Chapter 4 - The Car That Arrived Before Sunrise|
At seven fifteen the following morning, a black passenger van rolled through the iron gates of the Moretti estate.
I was carrying a fresh pot of coffee into the kitchen when I saw it.
Two people stepped out wearing dark blue uniforms.
A third man opened the rear doors and removed an empty wheelchair.
My stomach dropped.
I immediately recognized the name printed on the side of the vehicle.
Ashcroft Senior Residence.
The same private facility listed in Rosa's admission letter.
I abandoned the coffee and hurried down the hallway.
Luca had spent most of the night speaking with his mother's longtime attorney, Abigail Grant.
He had already instructed the facility that no transfer was authorized.
Yet the vehicle had arrived anyway.
I found Rosa in her bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed.
She wore her faded blue cardigan over a pale floral dress.
Her hair had been carefully brushed.
A small suitcase stood beside her.
"Mrs. Rosa?"
She looked up.
"Oh, Claire."
Her smile was heartbreaking.
"They told me I should be ready."
I stared at the suitcase.
"Who told you?"
"A woman called before breakfast."
Rosa lowered her eyes.
"She said the arrangements couldn't be changed."
I knelt beside her.
"You're not going anywhere."
"But what if Luca becomes angry?"
"He'll be angry if anyone tries to take you."
She looked at me uncertainly.
"Are you sure?"
I took both her hands.
"Absolutely."
Then footsteps sounded outside the bedroom.
A woman in a blue uniform appeared in the doorway.
"Mrs. Moretti?"
I stood.
"Can I help you?"
"We're here to transport our new resident."
"There's been a mistake."
The woman checked her clipboard.
"Rosa Moretti, eighty-three years old."
She looked at the bed.
"Our instructions say she requires assisted transfer because of cognitive impairment."
Rosa flinched.
I felt anger rising in my chest.
"Mrs. Moretti is perfectly capable of deciding whether she wants to leave."
The woman frowned.
"I'm afraid we have signed authorization."
"From whom?"
"Luca Moretti."
A deep voice sounded behind her.
"No, you don't."
Luca stood at the end of the hallway.
He wore dark trousers and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
He looked as though he had barely slept.
The woman turned.
"Mr. Moretti?"
"Show me the paperwork."
She hesitated.
Then she handed him a folder.
I watched his eyes move across the pages.
His expression hardened.
"Who prepared these documents?"
"Our admissions office."
"And who submitted them?"
The woman checked her paperwork.
"A representative from Cross Family Legal Services."
Luca looked up slowly.
"Julian Cross."
The woman nodded.
"That's the name on the referral."
Luca turned to the other staff members.
"My mother is not leaving this house."
"Sir, we were told—"
"You were told a lie."
His voice remained controlled.
"Please remove the wheelchair from my hallway."
The woman looked embarrassed.
"We were only following instructions."
"I understand."
Luca handed back the folder.
"But before you go, I need copies of everything you were given."
One of the men shifted nervously.
"Mr. Moretti, the authorization is legally binding according to our office."
Luca looked at him.
"Then your office can explain why my signature appears on a document I have never seen."
Nobody spoke.
At that moment, Vanessa appeared at the top of the staircase.
She wore a cream silk robe.
Her hair was perfectly arranged.
"What's all this noise?"
Luca didn't turn around.
"Your plan arrived early."
Vanessa looked toward the wheelchair.
"Oh."
For one revealing second, she seemed genuinely surprised.
Then she recovered.
"I thought we agreed your mother needed better care."
"We agreed to nothing."
Vanessa descended the stairs.
"Darling, you're exhausted."
She reached for his arm.
"Why don't you let the professionals handle this?"
Luca stepped away.
"My mother is staying."
Vanessa looked at Rosa.
"Rosa, tell him you agreed to go."
Rosa shrank back.
I moved beside her.
"Mrs. Rosa has already said she doesn't want to leave."
Vanessa's eyes narrowed.
"Nobody asked you, Claire."
A new voice came from the front entrance.
"Maybe somebody should."
Everyone turned.
A tall woman in a navy coat stood just inside the doorway, holding a travel bag.
She had Luca's dark eyes and Rosa's unmistakable expression.
Olivia Moretti.
Luca's younger sister.
I recognized her from photographs, although I had never met her in person.
She worked as a physician in Milwaukee and rarely visited Chicago.
"Olivia?" Rosa whispered.
The woman dropped her bag.
"Mama!"
She hurried across the hallway and wrapped her arms around her mother.
Rosa began crying immediately.
"My beautiful girl."
Olivia kissed her forehead.
Then she turned toward Luca.
"What is happening?"
Luca looked stunned.
"Who called you?"
Olivia's expression darkened.
"Vanessa."
Every head turned toward his wife.
Vanessa lifted her chin.
"I thought the family should be informed."
Olivia shook her head.
"That's interesting."
She reached into her bag and removed several printed emails.
"Because you've been telling me for two months that Mama was losing her memory and becoming dangerous to herself."
Rosa looked horrified.
"I haven't!"
Olivia knelt in front of her.
"I know, Mama."
Her voice softened.
"I spoke to your old doctor yesterday."
She looked toward Vanessa.
"He said he never diagnosed dementia."
Vanessa crossed her arms.
"Doctors can disagree."
Olivia stood.
"Of course they can."
She held up the papers.
"But these medical assessments carry the name of a physician who says he has never examined my mother."
Luca stared at the documents.
Olivia continued.
"And this facility claims Mama requested admission herself."
Rosa shook her head desperately.
"I didn't."
Olivia looked directly at Vanessa.
"Then somebody has committed a very serious fraud."
Vanessa's expression tightened.
"You're all overreacting."
Luca turned to his sister.
"Olivia, can you stay with Mama?"
"Try getting me to leave."
He nodded.
Then he addressed the admissions staff.
"My attorney will contact your facility."
The woman apologized and hurried outside with her colleagues.
A few minutes later, the vehicle disappeared through the gates.
Rosa watched it go from the window.
Then she began to shake.
I put an arm around her.
"It's over, Mrs. Rosa."
But Olivia was still reading the documents.
Suddenly, she stopped.
"Luca."
He turned.
"What?"
She pointed to a date near the bottom of the last page.
"When did you marry Vanessa?"
"Six weeks ago."
Olivia looked toward his wife.
Her face had gone pale.
"Then why was Mama's placement application opened three months ago?"
Luca slowly turned toward Vanessa.
May you like
And for the first time, I realized that this had never been a spontaneous decision to move an elderly woman into a nursing home.
Vanessa had been planning Rosa's disappearance before she even became Luca's wife.
