All Chapters of Too Late: She Is Gone With Your Baby: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Chapter 11 VIVIAN I had not intended to go to the concert at first, because I was also a violinist and had no joy in attending concerts that did not make me as the star or the one on stage. When the news circulated that the Aria Vale Orchestra had arrived in the city for the final leg of their national tour, I had been bored, and then decided to register for it, it was not expensive and if I changed my mind, I wouldn't lose anything. But I have heard of the name, it started becoming a popular thread of conversation for the past weeks ever since there were rumors that she might stop in the city while on tour. I knew the name after a while of hearing it being spoken in charity clubs and private dinners where the Elites grouped to have meaningless conversation and pass time.. Anyone in the music industry knew the name by now. Aria Vale had built something real, which I could acknowledge without it threatening me, because my own territory was established and secure. But then Adrian

Chapter 13 ADRIAN Ethan advised against it. He used the words proportional and optics and suggested sending a representative instead someone to replace me and still get the job done, someone who could open a conversation in a professional context without it becoming a situation, that would blow out of proportion, "It's already a situation," I said. "They've turned away four calls. Sending another representative doesn't solve the problem, the person in charge who calls the shots have to go, that is I. i am going. I want to know why." He accepted this the way he accepted most of my decisions that he disagreed with, by noting it and moving on. I did not tell him about the photograph of the child. There was no need to, and he would file away as it being under paranoia. The fan event was held in a ground-floor space attached to the venue, bright and well-organized, the kind of event that spoke to careful management. There was a queue when I arrived, people waiting with programs and

Chapter 15 ARIA I had packed half my suitcase when Julian knocked on the hotel room door, gaining my attention."He's requested a meeting," Julian said, without preamble.I did not stop folding the sweater in my hands. "Who has.""Adrian Hart." I set the sweater down as i turned to look at him properly."He wants to discuss a business arrangement," Julian continued, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. "Formal request, came through the agency this morning. Corporate letterhead, very professional. He wants to explore a partnership with the orchestra. There is someone he wants to join forces with us, a woman by the name of VIvian Laurent""No.""Aria—""Julian, the man grabbed my arm at a public event and accused me of being someone else. That is not a business partner. That is a crazy person, using anay means to keep me in his vicinity for more harrasement.""I know." He said it carefully, which meant he was not done. "But his legal team was very precise about the fr

Chapter 17 ADRIAN "No remains were found," I said. "Adrian." "No remains," I repeated. "That was the finding." "Because there was nothing left to find." Her voice was soft. Sad, even. "I know that is terrible to hear. I know you have been holding onto hope for five years and I understand why. But this woman is a violinist who happens to have a similar face. It is not as uncommon as we think. Some people simply look like other people." I looked at the window, my eyes not seeing anything in particular, just watching the view outside "Elena never played an instrument," I said, doubt building up in my heart, little by little. "She had no formal training. She mentioned once that she had started learning violin as a child but had to stop.""Exactly," Vivian said. "This woman has spent years building a career in music. They are not the same person. They cannot be. If Elena had survived and recovered, how would she have become this? In five years? Starting from nothing?" She shook her

Chapter 19 ARIA The Thursday rehearsal after Vivian's audition was the first time I played with her in work hours, carrying out a particular role together. She was, as established, exceptional at what she did, and she was also watching me. I noticed it in the first twenty minutes. Not the ordinary watching that musicians did, but there was something underneath it, like she was waiting for me to rip the mask off and do something unexpected.I let it sit. Some people were like that in new environments. Some players needed time to settle. By the end of the second hour I had revised that assessment.She was looking at my hands most specifically. When I played and when I kept my instruments, not paying attention to anything else.I did not say anything and focused on other things instead. After rehearsal I took Eli to a noodle place two streets from the hotel that he had identified on his second day in the city as the most important noodle place he had ever visited. He was working thr