Chapter 4 - THE PHOTOGRAPH
The swinging doors to the kitchen sealed shut, cutting off the chaos of the dining room.
The kitchen staff, usually a blur of frantic energy during a dinner party, stood frozen. The head chef was clutching a copper pan, his eyes wide. Everyone had heard Luca’s voice.
“Claire,” the chef whispered, stepping forward. “What is happening out there?”
“The engagement is off,” I said, keeping my voice steady for Lily’s sake. I set the little girl down gently onto a tall wooden stool near the baking station.
Lily looked at me, her dark eyes wide and filled with a terrifying, hopeful confusion.
“Claire?” Lily asked softly. “Did Daddy say my Mommy is alive?”
My throat tightened. I knelt in front of her, taking her small, trembling hands in mine.
“I don't know, sweetheart,” I answered honestly. I couldn't lie to her, but I couldn't give her false hope either. “Your Dad is figuring it out right now. And he is going to protect you, no matter what.”
Inside the dining room, the muffled sounds of shouting escalated. I heard Vanessa’s voice, shrill and desperate, followed by the heavy thud of something crashing against a wall.
A few minutes later, the kitchen doors burst open.
Luca walked in. He had taken off his suit jacket. His tie was loosened, and his white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar. He looked like a man who had just survived a war, but his eyes were entirely focused on his daughter.
He walked straight to Lily, dropping to his knees on the tiled floor, completely ignoring the stunned kitchen staff.
“Daddy,” Lily cried, throwing her arms around his neck.
Luca buried his face in her dark hair, holding her so tightly I thought she might break. “I’m here, baby. I’m right here. Nobody is ever going to send you away. You are my whole world.”
He looked up at me over his daughter’s shoulder. The gratitude in his eyes was so profound it made my breath catch.
“Claire,” Luca said roughly. “Take my car. The black SUV in the back driveway. The keys are in the ignition. Take Lily to your mother’s house. Right now.”
I froze. “Sir? What about Vanessa?”
“Vanessa is currently explaining her choices to my men in the basement,” Luca said, his voice turning cold.
He stood up, pulling the small, folded photograph from his pocket. He laid it flat on the stainless steel prep counter.
I looked down at it.
Answer one: Elena Moretti hadn't died in the fiery car crash four years ago. The woman in the photo was undeniably Lily’s mother, looking older, tired, but very much alive, standing in front of a brick building with Dr. Thorne.
“She faked her death,” Luca said, his voice hollow. “Vanessa confessed. She and Elena planned it together. Elena wanted out of the life. She wanted to escape the syndicate. Vanessa helped her disappear, and in exchange, Vanessa got to step into her shoes and take over my life.”
A reversal hit me like a freight train.
Elena hadn't been a victim of a rival mob family. She had run away.
“But if she ran away to protect herself,” I asked, looking at Lily, “why would she leave her daughter behind?”
Open two: If Elena loved Lily so much, why abandon her? And why did Dr. Thorne have a picture of Elena taken three months ago?
“She didn't leave her behind on purpose,” Luca said, his jaw clenching. “Vanessa was supposed to bring Lily to her the next day. But Vanessa betrayed her. She kept Lily here to cement her hold over me. She told Elena that if she ever came back for Lily, she would tell me the truth, and my family would hunt Elena down and kill her.”
I felt sick. Vanessa had used a child as collateral to live in a mansion.
“But the photograph is recent,” I pointed out, tracing the date stamp on the bottom corner. “Why was Vanessa dealing with Dr. Thorne now?”
“Because Elena finally stopped running,” Luca said grimly. “She came back to Chicago three months ago to get her daughter back. She went to Dr. Thorne for help. But Thorne is corrupt. Thorne called Vanessa and held Elena at the Oakwood Institute, demanding a massive payoff.”
Luca looked toward the kitchen doors.
“Vanessa was sending Lily to Oakwood tomorrow to use her as a bargaining chip to permanently silence Elena.”
Lily, who had been listening quietly, suddenly reached into the deep pocket of her oversized waitress uniform.
“Daddy?” Lily whispered.
She pulled out a crumpled piece of construction paper.
“Mommy didn't run away because she didn't like you,” Lily said, her little voice shaking. “She ran away because of the monster.”
Luca stared at the child’s drawing. “What monster, baby?”
I looked over Luca’s shoulder at the drawing.
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It was a child’s crayon sketch of a dark garage. In the center was a burning car. And standing next to the car was a man wearing a very specific, heavy winter coat, holding a baseball bat.
“I saw him,” Lily whispered, tears falling down her cheeks. “The night Mommy left. I was hiding in the closet. The monster told Mommy if she didn't leave forever, he would hurt me.”
