Chapter 8 - THE PHOTOGRAPH ON THE WINDSHIELD|
For several seconds, I couldn't understand why anyone would photograph me.
I wasn't wealthy.
I wasn't famous.
I wasn't part of the Moretti family.
I was a twenty-five-year-old housemaid who bought groceries with coupons and worried about her mother's rent.
Yet someone had followed me beyond the mansion gates.
Someone had taken my picture.
And someone wanted Caroline Moretti to believe I was hiding something.
Luca turned the photograph over.
"Caroline, when did you find this?"
"Yesterday afternoon."
"Where?"
"Outside my office."
Caroline worked as an architect at a small firm near downtown Chicago.
She'd kept her maiden name after the divorce but still used Moretti for matters involving Benjamin.
She looked exhausted.
"I thought it was some kind of warning."
Luca studied the handwriting.
"Did you tell anyone?"
"I called Frank."
Frank immediately stepped forward.
"Mrs. Moretti sent me a picture of it, sir."
Luca nodded.
"Good."
Then he turned toward me.
"Rachel, do you recognize the location?"
I looked closer.
It showed me standing outside a pharmacy.
I was carrying a brown paper bag.
My coat was buttoned.
My hair was loose.
And behind me was the bus stop I used after visiting my mother.
"Yes," I whispered.
"Where is it?"
"West Madison Street."
"When were you there?"
"Tuesday evening."
"Why?"
I swallowed.
"My mother needed her medication."
Luca's expression softened.
"Was anyone bothering you?"
I shook my head.
"Not that I noticed."
Frank took the photograph.
"I'll check whether the pharmacy has security footage."
Caroline looked at me.
"Rachel, I'm sorry."
I blinked.
"For what?"
"You called me because you were worried about Benjamin."
She took a breath.
"And now someone has involved you in something you never asked for."
I tried to smile.
"I just wanted him to be okay."
Caroline's eyes filled.
"I know."
Then Benjamin tugged her sleeve.
"Mommy?"
She immediately turned.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Can we look at my telescope?"
Her expression softened.
"Absolutely."
"And can Daddy come?"
Caroline glanced toward Luca.
"Of course."
Benjamin looked at me.
"Miss Rachel, too?"
I hesitated.
Luca answered before I could.
"If Rachel isn't busy."
I smiled.
"I have a few things to finish, sweetheart."
Benjamin nodded.
"Okay."
Then he turned to his parents.
"Come on."
He ran toward the staircase.
Caroline followed.
Luca hesitated beside me.
"Rachel."
"Yes, sir?"
"Frank will make sure you're safe traveling to and from work."
I shook my head.
"That's very kind, but—"
"It's not an inconvenience."
His voice softened.
"You've been dragged into a situation that should never have touched your personal life."
I looked down.
"Thank you."
He nodded.
Then followed his son upstairs.
I returned to the kitchen.
But I couldn't stop thinking about the photograph.
Someone knew where I went after work.
Someone knew Caroline and I had spoken.
And someone wanted to make me afraid.
At noon, Frank called me into the household office.
Mrs. Carter was waiting beside him.
There were several printed photographs on the desk.
Frank looked serious.
"Rachel, I need to ask you something."
My heart began pounding.
"Okay."
"Have you ever met a man named Victor Bellini?"
I shook my head.
"No."
"He's Vanessa's older brother."
"I've heard his name."
"Has he ever spoken to you?"
"No."
Frank turned one of the photographs around.
It showed a dark gray SUV parked near the pharmacy.
The license plate was partially visible.
"We found a vehicle in the area around the time your picture was taken."
I stared at it.
Frank continued.
"It's registered to a company connected to the Bellini family."
My stomach dropped.
"Does that mean Vanessa sent someone?"
"We don't know yet."
Mrs. Carter gently touched my shoulder.
"Don't jump to conclusions, dear."
I nodded.
But my hands were shaking.
Frank continued.
"Mr. Moretti has asked us to preserve everything and let the appropriate authorities handle any harassment."
I looked at the photographs.
"Why would someone follow me?"
Frank hesitated.
"That's what we're trying to establish."
Then Mrs. Carter spoke.
"There's something I think Rachel should know."
Frank looked toward her.
She took a breath.
"Miss Bellini asked me about Rachel's mother last week."
I turned sharply.
"What?"
"She wanted to know where your family lived."
A cold feeling spread through my chest.
"Why?"
"She said she was arranging employee holiday gifts."
I stared at her.
Mrs. Carter's expression tightened.
"But she never asked for anyone else's address."
Suddenly, I remembered something.
The conversation in Vanessa's dressing room.
Two weeks earlier.
She'd asked whether my mother still lived alone.
I thought she was being friendly.
She'd smiled and said it must be difficult supporting someone after surgery.
Then she'd told me how fortunate I was to have steady employment.
At the time, it sounded almost kind.
Now it felt different.
Very different.
I looked toward Frank.
"She knows my mother needs help."
He nodded.
"Mr. Moretti knows that, too."
My stomach tightened.
"I don't want him to think I'm asking for money."
Mrs. Carter frowned.
"Why would he?"
"Because Vanessa kept saying I was trying to get something from this family."
The older woman's expression softened.
"Rachel, caring about a child isn't a financial scheme."
I looked down.
"Sometimes it's hard not to hear someone's accusations after they've repeated them long enough."
Mrs. Carter squeezed my hand.
"I understand."
That afternoon, Caroline found me in the laundry room.
She stood quietly in the doorway while I folded Benjamin's pajamas.
"May I come in?"
I straightened.
"Of course, Mrs. Moretti."
She smiled sadly.
"Caroline is fine."
I nodded.
She walked closer.
"Benjamin told me about his suitcase."
My hands stopped moving.
"He did?"
She nodded.
"He said you helped him unpack."
"I didn't want to push him."
"You were right."
Her eyes filled.
"He told me he wanted to keep it under his bed because grown-ups sometimes change their minds."
I swallowed.
Caroline took a shaky breath.
"I've spent the entire afternoon wondering how frightened he must have been."
I looked down.
"I'm sorry."
She shook her head.
"No."
Her voice was firm.
"Don't apologize."
Then she said something I wasn't expecting.
"You gave my son the one thing he couldn't find in that house."
I frowned.
"What?"
"Someone who believed him before there was proof."
My eyes filled.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Caroline reached into her purse.
She removed a little silver star-shaped charm.
"Benjamin picked this out at a museum last month."
I stared at it.
"He wanted to give it to someone who helped him when he was scared."
She placed it in my palm.
"He asked me to make sure you got it."
I could barely speak.
"That's so sweet."
Caroline smiled.
"He said you taught him that stars are still there even when clouds hide them."
I looked at the charm.
"I borrowed that from his mother."
She laughed softly.
"Then I suppose we've both been teaching him the same thing."
For the first time since the engagement dinner, I felt something other than fear.
I felt seen.
Not as a maid.
Not as a witness.
But as a person.
Then my phone rang.
I glanced at the screen.
It was my mother.
I answered immediately.
"Mom?"
Her voice was shaking.
"Rachel, sweetheart, are you at work?"
"Yes."
"Don't panic."
My heart stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone came to the apartment."
I gripped the phone.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"What did they want?"
My mother began crying.
"They said you needed to stop interfering with the Moretti family."
Caroline stepped closer.
I could barely breathe.
"Mom, are you okay?"
"Yes, but they left something."
My stomach twisted.
"What?"
"A blue envelope."
I closed my eyes.
"What's inside?"
May you like
My mother hesitated.
Then whispered, "A letter saying your job won't be the only thing you lose."
