Chapter 2 - THE SECOND PATIENT|
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
The man holding the clipboard had just spoken my name as though I were another piece of furniture scheduled for removal.
“Claire Bennett,” he repeated.
“Twenty-nine years old.”
“Emergency psychiatric evaluation authorized by the patient's employer and attending physician.”
I stared at him.
“There must be some mistake.”
Vanessa suddenly stepped forward, pressing a perfectly manicured hand against her chest.
“Oh, thank goodness,” she whispered.
“Luca, I was hoping we could handle this privately.”
Luca turned toward his wife.
“Handle what?”
Vanessa looked at me with an expression of carefully practiced sympathy.
“Claire hasn't been herself lately, darling.”
“She's become emotionally unstable.”
“She invents stories about your mother, and I've caught her sneaking into Rosa's bedroom several times.”
My stomach twisted.
“I go into Mrs. Rosa's bedroom because I'm responsible for cleaning it.”
Vanessa ignored me.
“And tonight, she became aggressive when I asked her to leave your mother alone.”
“That isn't true,” I said.
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“She's obsessed with Rosa, Luca.”
“I was frightened she might hurt her.”
The entire ballroom seemed to tilt beneath my feet.
For three months, I'd watched Vanessa isolate Rosa from everyone who cared about her.
Now she was trying to make my concern look like an illness.
The man with the clipboard cleared his throat.
“Mr. Moretti, we're authorized to transport both patients to Havenbrook Behavioral Services.”
Luca extended his hand.
“Give me that paperwork.”
The man hesitated before surrendering the clipboard.
Luca studied the pages without speaking.
I watched his expression darken.
“According to this,” he said slowly, “Claire threatened my wife with a kitchen knife yesterday.”
A horrified murmur passed through the guests.
I shook my head.
“I never threatened anyone.”
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“She doesn't remember these episodes.”
Luca looked at me.
“Claire, where were you yesterday afternoon?”
“I was taking your mother to her physical therapy appointment.”
“Who drove you?”
“Daniel.”
Luca turned toward the tall man standing near the ballroom doors.
Daniel Hayes had managed the estate's security for nearly eight years.
“Daniel?”
He straightened immediately.
“Yes, sir.”
“I drove Miss Bennett and your mother to the medical office.”
“They were with me until almost five.”
Luca glanced down at the paperwork.
“The alleged incident happened at three thirty.”
Vanessa's expression tightened.
“That doesn't prove anything.”
“No,” Luca replied.
“But it proves your story has a problem.”
For the first time that evening, I saw uncertainty flicker across her face.
Then she smiled.
“Darling, you're embarrassing me.”
Luca didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at the two men beside the wheelchair.
“Neither of you is taking anyone out of this house.”
The older man reached toward his medical bag.
“Sir, we have a physician's authorization.”
“Then the physician can explain it to the police.”
Luca turned toward Daniel.
“Call 911.”
“Tell them someone is attempting to remove two people from my home using documents I believe are fraudulent.”
Vanessa gasped.
“You're calling the police on your own wife?”
“I'm asking the police to investigate what happened to my mother.”
The ballroom fell silent.
I'd heard stories about Luca's ruthlessness.
I'd seen men apologize simply because he'd looked in their direction.
But tonight, his quiet refusal frightened Vanessa more than any shouted threat could have.
Rosa reached for my hand.
“Claire,” she whispered.
“Please don't leave me.”
I knelt beside her.
“I'm right here, Mrs. Rosa.”
She squeezed my fingers weakly.
Then the man holding the wheelchair stepped closer.
“Mrs. Moretti, please understand that delaying your transfer could endanger your health.”
Rosa began trembling.
“Please don't make me go.”
Luca moved between them.
“She's told you no.”
The man stopped.
A woman in a sapphire evening gown approached the table.
I'd seen her at family gatherings but had never learned her name.
She touched Rosa's shoulder gently.
“Rosa, sweetheart, are you frightened of these people?”
Rosa nodded.
The woman looked directly at Luca.
“Then listen to her.”
Something changed in his face.
He slowly lowered himself beside his mother's chair.
“Ma, I'm sorry.”
Rosa looked confused.
“For what, sweetheart?”
“For making you believe you had to hide this from me.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“You've been so busy.”
“And Vanessa said you were angry with me.”
Luca closed his eyes for a second.
When he opened them, they were shining.
“I should have asked you myself.”
At the other end of the table, Vanessa abruptly turned toward the exit.
Daniel stepped aside only long enough to prevent her from colliding with an arriving police officer.
The officers began separating witnesses and taking statements.
The men from Havenbrook insisted that their instructions were legitimate.
Vanessa demanded an attorney.
I answered every question as carefully as I could.
But while the ballroom emptied, Rosa tugged gently at my apron.
“Claire, there's something you need to know.”
I leaned closer.
“Tell me.”
She glanced toward Luca.
“Vanessa wasn't only trying to take me away.”
My heart sank.
“What else did she want?”
Rosa swallowed.
“Your father left something for me, Luca.”
“Something he said I must never surrender.”
Luca drew closer.
“What did Dad leave you?”
Rosa looked toward the hallway leading to the old servants' staircase.
“A blue envelope.”
“I hid it in my sewing room before Vanessa took my keys.”
I felt her fingers tighten around mine.
“She told me that if I didn't give it to her tonight, she'd make sure neither of you ever saw me again.”
Luca stared at his mother.
May you like
Then she whispered the words that made everything suddenly much bigger than a cruel woman's threats.
“That envelope contains the reason Vanessa married you.”
