Our rooms were cramped and I played indoors or in back alleys. When I was tiny I always saw the sky in little slices between buildings. That’s given me a love of wide-open spaces.’
Ella nodded. He’d said as much before.
‘I lived with my mother. I never knew my father.’
‘That must have been hard.’ True, she’d have been happier without her father in her life, but that wasn’t the case for everyone.
There was so much tension in the bunched muscles of Donato’s shoulder and arm she almost reached out, but something held her back. Then he turned and the look in his eyes fixed her to the spot.
‘Harder than you can imagine. My mother was a prostitute. She had no idea who my father was and didn’t want to know.’
Ella blinked, shock blasting her.
‘Apparently by the time the brothel owners found out she was pregnant it was too late for a safe abortion. She’d hidden it as long as possible because, strange as it seems, she wanted to keep me.’ The shadow of a smile crossed his face. ‘She believed a baby was a blessing. That’s why she named me Donato—a gift. Luckily it turned out some of the punters liked pregnant woman so she got to keep me.’
‘Your mother told you that?’ Ella couldn’t keep the horror from her voice.
Donato shook his head. ‘I overheard her talking about it when I was older.’
Ella sagged against the waist-high wall. Was it her imagination or had he implied her mother might have been forced into an abortion otherwise?
‘When I was six Jack took us away from the city. He was a client of my mother’s and he fell in love with her, even agreed to take me on too. He smuggled us away and we lived with him for years in an old house with a vegetable garden out the back and a climbing tree at the front.’
Ella stared. ‘Your mother fell in love with him?’
Donato’s expression told her she was impossibly naïve. ‘He had a steady job and he was never violent. He cared for her and he was willing to accept me as well.’ He paused. ‘If you’d known our lives before you’d know how precious that was.’
Silently Ella nodded. As a nurse, she knew how tough life was for many. Yet, despite his time in prison, she’d never expected something like this was hiding in Donato’s past.
‘Did you like him?’
‘He protected my mother. And he gave us something like a normal life for years. I went to school, he worked and my mother cooked and cleaned. She smiled a lot too. Sometimes I even heard her sing.’ His expression softened. ‘She was beautiful, you know. Really beautiful. But life had worn her down. When we lived with Jack she blossomed.’
‘He sounds like a good man.’ At least Ella hoped he was.
Donato shrugged. ‘He had a short temper and an old-fashioned approach to discipline, but he never laid a hand on her.’ Something in his voice told Ella Donato would have put up with any amount of discipline if it meant keeping his mother happy.
‘He died when I was twelve and everything changed.’
‘What happened?’
‘He hadn’t left a will and his house went to a sister. My mother and I were out on the street and she took to prostitution again to support us. Social services found out and took me away.’ A muscle in his jaw spasmed. ‘I didn’t like being in care. I kept running away to find her. I didn’t last long in foster care. I got a reputation for being difficult.’
Ella tried to imagine Donato at twelve, parted from his mother for the first time. He was tenacious and strong and he obviously cared greatly for his mother. Of course he’d run away to look for her.
Her hand found his on the stone wall and he looked around, startled.
‘It’s too late for sympathy, Ella. I was a tough kid and it was a long time ago.’ Yet he didn’t move his hand.
‘Where is she now? In Melbourne?’ She’d bet one of the first things Donato had done when he became successful was provide for his mother.
‘She’s dead.’ The bald words stunned her.
‘Dead?’
He nodded. ‘Battered by a client.’ His voice dripped venom. ‘She died later of her injuries.’
‘Oh, Donato. I’m so sorry.’ Ella squeezed his hand. She remembered how lost she’d felt when her mother died. She couldn’t imagine the trauma of losing someone as a result of a violent crime. ‘How old were you?’
‘A teenager.’ Beneath her touch his hand tightened. Energy vibrated through him. ‘But I tracked him down when the police didn’t have enough evidence to convict him. I made him pay.’
‘That’s why you went to prison? You found the man responsible for your mother’s death?’
Donato nodded. ‘There was a problem with the scientific evidence and the only witness was another prostitute. The lawyers made mincemeat of her evidence and he walked free.’
Ella struggled to absorb it all. She’d thought Donato might have tried to protect someone in that fight. Now she realised it hadn’t been protection but vengeance that motivated him.
Or guilt because he hadn’t been able to save his mother?
Ella exhaled. She thought she’d had a tough childhood!
‘Heard enough of my disreputable past yet?’
‘Did you find him again after you left prison?’
Donato shook his head. ‘I learned a lot behind bars. Including that I didn’t want to serve a life sentence for murder. Anyway, when I got out I heard he’d died in a car crash.’
Relief made Ella dizzy. ‘Prison changed your life.’
‘Definitely. I realised education was the key to turning myself around. That plus hard work and a willingness to take risks.’
‘It’s amazing what you’ve achieved.’ Yet her mind wasn’t on his commercial success. It was still boggling at his past.
‘I was lucky. I was mentored when I left the justice system, part of a young-offenders programme. One mentor led to another and some opportunities opened up for me. I learned a lot and dedicated myself to taking charge of my life, getting some control.’
He made it sound easy. Ella could only guess at the struggle it must have been with a criminal record. ‘You must have dreamed big.’
‘Always.’ His other hand covered hers. ‘Have you heard enough?’ Despite his light tone, there was no mistaking the strain on his features.
‘Thank you for telling me. I...’ Ella shook her head. She felt overwhelmed, not only by what he’d revealed but by the fact he trusted her with such intimate details. ‘I won’t tell anyone.’
‘You think I’m
