Chapter 2 - THE SECRET INSIDE THE GOLD WATCH
“Put that thing away, Hannah.”
Vanessa Bellini stood beside the dining table in a fitted red silk gown, pointing at the small gold pocket watch resting in my hands.
Thirty-six guests had gathered beneath the crystal chandeliers for Luca Moretti's engagement dinner.
Seventy-eight-year-old Teresa Moretti was sitting beside me, carefully rubbing the watch with a soft white cloth.
“Mrs. Moretti just wanted to clean it,” I explained.
Vanessa laughed.
“Oh, sweetheart. That thing hasn't worked in four years. Why are you polishing something nobody uses?”
Teresa looked down.
“It belonged to my husband.”
“And he's gone, Teresa. It's time to stop surrounding yourself with things that remind you of the past.”
The old woman's fingers tightened around the cloth.
“I know.”
Those two words hurt more than Vanessa probably realized.
Because Teresa had kept that watch beside her bed every night since her husband died.
She never wore it.
Never opened it.
She simply held it for a few minutes before going to sleep.
My name is Hannah Collins. I'm twenty-five years old, and I've worked at the Moretti mansion in Chicago for eleven months.
I needed this job.
My mother was recovering from a serious operation, and every paycheck helped cover her medication and the woman who came each morning to help her.
Vanessa knew that.
She'd already warned me twice about spending too much time with Teresa.
But for the past several days, the old woman had been asking me to help polish that little watch.
Every afternoon, she'd place it on a folded handkerchief.
Carefully clean the gold edges.
Then turn it over and run her thumb across the back.
One afternoon, I asked why she never let anyone open it.
She smiled sadly.
“Because my husband told me it was meant to be opened on a very special day.”
I'd assumed she meant his birthday.
Until this morning.
She'd looked at the wedding invitation on her dresser and whispered:
“Maybe tonight is finally the day.”
“Hannah.”
Vanessa snapped her fingers.
“Are you listening?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Give me the watch.”
Teresa immediately pulled it closer.
“Please don't.”
Vanessa sighed.
“Teresa, you're making everyone uncomfortable. We're celebrating a new marriage, not remembering your old one.”
The old woman's cheeks turned pink.
“I'm sorry.”
I felt my chest tighten.
Because Teresa Moretti had spent forty-two years married to the man who built this family.
She had stood beside him when they had almost nothing.
And now she was being told that remembering him was inappropriate.
“Mrs. Bellini,” I said quietly, “she only wanted to keep it nearby.”
Vanessa turned toward me.
“Did I ask for your opinion?”
“No, ma'am.”
“Then stop encouraging her.”
She pointed toward the kitchen.
“Take that watch away. And if you continue interfering with my family, tomorrow will be your last day.”
I thought about my mother's medical bills.
The overdue rent.
The little savings I'd promised her would last until Christmas.
Then Teresa caught my wrist.
“Don't lose your job because of an old watch, sweetheart.”
I looked at her.
And gently placed it back in her hands.
“It's yours, Mrs. Moretti.”
Vanessa's expression hardened.
A chair moved at the head of the table.
“Why is my mother being threatened?”
Luca Moretti had stopped speaking to his uncle.
Thirty-six years old. Dark hair. Black tailored suit.
His voice was calm.
But the entire room immediately quieted.
Vanessa reached for his arm.
“Darling, your mother is getting sentimental again. Hannah keeps encouraging her to bring old things into our engagement celebration.”
Luca looked at the watch.
Then at his mother.
“Mom?”
Teresa tried to smile.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
He walked around the table.
“Is that Dad's watch?”
She nodded.
Luca smiled faintly.
“I haven't seen it in years.”
“I know.”
“Why do you still keep it?”
Teresa looked at the little gold case.
“Because he asked me to.”
Luca pulled out the chair beside her.
“What did he ask you to do?”
The old woman hesitated.
“Keep it safe.”
Vanessa interrupted.
“Luca, your father has been gone for four years. Your mother needs to stop living inside old memories.”
He looked at her.
“My father isn't a memory I'm embarrassed of.”
Vanessa immediately went quiet.
Luca turned back toward Teresa.
“Mom, why didn't you tell me you still had it?”
She lowered her eyes.
“Because I was waiting for the right day.”
“What day?”
The old woman looked at the engagement ring on Vanessa's finger.
Then at Luca.
“Your wedding day.”
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Luca leaned closer.
“Why?”
Teresa took a shaky breath.
“Your father wanted you to have it when you were ready to make a promise to someone.”
Luca's expression softened.
“He wanted me to have his watch?”
She nodded.
“And he left something for you inside.”
Vanessa suddenly reached across the table.
“Teresa, please. Not tonight.”
But Luca caught her hand before she could touch the watch.
“Why not?”
Vanessa forced a smile.
“Because this is supposed to be a happy evening.”
