Chapter 2 - THE NAME ON THE APRON|
For the first time since I'd started working at the Moretti mansion, I saw Luca Moretti look at someone as though he no longer recognized them.
His hand was still holding the little strip of white apron fabric.
My daughter's name was written across it in black ink.
Beneath her name were the words that made my stomach twist.
JUNIOR HOUSEKEEPING.
Vanessa Bellini stood beside the dining table, surrounded by twenty-eight guests who suddenly seemed afraid to breathe.
"Luca, you're being ridiculous," she finally said.
"It's a harmless little game."
"A game?"
His voice was dangerously quiet.
"She's eight years old, Vanessa."
Vanessa gave a nervous laugh and adjusted the diamond bracelet around her wrist.
"Children like pretending to be grown-ups."
"Then why did you tell her she would have to work to see her mother?"
Vanessa opened her mouth, but no words came out.
I felt Lily tighten her arms around my neck.
"Mommy, did I do something bad?" she whispered.
I immediately turned toward her.
"No, sweetheart."
I kissed her cold forehead.
"You haven't done anything wrong."
"But the lady said I could help wash dishes."
Lily looked toward the elegant dining table.
"She said if I learned really fast, maybe I could stay close to you."
A woman near the fireplace covered her mouth.
Teresa Moretti slowly rose from her chair.
At seventy-eight, she was smaller than most of the people in that room, but something about the way she stood made everyone notice.
"Vanessa," she said, "when my husband died, I cleaned hotel rooms to feed my son."
Vanessa looked away.
"I know, Teresa."
"No, I don't believe you do."
The older woman's voice trembled.
"Because I remember what it feels like to work twelve hours and still wonder whether your child has eaten."
She looked at Lily.
"And I would never have made another mother's little girl earn the right to be loved."
I pressed my lips together, fighting tears.
Vanessa's face hardened.
"This is becoming completely inappropriate."
Luca placed his champagne glass on the table.
"You're right about one thing."
He took a slow breath.
"This dinner is over."
Several guests exchanged uncomfortable glances.
Vanessa stepped toward him.
"You can't humiliate me in front of everyone."
Luca didn't raise his voice.
"You humiliated yourself when you threatened an eight-year-old child."
Then he turned toward Daniel Russo, his longtime head of security.
"Make sure Miss Bellini collects her personal belongings and leaves the property tonight."
Vanessa stared at him.
"You're throwing me out?"
"I'm ending this before somebody else gets hurt."
She reached for his arm.
He stepped away.
That movement seemed to hurt her pride more than anything he'd said.
I had seen Luca angry before.
Men in expensive suits had entered his office looking confident and left with trembling hands.
People whispered about the Moretti family's connections throughout Chicago, and there were stories about Luca that nobody dared repeat loudly.
But tonight, his anger wasn't loud or theatrical.
It was controlled, focused, and impossible to ignore.
He turned to Mrs. Carter.
"Please call Dr. Bennett and ask whether Lily needs to be examined after being outside that long."
Then he looked at me.
"Emily, do you have somewhere comfortable to take her tonight?"
I nodded quickly.
"Yes, sir, our apartment."
"Good."
He glanced at Lily's trembling hands.
"Daniel can arrange a ride if you need one."
Before I could answer, Vanessa laughed bitterly.
"Look at this."
Everyone turned.
"A maid brings her child to my engagement dinner, cries in front of everyone, and suddenly she's the most important woman in the house."
My face burned.
I wanted to disappear.
But Luca's response stopped me.
"Emily didn't ask to be important."
He looked directly at Vanessa.
"She asked to go home to her daughter."
Vanessa snatched her purse from the table.
"You'll regret choosing strangers over your future wife."
"Not nearly as much as I would regret marrying someone who thinks kindness is weakness."
She marched toward the doorway with Daniel following several steps behind.
When the doors closed, the dining room seemed to exhale.
I thought the nightmare was finished.
I was wrong.
Mrs. Carter approached Luca carrying a cream-colored folder.
Her expression was troubled.
"Mr. Moretti, there's something you should see."
Luca turned toward her.
"What is it?"
She hesitated and glanced at me.
"I didn't understand the significance until tonight."
Then she opened the folder.
Inside was a printed document with the Moretti estate's official letterhead.
At the top were four words.
REVISED HOUSEHOLD EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT.
Mrs. Carter pointed to a paragraph near the bottom.
Luca read it silently.
His jaw tightened.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he turned the paper so I could see.
It stated that after Vanessa's wedding, selected household employees would be required to live on the estate during assigned work periods.
Dependents who could not be accommodated would have to remain elsewhere.
My mouth went dry.
Then I saw the signature beneath the agreement.
EMILY DAWSON.
I stared at it in disbelief.
"That's impossible."
Luca looked at me.
"Emily?"
My hands began shaking.
"I never signed this."
Mrs. Carter swallowed.
"There's a second page."
She turned it over.
Under a section labeled DEPENDENT ARRANGEMENTS, somebody had written my daughter's name.
And next to it was a checked box indicating that I had agreed to separate living arrangements for her.
I looked up at Luca.
May you like
My voice barely worked.
"Mr. Moretti, somebody signed away my right to bring Lily home, and they made it look like I agreed."
