Chapter 2
The grand crystal chandeliers of the Moretti mansion seemed to dim as Vanessa’s words echoed against the marble walls.
Because there's something about Lucy's adoption you were never supposed to find out.
Nobody in the magnificent dining room dared to breathe. Forty-six of Chicago’s most powerful elites sat frozen at the banquet table, their champagne glasses suspended in mid-air. The silence was so absolute, so heavy, that I could hear the frantic, hummingbird-like beating of little Lucy’s heart where she pressed against my maid’s uniform.
Luca Moretti did not yell.
He didn’t throw his glass or overturn the table. In my eleven months working in his home, I had learned that Luca’s silence was far more dangerous than his shouting.
He slowly released his grip on Lucy’s wooden chair. His large, tattooed hands flexed once, then settled at his sides. He looked at Vanessa, his dark eyes entirely devoid of the warmth he usually reserved for his family.
“What did you just say to me?” Luca’s voice was barely a whisper, yet it carried the force of an avalanche.
Vanessa’s confidence finally cracked. The heavy diamond necklace at her throat trembled as she took a panicked step backward, her red silk gown rustling loudly. She looked around the room, suddenly realizing that her carefully orchestrated engagement dinner had become her trial.
“Luca, darling, please,” Vanessa stammered, her voice pitching an octave higher. “You’re misunderstanding me. I was simply trying to protect you. To protect your legacy.”
“My legacy is standing right here,” Luca said, gesturing to the terrified eleven-year-old girl clutching her stuffed elephant. He didn’t take his eyes off Vanessa. “Marco.”
From the shadows near the grand staircase, Marco, Luca’s massive head of security, stepped forward. “Yes, Boss.”
“Lock the doors. Nobody leaves this room,” Luca commanded. He finally turned his gaze toward me. His eyes softened for a fraction of a second when he saw how I was shielding his daughter. “Emma. You said there is a woman at the school gates. A woman who claims to be Lucy’s mother.”
I swallowed hard, my throat dry with fear. “Yes, Mr. Moretti. I saw her three days ago. And… I saw her again tonight, standing outside the estate gates in the rain. I recognized her because Mrs. Bellini secretly brought her through the kitchen entrance last month and told me she was her troubled younger sister.”
Vanessa’s face drained of all color. “She’s lying! The maid is lying because I disciplined her!”
“Marco,” Luca said, his voice dropping another chilling octave. “Go to the front gates. If there is a woman standing in the rain, bring her inside. Now.”
“You can’t do this!” Vanessa shrieked, her aristocratic poise completely disintegrating. She lunged forward, grabbing Luca’s forearm. “Luca, she’s a drug addict! A crazy woman looking for a payout! She has nothing to do with us!”
Luca looked down at Vanessa’s hand on his arm. He didn’t move to shake it off, but the sheer menace in his stare made Vanessa snatch her fingers back as if she had been burned.
“If she has nothing to do with us, Vanessa, then you have nothing to worry about,” Luca said coldly.
The next ten minutes felt like an eternity. I guided Lucy to a velvet armchair in the corner of the room, kneeling in front of her to block her view of the tense guests. I rubbed her small, trembling shoulders, whispering promises I wasn’t sure I could keep. I thought of my younger brother, Leo, studying for his nursing exams across town. I needed this job. I needed the paycheck. But looking at Lucy’s tear-streaked face, I knew I would risk everything to keep her safe.
Finally, the heavy oak doors of the dining room creaked open.
Marco stepped inside, his dark suit dripping with rain. Behind him stood a woman.
She was soaking wet, shivering uncontrollably in a threadbare grey coat that offered no protection against the bitter Chicago wind. Her dark hair was plastered to her pale cheeks. She looked nothing like the wealthy, glamorous people sitting at the table. But the moment she stepped under the chandelier’s light, a collective gasp rippled through the room.
She had the exact same emerald-green eyes as Lucy.
The woman looked around the intimidating room, her hands shaking violently. Then, her eyes landed on the little girl sitting in the velvet armchair.
A sob tore from the woman’s throat. It was a raw, primal sound that made the hairs on my arms stand up. She fell to her knees right there on the marble floor.
“My baby,” she wept, reaching out a trembling hand toward Lucy. “My beautiful baby girl.”
Lucy squeezed her stuffed elephant tighter and hid her face against my shoulder. “Emma, I’m scared,” she whispered.
Luca stepped between the kneeling woman and his daughter. His posture was rigid, protective. “Who are you?” he demanded.
The woman looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. “My name is Sarah. I’m her mother.”
Vanessa immediately stepped forward, pointing a manicured finger. “Arrest her, Luca! She’s trespassing! She’s a delusional addict!”
Sarah flinched at the sound of Vanessa’s voice. She slowly turned her head and locked eyes with the woman in the red gown. Suddenly, the fear in Sarah’s eyes vanished, replaced by a burning, undeniable fury.
“You,” Sarah whispered, her voice shaking with rage.
Luca frowned, looking back and forth between the two women. “Vanessa told me you were her sister. That you were the one who gave Lucy up for adoption seven years ago.”
Sarah let out a bitter, broken laugh that echoed in the silent room. She slowly pushed herself up from the floor, ignoring the armed guards and the wealthy guests. She walked straight toward Luca, pointing a trembling finger directly at his wealthy, beautiful fiancée.
“Sister?” Sarah choked out, tears spilling over her eyelashes. “I don’t even know this woman’s real name. But I know what she did to me.”
Luca stepped closer to Sarah. “Explain it to me. Now.”
Sarah reached into her wet coat pocket. Everyone tensed, but she simply pulled out a crumpled, faded piece of paper. It was a child’s drawing of a house with a yellow roof. She held it out to Luca.
“I didn't give my baby up for adoption, Mr. Moretti,” Sarah said, her voice finally steadying. “Seven years ago, I woke up in the hospital after a difficult labor. The nurse told me my baby had stopped breathing in the night. They told me she was dead.”
A horrific realization began to dawn on Luca's face.
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Sarah turned and pointed directly at Vanessa’s chest.
“I thought my baby was dead for seven years,” Sarah cried. “Until I saw a picture of your family in the newspaper. And I recognized the woman standing next to you. Because seven years ago, she wasn't wearing diamonds. She was wearing scrubs. She was the nurse who took my baby away.”