Luca looked down at his mother.
“Mom, may I open it?”
Teresa nodded.
Her fingers trembled as she placed the watch in his palm.
He carefully pressed the small button.
The gold cover clicked open.
Inside was a tiny faded photograph of Luca as a young boy, standing between his parents.
Behind the photograph was a narrow strip of paper.
Luca unfolded it.
His expression changed.
“What is this?”
Teresa began crying.
“Your father's handwriting.”
He read it silently.
Then read it again.
Vanessa leaned closer.
“What does it say?”
Luca didn't answer.
He turned the paper over.
There were only two sentences.
My son, never confuse a woman who loves your home with a woman who only wants to own it.
Before you marry, ask your mother what happened the first time I brought your future wife to our door.
The dining room went completely silent.
Luca slowly lifted his eyes.
“Mom?”
Teresa covered her mouth.
Vanessa stepped backward.
“That's ridiculous. Your father wrote that years ago.”
Luca looked directly at her.
“You knew about this?”
“No.”
“Then why did you say it was ridiculous?”
She swallowed.
“Because Teresa is mixing things up.”
But Teresa shook her head.
“No, Vanessa.”
Her voice trembled.
“I remember that afternoon perfectly.”
Luca turned toward his mother.
“What happened?”
Teresa looked at the watch.
Then at Vanessa.
“Your father came home early that day.”
“And?”
“He wasn't alone.”
Vanessa's face lost its color.
Luca slowly put the watch down.
“Who was with him?”
Teresa's eyes filled.
“A young woman.”
Luca frowned.
“Who?”
The old woman looked directly at his fiancée.
“Vanessa.”
Nobody moved.
Luca stared at her.
“You knew my father before you met me?”
Vanessa immediately shook her head.
“Luca, I was very young. I barely remember him.”
Teresa whispered:
“You were seventeen.”
Vanessa gripped the edge of the table.
“Please stop.”
But Teresa continued.
“Your father brought her into this house because she had nowhere else to go.”
Luca looked confused.
“Why would Dad bring Vanessa here?”
The old woman's voice broke.
“Because he had promised someone he would protect her.”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
Luca slowly stood.
“Who?”
Teresa shook her head.
“I never knew the whole story.”
Then she looked at me.
“Hannah, tell him what I found inside the watch case this morning.”
My stomach tightened.
Because earlier, while polishing the watch, I'd noticed something strange.
A second piece of paper was tucked beneath the little photograph.
I'd carefully removed it and handed it to Teresa.
She had refused to read it.
Instead, she'd asked me to put it back.
“Mr. Moretti,” I whispered, “there was another note inside.”
Luca looked at me.
“Another note?”
I nodded.
Vanessa suddenly reached for the watch.
But Luca moved it away.
“Don't touch it.”
He opened the small compartment.
There was a folded piece of paper.
And beneath it, a tiny silver key.
Teresa began trembling.
“Your father told me never to give you that key until Vanessa came back into this house.”
Luca stared at her.
“Came back?”
The old woman nodded.
“He said one day she would return, and I would understand why he had kept the key.”
Vanessa whispered, “Luca, please don't open it.”
He slowly looked at her.
“What does this key open?”
She couldn't answer.
Then Teresa caught my hand.
“Hannah, sweetheart, tell him where Vanessa asked me to put the watch yesterday.”
My heart began pounding.
Because Vanessa had insisted that Teresa leave the watch in her bedroom before dinner.
And I'd watched her take it away herself.
“Mr. Moretti,” I whispered, “your fiancée took the watch upstairs yesterday afternoon.”
Luca looked at Vanessa.
“Why?”
She shook her head.
“I was cleaning it.”
Teresa immediately whispered:
“No, sweetheart.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“She was looking for the key.”
Luca slowly closed his hand around the tiny silver key.
Then he looked at his fiancée.
“Vanessa, what are you afraid I'll find?”
She began crying.
For the first time all evening, she had no answer.
Then Teresa whispered:
“Your father hid something in the old house. Something he wanted you to see before you married her.”
Luca looked at the watch again.
“Which house, Mom?”
Teresa took a trembling breath.
“The house where your father first brought Vanessa.”
Vanessa suddenly stood.
“Don't go there, Luca.”
He stared at her.
“Why?”
She looked at the key.
Then at Teresa.
And whispered:
“Because the person your father was protecting is still inside that house.”
Luca slowly reached for his jacket.
But Teresa grabbed his hand.
“Sweetheart, there's something I need you to understand before you go.”
He knelt beside her.
“What, Mom?”
Her voice broke.
“Your father didn't ask me to protect Vanessa.”
She looked directly at her future daughter-in-law.
“He asked me to protect someone from her.”
May you like
And when Luca turned toward the woman he was about to marry, Vanessa quietly said three words that made Teresa cover her face.
“She's already gone.”
