Chapter 2 - THE BROCHURE IN THE SILK PURSE
“Left out of what?” Luca’s voice dropped an octave, the kind of quiet that usually preceded a storm in the Moretti family.
He didn't look at Vanessa. His dark eyes were locked entirely on Evelyn’s hands, waiting for her to move them again. The dining room, filled with thirty-six wealthy guests, had gone so silent you could hear the crystal chandeliers softly clinking above us.
Evelyn hesitated. She looked at Teresa, whose face was pale and trembling.
Teresa gently nodded to her friend.
Evelyn raised her hands. Her fingers moved with a heartbreaking slowness.
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry, and translated for the room.
“She says... Teresa is being left out of her own home. Evelyn says Vanessa told her Teresa wouldn't be living here by the time the wedding invitations were mailed.”
A collective gasp swept through the dining table.
Luca slowly turned his head toward his fiancée.
“Luca, this is a gross mistranslation,” Vanessa said immediately, her voice shrill. She stood up, her red silk gown rustling against the heavy wooden chair. “Hannah is a maid. She’s probably making half of this up to cause drama!”
“I am translating exactly what she signs,” I said quietly, looking Vanessa directly in the eye.
“My mother is not moving anywhere,” Luca said, his voice dangerously even. “This is her home. My father built this house for her. She will be here until her last breath.”
Vanessa laughed nervously, touching her diamond necklace. “Of course she will, darling. I merely suggested to Evelyn that Teresa might enjoy spending a few months at a luxury wellness retreat after the wedding. Just to rest! She’s been so stressed lately.”
Teresa looked down at her hands.
“I don't want to go to a retreat,” the older woman whispered.
“It was just an idea, Teresa,” Vanessa smiled, though her eyes were completely cold. “We don't need to discuss it in front of our guests.”
Evelyn watched Vanessa’s lips move. The deaf woman’s face hardened. She didn't need to hear the words to understand the manipulation.
Evelyn began signing again, much faster this time.
I watched her hands, my heart pounding against my ribs.
“Mrs. Carter says it wasn't a suggestion,” I translated, my voice carrying across the silent room. “She says Vanessa was already packing your mother’s things.”
Luca froze. “Packing?”
“Yes,” I continued, reading Evelyn’s frantic gestures. “Evelyn says the last time she was allowed inside, she saw Vanessa’s assistant carrying two heavy boxes of Teresa’s winter clothes out to a van.”
Luca turned to his mother. “Mom. Are your winter clothes missing?”
Teresa’s lower lip trembled. “I... I couldn't find my heavy wool coats last week. Vanessa told me the dry cleaners had lost them.”
Vanessa’s face went entirely white. “They did! The cleaners lost them, Luca. This old woman is confused!”
But Luca wasn't listening to her anymore. He stepped away from the table, his eyes scanning the room until they landed on Vanessa’s small, designer silk purse resting on the side console table.
“Luca, what are you doing?” Vanessa demanded, stepping toward him.
He didn't answer. He picked up the purse and popped the gold clasp.
“Don't touch my things!” Vanessa lunged forward, but Luca simply held out his arm, blocking her effortlessly.
He reached inside the purse and pulled out a glossy, tri-fold brochure.
He stared at it for a long time. The silence in the room was suffocating.
Then, Luca slowly raised his head. The look in his eyes made my blood run cold.
“Sunset Pines,” Luca read aloud, his voice devoid of all warmth.
Vanessa took a step backward, her hands shaking.
“It’s a luxury community, Luca!” she pleaded. “It has a spa, a golf course... it’s for her own good!”
“I know what Sunset Pines is,” Luca said softly. “My uncle Silvio died there. It’s not a spa, Vanessa. It’s an assisted living facility for patients with severe dementia. It has locked doors. They don't let you leave.”
Teresa let out a small, broken sob and covered her face with her hands. Evelyn immediately wrapped her arms around her friend, glaring at Vanessa with absolute disgust.
“She’s forgetting things, Luca!” Vanessa cried out, gesturing wildly toward Teresa. “She’s becoming a burden! You run an empire, you don't have time to change your mother’s diapers in five years! I was handling it for you!”
“By secretly packing her clothes?” Luca asked, stepping closer to her. “By isolating her from her best friend?”
“I am the lady of this house now!” Vanessa screamed, losing her temper completely. “I make the decisions about this household!”
“You are a guest,” Luca corrected her, his voice slicing through the air like a knife.
He dropped the brochure onto the floor.
“And your invitation has just been revoked.”
The guests were completely paralyzed. Nobody dared to breathe.
“You’re throwing me out?” Vanessa whispered, tears of humiliation welling in her eyes. “Over her?”
“Marco,” Luca called out.
Immediately, the head of the Moretti security detail stepped into the dining room. The massive man had been waiting by the door.
“Escort Miss Bellini to her suite,” Luca ordered, not taking his eyes off Vanessa. “She has exactly one hour to pack her things. If she is not out of this house by nine o'clock, carry her out.”
“Luca, you can't do this!” Vanessa sobbed, reaching for his arm. “The wedding is in three weeks! My family will ruin you!”
“Let them try,” Luca said.
Marco stepped forward and firmly grabbed Vanessa’s elbow, guiding the screaming, crying woman out of the dining room. The heavy wooden doors slammed shut behind her.
Luca turned back to the table. He looked at the thirty-six wealthy guests, who were all staring at him in shock.
“Dinner is over,” Luca said quietly. “Have a safe drive home.”
Within ten minutes, the dining room was completely empty, save for Luca, Teresa, Evelyn, and me.
Teresa was still crying softly. Luca walked over and knelt beside his mother’s chair, taking her frail hands in his.
“I’m so sorry, Mom,” he whispered, kissing her knuckles. “I didn't know. I swear to God, I didn't know she was doing this.”
“It’s alright, my boy,” Teresa wept, touching his face. “I just... I thought I was losing my mind. I thought you wanted me gone.”
“Never,” Luca said fiercely.
Evelyn reached out and tapped my arm. She began signing again.
I watched her hands, my eyes widening.
“Mr. Moretti,” I said tentatively.
Luca looked up at me. “What is it, Hannah?”
“Evelyn says... there’s something else,” I translated, my voice shaking slightly. “She says Vanessa wasn't just packing clothes.”
Luca stood up. “What else did she take?”
Evelyn’s hands moved with desperate urgency.
“She says the day she saw the boxes, she saw Vanessa walk out of Teresa’s bedroom holding something small. Something Vanessa looked terrified of.”
“What was it?” Luca asked.
I swallowed hard. “A silver photograph frame. The one that used to sit on Teresa’s nightstand.”
Teresa gasped, her hands flying to her chest. “No. No, she couldn't have.”
“Mom, what photograph?” Luca asked, his brow furrowing.
May you like
Teresa looked at him, her eyes wide with a sudden, profound terror.
“The photograph of your brother,” Teresa whispered. “The one taken the day before he died.”
