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I gently opened and closed them until I found the cupboard with the formula, then opened the tin. It had been used, but not enough. This was one I’d bought in London. There was no way there could be this much left if she’d been giving Leo his milk every day. I hunted through the cupboards again just in case there was an open tub I didn’t know about.Nothing.
Next, I rummaged around the bins. Not my favourite thing to do, but now wasn’t the time to worry about getting my hands dirty. No tins in here either.
Hold on.
As I got to the bottom, there was a pile of powder. I scooped some up into my hands and smelt it. It was formula. She’d been throwing it away.
If Marta hadn’t been feeding Leo formula, then what the hell had she been giving him?
I washed my hands, opened the fridge, then frantically pulled everything out. Right at the back was an opaque blue container. I opened it to find two full bottles of milk. Milk that didn’t look like formula. It was too watery. I tipped one bottle onto the back of my hand. Then the second one onto the other.
I knew it.
The colour, the smell, everything told me it was breast milk. And I hadn’t breastfed Leo for weeks. So whose milk was…
That woman.
The woman with the baby that Geli had seen.
Claudia.
I could notbelieveMarta had done this.
I stormed back in the room.
‘Give me my son!’ I yelled, trying to pull Leo from her arms.
‘No!’ she said defiantly, babbling something in Italian.
As she used her hands to try and stop me from taking Leo, the bottle crashed to the floor. I swiped it up and quickly shook some onto my arm this time. It had the same smell and consistency as the ones in the fridge.
‘This isn’t formula,’ I snapped. ‘This isbreastmilk. You’ve been feeding my baby milk from another woman’s breasts!’
‘Non capisco.’ She shook her head.
‘Don’t give me that bullshit about not understanding. You knowexactlywhat I’m talking about. You’ve put my baby’s life at risk!’ I shouted. ‘Disregarded my wishes.Ourwishes to give Leo formula. You had no right!’
That’s it.
I tried wrestling Leo from her arms, but Marta was holding on tight.
‘Give him to me!’ I screamed. ‘You must have known it isn’t safe to give him someone else’s milk. That other woman could have diseases you don’t know about which she could have passed on to Leo. Give him back!’
As we both tried to hold on to him, Leo started crying.
‘What is going on!’ Lorenzo’s voice boomed as he came running into the room.
‘Your witch of a mother has been giving Leo another woman’s breast milk!’
‘What?No…’ He shook his head.
Marta finally released Leo and I took him into my arms, stroking his back to try and calm him down.
‘Yes, Lorenzo. Shehas! Look at this milk.’ I pointed to the bottle. Look at the colour!Smell it. It isn’t formula! And Geli saw her. Getting bottles from Claudia—the other woman’s house!’
‘Mamma, è vero?’
He was asking her if it was true. She started waving her hands in the air, giving me dirty looks. I understood a few snippets includingBreast milk being better for Leo. Thank God for Geli’s lessons.
