Chapter 2 - THE POISON IN THE INK
The dining room went completely still.
Twenty-eight wealthy guests stopped breathing. The string quartet in the corner had ceased playing five minutes ago. The only sound was the low hum of the chandeliers above us.
Luca Moretti didn’t raise his voice. He didn't have to. The quiet danger radiating from him was enough to make the air feel thin.
He stared at Vanessa, the phone still gripped tightly in his tattooed hand.
“You forged my name,” Luca said softly. It wasn't a question.
Vanessa’s perfect composure shattered. She took a step back, her red silk gown rustling loudly. “Luca, you’re misunderstanding. I didn’t forge anything. I was just trying to protect your mother!”
“My mother,” Luca repeated, his eyes flickering toward Teresa, who was standing beside me, looking horrified. “My mother hasn’t taken prescription medication in ten years. She takes vitamins.”
Vanessa swallowed hard. “I… I thought—”
“You submitted a federal employment document,” Luca interrupted, taking a slow, deliberate step toward her. “You accused a young woman of narcotics theft. You used my name to do it. Why?”
“Because she’s ungrateful!” Vanessa snapped, her voice rising in panic. “She cleans our floors, Luca! She should be happy she has a job at all! I needed her here. I run this household, and if she thinks she can just take time off whenever she wants to play nurse—”
“She wasn't playing,” Teresa Moretti said.
Everyone looked at the elderly woman. Teresa stood taller, her chin raised.
“She worked,” Teresa said firmly. “I saw her studying in the kitchen at two in the morning. I saw her crying from exhaustion. She worked for her dream, Vanessa. You just bought yours with my son’s money.”
Vanessa’s face flushed scarlet. “How dare you.”
Luca didn’t look at his mother. He didn't look at me. He kept his eyes locked entirely on the woman he had asked to marry him.
“Get out,” Luca said.
Vanessa froze. “What?”
“Get out of my house,” Luca repeated, his voice dropping an octave.
“Luca, be reasonable. We have guests. This is our engagement dinner!” She reached out to touch his arm.
He stepped back as if she were made of fire. “There is no engagement. And after tonight, you will never set foot on this property again.”
Tears welled in Vanessa’s eyes, but they weren't tears of heartbreak. They were tears of humiliation. She looked around at the guests, the silent witnesses to her ruin.
Then, she looked at me. The hatred in her eyes was toxic.
“You think you’ve won?” Vanessa hissed at me. “You’re still just a maid. You don’t have a license. You don’t have a job. You have nothing.”
She turned on her heel and stormed out of the dining room.
The heavy silence returned.
Luca took a deep breath, smoothing the front of his jacket. He turned to the stunned guests.
“I apologize for the disruption,” Luca said smoothly. “Dinner is canceled. Please, have a safe trip home.”
It took less than five minutes for the room to clear. The wealthy elite knew better than to linger when a Moretti was angry.
When the last guest was gone, Luca turned to me.
“Go change, Natalie,” he said gently. “Daniel is waiting in the car.”
“Mr. Moretti, I don't know what to say,” I whispered, wiping my eyes.
“You don't need to say anything,” he replied. “I’m going to call the hospital board tomorrow. I’ll clear your name. I promise.”
I nodded, clutching my graduation cap to my chest, and ran to the staff room.
I changed into my dark blue graduation gown as fast as my shaking hands would allow. I pinned the cap to my hair, wishing the gold tassel wasn't sitting broken in my locker, but it didn't matter. I was going.
I ran out the back door to where Daniel, the head of security, was waiting in a sleek black SUV.
He drove like a professional stuntman, weaving through Chicago traffic with the siren of his escort flashing.
We pulled up to the auditorium at seven twenty-five.
“I’ll wait here, Miss,” Daniel said with a warm smile.
I ran up the steps, my gown flying behind me. I burst through the double doors just as the processional music started playing. My classmates were already lined up in the hallway, adjusting their caps.
“Natalie!” My friend, Sarah, gasped. “We thought you weren't coming!”
“I made it,” I panted, slipping into line behind her.
The doors opened, and we marched into the auditorium.
The room was packed. Hundreds of families, holding flowers and cameras. I scanned the crowd, my heart hammering against my ribs.
And then I saw her.
Sitting in the third row, wearing a light blue blouse with pearl buttons.
My mother.
She was holding a bouquet of cheap grocery-store carnations. When she saw me walk through the doors, she dropped them. She stood up, pressing both hands over her mouth, tears streaming down her face.
I smiled so hard my cheeks ached. I had made it. I was here.
The ceremony was a blur of speeches and applause. When they called my name, my mother screamed louder than anyone else in the room. I walked across the stage, accepted my nursing pin, and looked out into the crowd.
This was everything we had worked for.
After the ceremony, I ran into the lobby. My mother caught me in a crushing hug.
“You did it, baby,” she sobbed into my shoulder. “You’re a nurse.”
“I did it, Mom,” I cried, holding her tight.
“I thought they made you work,” she said, pulling back to look at my face. “What happened?”
“Mr. Moretti found out,” I said. “He let me go.”
I didn't tell her about Vanessa. I didn't tell her about the hospital application. I just wanted her to be happy tonight.
We walked out to the parking lot. I expected to see Daniel waiting in the SUV.
The SUV was there. But Daniel wasn't standing next to it.
Luca Moretti was.
He had changed out of his suit and was wearing a dark sweater and jeans. He leaned against the car, his hands in his pockets.
My mother stopped walking. “Natalie, who is that?”
“That’s my boss,” I whispered.
Luca walked over to us. He looked at my mother and extended his hand. “Mrs. Brooks. I’m Luca. I’m sorry I kept your daughter late.”
My mother shook his hand hesitantly. “Thank you for letting her come.”
Luca smiled softly. “She earned it.”
He looked at me. “Daniel had an emergency at the estate. I came to drive you home.”
I frowned. “An emergency?”
Luca’s smile faded slightly. “Vanessa didn't leave quietly. She went into my office before she was escorted out.”
My stomach dropped. “Did she take something?”
“No,” Luca said, opening the car door for us. “She left something.”
He didn't say anything else until he dropped my mother off at her apartment. I hugged her goodbye, promising to call her in the morning.
When I got back into the front seat of the SUV, Luca didn't start the engine immediately.
He reached into the center console and pulled out a thick, manila folder.
He handed it to me.
“Vanessa left this on my desk,” Luca said, his voice completely devoid of emotion.
I opened the folder.
Inside was a stack of financial documents. Bank statements. Wire transfers.
They were addressed to Vanessa Bellini. But they weren't payments she had made. They were payments she had received.
Massive deposits, made every month for the past four years.
I looked at the name of the sender, and the blood turned to ice in my veins.
The sender wasn't a person.
It was St. Catherine's Medical Center.
“I don't understand,” I whispered, looking at Luca. “Why is the hospital paying Vanessa?”
Luca stared out the windshield into the dark street.
“They aren't paying her,” Luca said. “Vanessa owns the hospital board, Natalie. She’s the majority shareholder.”
I stopped breathing.
“She didn't forge my name to ruin your application,” Luca said softly, turning to look at me. “She forged it to cover her tracks.”
He reached over and turned the page in the folder.
Underneath the bank statements was a printed email. It was between Vanessa and the hospital administrator.
Date: Four years ago.
Subject: Evelyn Brooks.
Message: Force the retirement. Claim arthritis. Terminate her pension immediately.
I dropped the folder.
Vanessa hadn't just tried to ruin my future tonight.
She was the reason my mother had lost her job four years ago.
May you like
And tucked behind that email was something even worse.
A faded, black-and-white ultrasound photo. With my mother's name on it.
