Chapter 3 - THE CHILD IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
The engagement dinner was officially over.
Luca dismissed the guests with a single wave of his hand. Thirty powerful men and their wives filed out in absolute silence. Nobody questioned Luca Moretti. When the heavy dining room doors closed, only four of us remained. Luca. Vanessa. Teresa. And me.
"Leave us, Emma," Luca said, rubbing his temples.
I turned to go, but Teresa tapped her cane. "She stays. Emma found the next piece."
Luca looked up, confused. "What piece?"
I froze. Teresa was looking directly at the pocket of my apron. Earlier today, while making Vanessa’s bed, I had found something slipped between the mattress and the box spring. I had meant to turn it in to the estate manager. With the chaos of the dinner, I had forgotten.
"Emma," Luca said. His tone was dangerously calm now. "What did you find?"
My hands trembled as I reached into my pocket. I pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. It was a child's drawing. Done in heavy, colorful crayon. It depicted a tall man, a woman with dark hair, and a small boy.
I handed it to Luca. "I found it under Miss Bellini's mattress this afternoon, sir."
Luca unfolded the paper. He stared at it. In the corner, written in clumsy, blocky letters, was a name: Leo.
Luca looked at Vanessa. She was sobbing now, mascara running down her perfect cheeks.
"Matteo had a son," Luca whispered, putting the pieces together. "My brother had a child before he died. A child you know about."
Vanessa dropped into her chair, covering her face. "He didn't want you to know," she wept. "Matteo knew your life was dangerous. He wanted Leo kept out of the family business."
"And you?" Luca asked, stepping closer to her. "How do you fit into this?"
Vanessa looked up. "I was Matteo's secret fiancé. Leo is my son."
The reversal hit me like a physical blow. Vanessa wasn't just a socialite climbing the ranks. She was the mother of the Moretti heir.
Luca staggered back, hitting the edge of the dining table. "You're my brother's widow."
Vanessa nodded frantically. "I changed my last name. I reinvented myself. I approached you two years ago because Leo needed his uncle. But I knew if I just showed up, you would take him from me and raise him in the mafia. I had to make you fall in love with me so I could control how Leo was brought in."
It sounded like a mother’s desperate sacrifice. It almost sounded noble.
Until Teresa laughed. A dry, scraping sound.
"A lovely story, Vanessa," the old woman said. "There is only one problem."
"It's the truth!" Vanessa yelled.
Teresa shook her head. "Emma, do you remember the winter coat you brought to the dry cleaners for Vanessa last week?"
"Yes, ma'am," I said. "The black cashmere one."
"Did you check the pockets?"
"I always check pockets before dry cleaning," I replied.
"And what did you find?" Teresa asked.
I swallowed hard. "A train ticket. A one-way ticket to Montreal. Dated for tomorrow morning."
Luca snapped his head toward Vanessa. "You're running away tomorrow? The morning after our engagement?"
Vanessa’s eyes darted toward the doors. "I... I panicked. The wedding pressure..."
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"Answer one question, and you just open two more," Teresa muttered. The old woman reached into her cardigan again. "Vanessa isn't trying to bring Leo into the family, Luca. She's trying to sell him."
Teresa tossed a heavy, iron key onto the table. "I found this in her purse. It belongs to a storage locker at the train station. The locker where she intends to trade your brother's son to the Russian syndicate in exchange for clearing her gambling debts."
