Chapter 2 - The Grandmother Who Was Supposed to Be Dead|
For the first time since I had started working at the Moretti mansion, I saw Luca Moretti look completely helpless.
Not angry.
Not suspicious.
Helpless.
The silver-haired woman standing beside the dining table had just announced that she was Lily's grandmother.
And according to everything Luca knew, that woman had been dead for more than a decade.
"That's impossible," he said.
Eleanor Whitmore stood perfectly still.
She wore a dark navy dress with a small pearl brooch pinned near her collar. Her silver hair had been arranged neatly, but her trembling hands betrayed her composure.
"I know what you've been told, Mr. Moretti."
Luca looked toward Vanessa.
His fiancée sat motionless in her red silk gown.
"Did you know who this woman was?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"Luca, darling, please."
"Answer me."
"Yes."
The word barely reached the other end of the table.
Luca slowly straightened.
"You brought a stranger into my house under a false name?"
Eleanor stepped forward.
"I'm not a stranger."
Luca turned toward her.
"Then explain why my sister believed her mother-in-law was dead."
The old woman's face crumpled.
"Because my son told her I was."
The silence that followed was painful.
I looked toward Lily.
She sat in her gold-trimmed chair, holding the sleeve of my uniform.
Her hearing aid was working again, but with people speaking from different directions, following the conversation was still difficult.
I crouched beside her and gently touched her hand to get her attention.
Are you okay? I signed.
She shook her head.
Who is she?
I swallowed.
She says she is your grandmother.
Lily looked toward Eleanor.
Her expression changed.
Then she signed something that made my chest tighten.
Why did she never come?
I couldn't answer.
Luca noticed our exchange.
He moved closer, crouched beside his niece, and signed slowly.
We are going to find out.
Lily nodded.
But her hands were still trembling.
At the far end of the table, Patricia Reynolds rose.
"Mr. Moretti, I should apologize for allowing Miss Bellini to misrepresent why I was invited. I was told tonight was an informal introduction before a placement you had already authorized."
Luca looked at her.
"You were told incorrectly."
"I understand that now."
He held her gaze.
"Did your school receive any signed documents?"
Patricia hesitated.
"Copies, yes. They appeared to include your approval."
Something shifted in Luca's expression.
"Copies?"
"Yes."
He turned toward Daniel, his head of security.
"Get our attorney. Now."
Daniel immediately stepped away.
Vanessa stood.
"This is completely unnecessary."
Luca looked at her.
"You arranged to send an eleven-year-old girl out of state without my knowledge. You told a school I didn't want her. And you introduced someone using a false identity."
His voice remained calm.
"Nothing about this is unnecessary."
Vanessa's cheeks flushed.
"I was trying to help you build a normal family."
Luca stared at her.
"My family was normal before you started trying to remove people from it."
I saw several guests lower their eyes.
Eleanor slowly approached Lily.
"Sweetheart," she whispered, "my name is Eleanor."
Lily looked uncertain.
The older woman hesitated, then asked if she could sit opposite her where Lily could see her face.
Luca nodded.
Eleanor sat.
"I knew your mother when she was very young."
Lily studied her.
"Did she like butterflies?"
Eleanor blinked.
Then a small, broken smile appeared.
"More than anything."
Lily's eyes widened.
"How did you know?"
Eleanor opened her handbag.
Inside was a faded photograph.
She placed it on the table.
A young woman stood in a garden beside a girl who looked about twelve.
The girl had dark brown hair and a wide smile.
I recognized her immediately from the photographs in Lily's bedroom.
Isabella Moretti.
Luca's younger sister.
Lily's mother.
Beside Isabella stood Eleanor, nearly thirty years younger.
Lily touched the photograph.
"Mommy?"
Eleanor nodded through tears.
"Yes, sweetheart."
Lily looked toward Luca.
"She really knew Mommy."
He stared at the photograph.
His expression had become unreadable.
"Eleanor," he said quietly, "tell me why my sister stopped speaking to you before she died."
The older woman lowered her eyes.
"Because she discovered something about her husband's family."
Luca went still.
"Lily's father?"
Eleanor nodded.
"Michael."
I had heard that name only a few times.
Michael Whitmore had died in a car accident when Lily was very young. Isabella had died several years afterward following a sudden illness.
Luca had taken guardianship of his niece without hesitation.
He rarely spoke about Michael.
Now Eleanor looked as though she had been waiting years to say his name.
"My son wasn't the man Isabella believed she married."
Luca leaned forward.
"What does that mean?"
Eleanor's voice broke.
"He had been taking money from someone connected to your family."
Vanessa suddenly interrupted.
"This has gone far enough."
Every head turned.
Her face had lost all color.
Eleanor looked at her.
"You promised you would let me explain."
Vanessa shook her head.
"You promised you wouldn't bring up Michael."
Luca stood.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he asked the question that made Eleanor begin crying.
"Vanessa, how did you know Michael Whitmore?"
Vanessa stared at him.
May you like
And when she finally answered, her voice was barely audible.
"Because before I met you, Luca, I was engaged to him."
