THE MAFIA BOSS'S FIANCÉE ORDERED ME TO CUT HIS DEAD MOTHER'S HANDMADE QUILT INTO WEDDING DECORATIONS—THEN HE NOTICED THE SMALL RED PATCH I WAS HIDING IN MY APRON AND ASKED,

Winter arrived in Chicago again, dusting the rebuilt estate in fresh, glittering snow.

Inside the library, a warm fire crackled in the hearth.

I sat in Teresa’s favorite armchair, a cup of hot tea resting on the table beside me. Across the room, Elena was helping Mia practice her reading aloud, their laughter filling the high-ceilinged room.

Giovanni walked in, dusting snow off his shoulders. He hung his coat up and walked over to the fire, warming his hands. He looked around the room, taking in the scene with a profound sense of peace.

“It’s quiet today,” he noted, smiling.

“Just the way your mother liked it,” I smiled back.

The famous quilt was draped over my lap. It had become a permanent fixture in the library, a symbol of everything we had fought for.

“I noticed something this morning,” I said, running my hand over the fabric.

Giovanni walked over. “What’s that?”

“There’s one empty square,” I pointed to a small, blank piece of white cotton in the bottom corner. “Teresa never finished it.”

Giovanni sat on the arm of my chair. “She always said she was leaving room for the future.”

He looked at me, then pulled something from his pocket. It was a small square of dark navy blue silk.

I recognized it immediately. It was a piece of the uniform I used to wear when I first came to this house.

“I kept a piece before you threw the old uniforms out,” he confessed, looking slightly embarrassed. “I thought... maybe it belonged on the quilt. So we never forget how you saved this family.”

Tears pricked my eyes. I took the silk square from his hand.

“I’ll sew it in tonight,” I promised.

Mia ran over, climbing onto Giovanni’s lap and peering at the quilt. “Is that a new piece?”

“It is,” Giovanni said, kissing the top of her head. “It’s the most important one.”

I picked up my needle and thread, the silver needle catching the firelight. As I began to stitch the final piece into place, I realized Teresa was right.