Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Came Back From Catherine's Last Night|
“I thought she was never coming back.”
Vanessa Bellini whispered those words while staring at the closed dining room doors.
I was standing beside Teresa Moretti, holding the elderly woman's trembling hand.
Thirty-nine guests remained frozen in their seats.
The fortieth had already left when Luca stood up.
Nobody seemed interested in dinner anymore.
Not after hearing that Sofia Moretti had returned.
And certainly not after hearing that she wasn't alone.
Luca slowly turned toward his fiancée.
“Who is outside, Vanessa?”
She swallowed.
“Luca, please. We can talk about this privately.”
“You just told me you thought she was never coming back.”
“I didn't mean—”
“Who?”
Vanessa's eyes moved toward the doors.
For one terrible second, I thought she might run.
Instead, she whispered, “You're going to regret opening them.”
Luca looked toward Marco, his head of security.
“Open the doors.”
Marco obeyed.
The heavy double doors swung inward.
A woman stood in the hallway wearing a dark green coat.
Her brown hair was shorter than in the photographs I'd seen upstairs.
But I recognized her immediately.
Sofia Moretti.
Luca's younger sister.
Beside her stood another woman.
She appeared to be in her late forties, with silver beginning to show at her temples.
She wore an ordinary black coat and carried a large leather handbag.
There was nothing remarkable about her appearance.
Yet the moment Vanessa saw her, she stepped backward.
“No.”
The woman looked directly at Vanessa.
“Hello, Victoria.”
Silence.
I felt Teresa's fingers tighten around mine.
Victoria?
Luca looked toward his fiancée.
“What did she call you?”
Vanessa didn't answer.
Sofia stepped into the dining room.
“Luca.”
Her voice broke.
He stared at her.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then he crossed the room and stopped in front of his sister.
“Sofia.”
She began crying.
“I tried to tell you.”
His expression changed.
“Tell me what?”
She looked toward Vanessa.
“That the woman you're marrying isn't who she says she is.”
Vanessa laughed sharply.
“This is absurd.”
The woman in the black coat stepped forward.
“My name is Dr. Amelia Hart.”
Luca turned toward her.
“Are you a physician?”
“Yes. I was an emergency physician at St. Catherine's Medical Center three years ago.”
His face went pale.
That was the hospital where his first wife had died.
Amelia continued.
“I was working the night Catherine Moretti was brought into the emergency department.”
Luca stared.
Then whispered, “You treated my wife?”
Amelia nodded.
“Yes.”
He swallowed.
“Why are you here?”
She opened her handbag.
Inside was a sealed envelope.
“I have something Catherine asked me to deliver if anything happened to her.”
Vanessa suddenly stepped forward.
“She's lying!”
Everyone turned.
Amelia looked at her calmly.
“Then you won't mind if Luca hears what his wife recorded.”
Vanessa froze.
Recorded?
Luca stared at the envelope.
“What recording?”
Sofia began crying.
“Luca, Catherine knew someone was stealing from her foundation.”
He looked toward his sister.
“What foundation?”
“The one she established for families caring for children with serious medical conditions.”
Luca frowned.
“I know about the foundation.”
Sofia shook her head.
“No. You know what Vanessa told you about it.”
Vanessa's face twisted.
“That's enough.”
Luca raised one hand.
“Don't interrupt.”
He turned toward Amelia.
“What does this have to do with Catherine's death?”
The doctor took a shaky breath.
“Catherine came to the hospital after a serious car accident.”
“I know.”
“She was conscious when she arrived.”
Luca stopped breathing.
That was not what he'd been told.
His voice became very quiet.
“No.”
Amelia's eyes filled.
“I'm sorry.”
Luca shook his head.
“They said she never regained consciousness.”
“That wasn't true.”
The room went completely silent.
Amelia continued.
“She was frightened. She kept asking for you.”
Luca's face crumpled.
“I was in New York.”
“I know.”
“She knew that.”
Amelia nodded.
“And she asked me to tell you something if she didn't survive.”
Luca looked as though someone had struck him.
“What?”
Amelia reached into the envelope.
Removed a small digital recorder.
Then looked directly at Vanessa.
“Catherine wanted Luca to know that the woman calling herself Vanessa Bellini had been working under another name.”
Vanessa grabbed the edge of the table.
Luca slowly turned toward her.
“What name?”
Amelia's voice remained steady.
“Victoria Bell.”
And then Sofia spoke.
“Luca, Victoria Bell was the accountant Catherine discovered stealing from her foundation.”
Vanessa's champagne glass slipped from her fingers.
May you like
It shattered against the marble floor.
And for the first time all evening, nobody looked away.
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