Chapter 6
“The Antonio Moretti Community Table?”
Teresa read the name again.
Her face had gone pale.
“Luca, your father never wanted anything named after him.”
“I know, Mom.”
“He wouldn't even let the church put his name on the new kitchen shelves.”
I stood beside the abandoned grocery bags.
For years, Antonio Moretti had helped people quietly.
Now someone was using his name to advertise an event.
And the woman organizing it was the same woman who had accused me of stealing his widow's quarters.
Luca turned to Daniel.
“Find out exactly what this event is supposed to accomplish.”
Then he looked at his mother.
“Do you want to go home?”
Teresa shook her head.
“No. I want to see what Vanessa is doing.”
An hour later, we walked into the Lakeview Grand Hotel.
The ballroom was being prepared for a fundraising dinner.
White flowers stood in tall glass vases.
Gold chairs surrounded circular tables.
A large photograph of Antonio hung near the entrance.
Below it were the words:
Honoring His Legacy of Compassion.
Teresa stopped walking.
I saw her swallow.
The photograph showed Antonio wearing his old brown work coat.
He stood beside Teresa outside their first house.
She was laughing.
He had his arm around her shoulders.
“That picture belonged in our bedroom,” she whispered.
Luca put his arm around her.
“Mom, we can have it removed.”
She shook her head.
“Not yet.”
A woman approached us.
“Mr. Moretti? I'm Evelyn Grant, the event coordinator.”
She was in her forties, dressed professionally, carrying a clipboard.
“I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow evening.”
Luca looked around.
“What is all this?”
Evelyn seemed confused.
“The community dinner Miss Bellini arranged.”
“And who authorized the use of my father's name?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“Miss Bellini said the family supported the event.”
Teresa stepped forward.
“I wasn't asked.”
Evelyn's expression changed.
“Mrs. Moretti, I'm sorry. I understood you were the guest of honor.”
“The guest of honor?”
“Yes, ma'am.”
Evelyn showed us the printed program.
Teresa was scheduled to give the opening speech.
Vanessa would introduce her.
Then the guests would be asked to contribute to a permanent neighborhood grocery program.
Luca turned another page.
A statement claimed the program had successfully delivered groceries to twelve elderly households throughout the fall.
I looked at the dates.
August.
September.
October.
Months when Margaret and her neighbors had received almost nothing.
“That's not true,” I whispered.
Evelyn glanced at me.
“Excuse me?”
“Those deliveries didn't happen.”
Luca took the program.
“Evelyn, where did the food for this dinner come from?”
“Our contracted supplier.”
“Was any of it paid for through Bellini Family Market?”
She checked her records.
“Yes. Miss Bellini arranged part of the order through the market.”
My heart dropped.
The same supplier.
The same money.
Groceries meant for people who couldn't afford them had become ingredients for an expensive charity dinner.
Evelyn looked genuinely upset.
“I was told this would benefit the senior delivery program.”
“That's what we're trying to determine,” Luca replied.
A familiar voice came from behind us.
“It does benefit the program.”
Vanessa.
She stood near the ballroom entrance wearing a burgundy coat over a cream blouse.
Without the red evening gown, she looked different.
Tired.
Her hair was neatly styled, but there were dark circles beneath her eyes.
She looked at Luca.
“I didn't know you'd be here.”
“Clearly.”
Vanessa's gaze moved toward Teresa.
Then me.
Her expression hardened.
“Of course Hannah came along.”
Luca stepped slightly in front of me.
“Leave her out of this.”
Vanessa sighed.
“Luca, this event is going to raise far more money than your mother originally contributed.”
“Then why haven't the neighbors received their groceries?”
She looked away.
“Because there were delays.”
“Three months of delays?”
“The store needed repairs. Sofia needed help. I was trying to keep everything together.”
Teresa stepped closer.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Vanessa looked at her.
“Because you would've been upset.”
“I am upset.”
“I thought I could fix it before anybody noticed.”
Teresa's voice trembled.
“People noticed, Vanessa. They were hungry.”
For a moment, Vanessa looked ashamed.
Then she straightened.
“If tomorrow goes well, the donations can cover the outstanding expenses and restart the deliveries.”
Luca studied her.
“You used money meant for groceries to pay for an event that might raise money for groceries?”
“That's an unfair way of putting it.”
“Is it inaccurate?”
Vanessa couldn't answer.
He continued.
“Did you tell my mother before changing the plan?”
“No.”
“Did you tell the people waiting for food?”
“No.”
“Then you don't get to call this a misunderstanding.”
Vanessa looked toward the photograph of Antonio.
“My mother's store is falling apart. I thought if I could turn it into something larger, something respectable, I could save it.”
Her voice broke slightly.
“And I couldn't bear the thought of asking you to rescue us.”
Luca's expression softened for an instant.
“You could've told me you were struggling.”
She looked at him.
“Would you have respected me?”
He didn't answer immediately.
Then said, “I would've respected the truth.”
Evelyn quietly returned with another copy of the program.
“There's something you should see.”
She pointed to the final page.
A section listed the people responsible for coordinating the grocery deliveries.
Vanessa's name appeared as event chair.
Teresa's appeared as founder.
And beneath them was another name.
Hannah Collins — Community Delivery Coordinator.
I stared at it.
My name.
Printed in a program that would be distributed to dozens of wealthy donors.
Next to a statement claiming every household had received its groceries.
Luca looked at Vanessa.
“You put Hannah's name on this?”
Vanessa's eyes widened.
“I didn't write that.”
Evelyn frowned.
“The information came from the delivery records supplied to our office.”
Daniel looked up sharply.
The records.
The same records that falsely listed me as the person who canceled deliveries.
Suddenly, the engagement dinner wasn't the only place my reputation could be destroyed.
May you like
Tomorrow evening, every person attending this fundraiser would be handed a program identifying me as the employee responsible for groceries that had never arrived.
And Vanessa had already given them a reason to believe I was dishonest.
