Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN THEY TRIED TO SILENCE|
"That woman is not my aunt's legal guardian."
Luca's voice echoed across the hospital reception area.
Several people turned to stare.
The nurse looked frightened.
"Sir, I'm only explaining what's in the file."
Evelyn Mercer arrived moments later, carrying a leather briefcase.
She examined the document carefully.
"This is not a court order appointing a guardian," she said.
"It's a purported medical power of attorney."
Luca clenched his fists.
"She forged that too?"
"We need to verify the signature and find out where it came from."
I stood beside the reception desk, watching Luca struggle with his anger.
In the mansion, men obeyed him because they feared what might happen otherwise.
But in this hospital, his power meant nothing.
He couldn't intimidate a document into disappearing.
He couldn't demand that the truth arrive faster.
He had to wait for people who understood the law.
And for a man accustomed to controlling everything around him, that seemed almost unbearable.
A doctor approached us.
"I'm Dr. Rebecca Sullivan."
"I'm overseeing Ms. Moretti's care."
Luca immediately stepped forward.
"Is she going to be all right?"
"She's stable."
"Her heart rhythm became irregular, and dehydration and exhaustion may have contributed."
"We're monitoring her and running additional tests."
I felt my shoulders relax for the first time in hours.
"Can we see her?"
"Yes, but there's another matter we need to discuss."
Dr. Sullivan held up a separate report.
"This claims Ms. Moretti has advanced memory impairment and cannot reliably understand her own affairs."
Luca stared at it.
"That's ridiculous."
"Who wrote it?"
"A physician named Harold Pike."
Evelyn took the paper.
"His name appears on the property evaluation submitted by Bellini Renewal Group."
Dr. Sullivan frowned.
"Property evaluation?"
Evelyn explained the situation briefly.
The doctor listened without interrupting.
Then she shook her head.
"I haven't observed evidence supporting the conclusions in this report."
"Ms. Moretti knows her name, where she is, and what happened yesterday."
"She answered my questions clearly."
"Her age does not automatically make her incapable of making decisions."
Luca closed his eyes.
I could almost see the weight lifting from his chest.
The hospital's patient advocate joined us and explained that Gianna's wishes and the disputed paperwork would be reviewed before anyone relied on the document.
Evelyn immediately began arranging a formal challenge.
Then we entered Gianna's room.
She looked terribly small beneath the white blankets.
Her silver hair spread across the pillow.
But when she saw Luca, she smiled.
"My beautiful boy."
He hurried to her bedside.
"Don't you ever frighten me like that again."
She laughed weakly.
"You sound exactly like your father."
Luca held her hand.
"Auntie, there's something I need to ask."
"Did Vanessa ever take you to see a doctor named Harold Pike?"
Gianna's smile vanished.
"She brought him to my house."
"When?"
"About two months ago."
"She said he was a family physician."
"He asked me strange questions."
"What kind of questions?"
"Whether I forgot things."
"Whether I got confused about money."
"Whether I ever felt lonely living alone."
Gianna's eyes filled with tears.
"I thought she was worried about me."
"Then he asked me to sign some papers."
Luca leaned closer.
"Did you?"
"No."
"I told him I had my own doctor."
"He became very unfriendly after that."
Evelyn made a note.
"Did Vanessa ask you anything else?"
Gianna looked toward the window.
"She wanted to know where Antonio kept the old family documents."
Luca's expression changed.
"The blue folder?"
Gianna nodded.
"She said your father had promised something important to her father."
"But Antonio never trusted Dominic Bellini."
"Why?"
Gianna turned toward Luca.
"Sweetheart, I should have told you this years ago."
He pulled his chair closer.
"You can tell me now."
She took a long breath.
"When your father lost his business, everybody said he was careless."
"Some said he had gambled away the money."
Luca looked down.
"That's what I grew up believing."
Gianna shook her head.
"He made mistakes, Luca."
"He trusted people he shouldn't have trusted."
"But he didn't lose everything because he loved gambling."
She paused.
"Dominic Bellini was involved."
The name seemed to darken the entire room.
Luca looked at her.
"Vanessa's father?"
Gianna nodded.
"Antonio had a small transportation company."
"Dominic wanted him to use the trucks to move equipment and materials connected to properties he was buying."
"Your father discovered that some of the homeowners hadn't agreed to sell."
"He refused to help."
Luca stared at her.
"What happened next?"
"Contracts disappeared."
"Loans were called in."
"People who had known your father for twenty years suddenly stopped returning his calls."
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"Within months, our family had almost nothing."
Luca's voice dropped.
"And you sold your wedding dress."
Gianna nodded.
"Somebody had to buy groceries."
She squeezed his hand.
"Your father worked hard afterward."
"He rebuilt enough to purchase that little house for me."
"He wanted me to have a place nobody could take away."
Luca looked toward Evelyn.
"And now Dominic's daughter is trying to take it."
Evelyn's expression was grim.
"The documents suggest an organized effort."
"But we'll need records and witnesses to establish what happened."
Gianna closed her eyes.
"Antonio kept everything."
"He said the papers would matter someday."
"Where?"
"In the blue folder."
We exchanged glances.
The folder had disappeared from her house.
Luca stood.
"Then we'll find it."
Gianna suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"No."
He looked startled.
"Auntie?"
"Don't go after Dominic the way your father did."
"Don't let anger make your decisions."
Luca sat beside her again.
"Then what do you want me to do?"
Gianna looked at me.
"Claire, come closer."
I approached the bed.
She studied my face for a moment.
Then she whispered, "Can you sew, dear?"
I blinked.
"A little."
"My mother taught me."
Gianna smiled faintly.
"Good."
She glanced toward the chair where her faded blue dress lay folded inside a hospital belongings bag.
"That dress has a secret."
Luca frowned.
"What secret?"
Gianna lowered her voice.
"There's a tiny blue bird stitched inside the hem."
"I put it there myself."
"Your father told me to keep it hidden."
She reached for my hand.
"Claire, I need you to carefully open those stitches."
I looked toward the dress.
"What's inside?"
May you like
Gianna's eyes filled with tears.
"The one thing Dominic Bellini has spent years trying to find."
