

Ben?

Someone must care.

She called for the nurse, and asked for her phone, but the nurse just checked the baby’s heartbeat, murmured words of comfort and adjusted her drip.

She slept again.