Chapter 3 - THE TORN DRAWING
Luca stared at the silver bracelet resting on the marble floor.
The dining room had become a tomb. None of the twenty-eight guests dared to breathe.
I looked from the tiny engraved eagle on the silver metal to Vanessa’s panicked face. The arrogance had completely drained from her expression, leaving behind raw terror.
“Let me go,” Vanessa demanded, trying to yank her arm away from Daniel.
But Daniel’s grip was like iron. He looked at Luca, waiting for the order.
Luca slowly bent down. He picked up the tiny silver bracelet. It looked impossibly small resting in his large, tattooed palm.
“Why do you have Leo’s bracelet?” Luca asked. His voice was no longer calm. It was a low, dangerous gravel that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Vanessa swallowed hard. “I found it. On the stairs. I was going to give it back to him tomorrow.”
It was a lie. We all knew it. Leo never took that bracelet off. It was the only thing he had left of his father, Luca’s late younger brother.
Before Luca could ask another question, a small voice echoed from the grand staircase behind us.
“Uncle Luca?”
Everyone turned.
Standing on the bottom step was Leo. He was six years old, wearing oversized dinosaur pajamas, clutching a battered stuffed bear to his chest. His dark curls were messy from sleep, and he was rubbing one of his eyes.
But it was his other hand that made my heart drop.
He was holding a crumpled piece of paper.
Teresa gasped from her chair. “Leo, sweetheart, why are you out of bed?”
Luca immediately shoved the silver bracelet into his pocket and crossed the room, kneeling at the bottom of the stairs. His intimidating demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by a profound, gentle warmth.
“Hey, buddy,” Luca whispered, resting a hand on the boy’s small shoulder. “Did the noise wake you up?”
Leo nodded slowly. He looked past Luca, his wide eyes fixing on Vanessa. The little boy visibly shrank back, hiding halfway behind Luca’s broad shoulder.
My chest ached. I had noticed Leo acting quieter around Vanessa over the last few weeks, but I thought he was just shy. Now, seeing the pure fear in his eyes, I realized I had missed something crucial.
“It’s okay,” Luca said softly, noticing the boy’s fear. He shifted his body, completely blocking Vanessa from Leo’s view. “Nobody is going to hurt you. What do you have there?”
Leo sniffled. He slowly held out the crumpled paper.
It was a drawing done in bright crayons. It showed a big house, a stick figure of Teresa with a walker, a tall stick figure of Luca, a smaller one of Leo, and a little brown dog.
But the drawing had been torn straight down the middle and roughly taped back together.
“I fixed it,” Leo whispered, his lower lip quivering.
Luca took the paper gently. “It’s beautiful, Leo. But how did it get torn?”
Leo looked down at his bare feet. “Vanessa said you didn't want my pictures on your fridge anymore, Uncle Luca. She said my drawings make the kitchen look cheap.”
A collective intake of breath swept through the guests.
Teresa let out a soft sob, covering her mouth with her trembling hands.
Luca stopped breathing. He looked at the torn crayon drawing. Then, he looked at his nephew.
“She tore this?” Luca asked, his voice cracking.
Leo nodded. “She said when I go away to the new school, I won’t need crayons anymore.”
Luca went completely still.
“The new school?” Luca repeated.
“The boarding school,” Leo whispered, wiping his nose. “She showed me the brochure. She said it was far away, in Switzerland. She told me my bags were already packed in the hallway closet.”
I felt physically sick.
Vanessa hadn’t just been trying to push Teresa out of the house. She had been systematically clearing the entire family. She was isolating Luca, removing the two people he loved most in the world, ensuring she would be the only one with influence over him.
And she had been doing it by terrorizing an elderly widow and a six-year-old orphan behind his back.
Luca stood up. He didn’t hand the drawing to me. He folded it carefully and placed it in his breast pocket, right over his heart.
Then, he turned around.
The look on Luca Moretti’s face was something I will never forget. It was the face of a man who realized he had almost let a monster destroy his family.
“Daniel,” Luca said, his voice echoing with absolute authority.
“Yes, sir.”
“Take her down to the gate. Do not let her pack. Do not let her make a phone call. If she steps foot on my property ever again, you won't need to ask for my permission to handle it.”
Vanessa began to scream. “Luca! You can’t do this! You need my father’s connections! You’re making a mistake!”
Daniel dragged her out of the dining room. Her screams echoed down the marble hallway until the heavy mahogany front doors slammed shut, cutting off her voice completely.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Luca didn’t apologize to his guests. He didn’t offer a polite excuse.
He walked back over to his mother, gently picked up the wet shawl I had wrapped around her, and scooped the seventy-eight-year-old woman into his arms like she weighed nothing at all.
“Rachel,” Luca looked at me, his eyes filled with gratitude and exhaustion. “Bring Leo upstairs. We’re putting them to bed.”
I nodded quickly, taking Leo’s small hand.
I thought the worst of the nightmare was over. I thought Vanessa’s departure meant peace for the Moretti family.
But when I tucked Leo into bed and went to help Teresa change into her nightgown, the older woman gripped my wrist with terrifying strength.
“Rachel,” Teresa whispered, her eyes wide with panic as she looked toward the bedroom door. “Lock it.”
“Mrs. Moretti, it’s okay. She’s gone,” I soothed.
“No, you don’t understand,” Teresa gasped, pulling something heavy from the pocket of her wet dress.
May you like
It was an antique, heavy gold pocket watch attached to a silver rosary.
“She wasn’t just trying to get rid of us,” Teresa breathed, shoving the watch into my hands. “She was looking for this. Hide it, Rachel. If Vanessa’s father finds out we still have it, Luca’s life is in danger.”
