Chapter 6 - Teresa Speaks Her Truth
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By two in the morning, the mansion was eerily quiet.
Two armed guards stood watch at the heavy wooden door of the east cellar where Michael was being held.
I had helped Teresa change into her soft flannel nightgown and settled her into the floral armchair in her bedroom.
A single brass lamp illuminated the small wooden table beside her, where a pot of chamomile tea was steaming.
Luca sat on a low stool at her feet, his head resting gently against her knees just as he used to do as a boy.
His broad shoulders, which usually looked invincible, seemed heavy with an unbearable burden.
Teresa’s frail hand stroked his dark hair, her thumb tracing the line of his temple.
“I am sorry, sweetheart,” she whispered softly into the quiet room.
“Don’t apologize to me, Mom,” Luca said, his voice muffled against her gown.
“I brought that viper into your home.”
“I let Vanessa speak to you as if you were a child.”
“You were blinded by your grief, Luca,” Teresa said gently.
“Since your sweet Elena died three years ago, you have been trying to build a fortress around Sophie.”
“You thought Vanessa’s family would give you the peace you needed to protect your daughter.”
Luca raised his head, his dark eyes reflecting the warm amber lamplight.
“Tell me about Dante, Mom.”
“Tell me what really happened five years ago.”
Teresa closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her strength.
“Dante discovered that Salvatore Bellini was smuggling weapons through our commercial docks without your father’s knowledge.”
“He found the manifests hidden in Michael’s private safe.”
“When Dante confronted Michael, Michael went straight to your father and claimed Dante had fabricated the documents to start a war.”
Luca’s hands clenched into tight fists upon his knees.
“Father believed Michael because Salvatore Bellini backed up the lie.”
“Yes,” Teresa said, a tear slipping down into the deep lines beside her mouth.
“Your father was already sick, Luca.”
“His mind was tired, and Michael had spent months poisoning him against Dante.”
“Your father gave Dante one hour to leave Chicago or be buried in the river.”
Luca let out a slow, shuddering breath.
“And Dante never defended himself to me.”
“Because he knew you would choose between him and your father,” Teresa said.
“Dante loved you too much to make you tear the family apart while your father was taking his final breaths.”
I stood quietly by the doorway, holding a fresh linen towel, tears burning my own eyes.
The sheer nobility of a brother who had taken exile rather than destroy his family’s peace broke my heart.
“Where is he now, Mom?” Luca asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the faded envelope.
Teresa looked over at me with a faint, grateful smile.
“Hannah knows.”
Luca turned his head toward me, his brow furrowing in confusion.
“Hannah?”
I stepped forward into the circle of light, my hands clasped in front of my apron.
“Mrs. Moretti had me write down a phone number on the back of my mother’s prescription slip three months ago.”
“She made me memorize it in case Vanessa ever threw the paper away.”
Luca stood up slowly, towering over me in the small room.
“Do you still remember it, Hannah?”
“I recite it every night before I go to sleep, Mr. Moretti,” I answered truthfully.
Luca looked at me with an intensity that made the room feel suddenly smaller.
“Why did you do that for her?”
“Because she is a mother who loves her son,” I replied, looking directly into his dark eyes.
“My own mother would cross oceans for me if I were lost.”
“Nobody should ever be kept from the people who love them.”
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Luca stared at me for a long time, the cold hardness in his face completely melting away.
“Give me the number, Hannah.”
