Chapter 12 - TERESA'S SECRET|
I had never seen Teresa Moretti cry in front of anyone.
Not at the engagement dinner.
Not when Luca discovered the forged documents.
Not even when she described working late nights at a diner after her husband died.
But when Luca showed her the financial authorization bearing her signature, her face crumpled.
"I never signed that," she whispered.
Luca immediately moved closer.
"Mom, I believe you."
She stared at the paper.
"That's my handwriting, but I didn't write it."
I sat beside her on the library sofa.
Her hands were shaking.
"Mrs. Moretti, someone copied my signature too."
She looked at me.
Then she nodded slowly.
"Yes, sweetheart."
Her eyes filled.
"I know."
Luca frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Teresa looked toward the fireplace.
For several seconds, she seemed to be deciding whether to tell us something.
Then she took a deep breath.
"Vanessa came to see me three months ago."
Luca went still.
"What about?"
"She brought documents concerning the household budget."
Teresa's voice trembled.
"She said Victor needed my approval because part of the spending involved an old family property account."
"Did you sign anything?"
"No."
She looked directly at her son.
"I told her I didn't understand why my signature was required and that I wanted you present."
Luca clenched his jaw.
"What did she say?"
"She told me you were too busy."
Teresa's eyes filled again.
"And when I insisted, she became angry."
I felt a chill.
"Did she threaten you?"
Teresa hesitated.
"Not directly."
She looked down at her hands.
"She suggested that perhaps I was becoming forgetful."
Luca's expression hardened.
"She said that to you?"
"She told me that older people sometimes struggle with complicated financial matters."
Teresa swallowed.
"Then she said she hoped nobody would begin questioning whether I was capable of managing my affairs."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
I thought about Lily standing outside the service entrance.
I thought about Rosa being threatened with losing her wages.
And I realized Vanessa had used the same weapon against all of us.
Fear.
With Lily, it was fear of losing her mother.
With me, it was fear of losing my job.
With Rosa, it was fear of losing her income.
And with Teresa, it was fear of losing her independence.
Luca knelt beside his mother's chair.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Teresa looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"Because I didn't want you to think I was becoming a burden."
He gently took her hands.
"Mom, you've never been a burden."
She shook her head.
"Your life is so busy, Luca."
"I know."
"And you looked so happy about getting married."
His voice broke.
"Not happy enough to let anyone frighten my mother."
Teresa began crying.
He pulled her into his arms.
For a moment, the feared Luca Moretti disappeared.
All I saw was a son holding the woman who had raised him.
Then Teresa straightened.
"There's something else."
Luca looked at her.
"What?"
She glanced toward me.
"I kept a notebook."
I frowned.
"A notebook?"
"When things began bothering me, I wrote them down."
She gave a small, embarrassed smile.
"I've always done that."
Luca nodded.
"I remember."
Teresa explained that she'd noticed changes in the household long before the engagement dinner.
Employees had begun looking frightened.
Some stopped speaking when Vanessa entered a room.
Others seemed unusually worried about their schedules.
Teresa had written down dates, conversations, and names whenever something seemed wrong.
"Why didn't you show anyone?" I asked gently.
She looked ashamed.
"I was afraid I was misunderstanding things."
Luca shook his head.
"Mom, you were paying attention when I wasn't."
He helped her retrieve the notebook from a sewing box in her sitting room.
It was small, blue, and covered with tiny handwritten notes.
Some entries were ordinary reminders.
Call the gardener.
Buy more cinnamon.
Ask Luca about Sunday dinner.
But others were different.
One entry described Vanessa dismissing a housekeeper who needed time off to attend a child's medical appointment.
Another mentioned Victor arriving after dinner to discuss unusually large staffing payments.
Then we found an entry dated two weeks before the engagement dinner.
It contained six words.
VANESSA ASKED ABOUT EMILY'S LITTLE GIRL.
My breath caught.
Beneath it, Teresa had written that Vanessa wanted to know who collected Lily from school and whether Emily had family nearby.
I looked up slowly.
"She was asking about my daughter before she ever met her."
Teresa nodded sadly.
"I thought she was trying to help arrange childcare."
My hands tightened around the notebook.
"She wasn't."
Luca looked as though he could barely contain his anger.
Then Daniel entered the room with new information from the forensic investigators.
They had located an archived message from Victor to Vanessa discussing the staffing program's financial risks.
According to Daniel, Vanessa had replied that the employees would not complain if the company made leaving too costly for them.
The original message was being preserved for investigators.
Teresa closed her eyes.
Luca looked at his mother, then at me.
"This ends through the proper legal process," he said.
"No more threats."
That evening, I went home with a copy of the entries relevant to my case, arranged through the attorneys.
I made Lily hot chocolate and listened to her tell me about a science project involving bean sprouts.
For a little while, everything felt peaceful.
Then my phone lit up with a number I didn't recognize.
A voicemail appeared.
I played it while standing alone in the kitchen.
Vanessa's voice filled the room.
"Emily, you've made this far more difficult than necessary."
My heart began pounding.
"I suggest we speak privately before this gets any worse."
She paused.
May you like
Then her voice became cold.
"Because there are still things I can tell your daughter that you won't want her to hear."
