Chapter 10 - The New Foundation
Two weeks later, the Moretti estate looked entirely different.
The dark, heavy curtains had been pulled back, letting autumn sunlight flood the grand hallways.
Luca had officially stepped down from his father’s "business" empire, transferring all assets into a legitimate charitable foundation.
I wasn't wearing a maid’s uniform anymore.
I was standing in Luca’s private study, wearing a tailored navy suit.
Luca sat behind his massive mahogany desk, smiling warmly.
“The transfer for your mother’s new private suite at Oakwood went through this morning,” he said, sliding a document toward me. “The finest medical care, paid in full for the rest of her life.”
Tears pricked my eyes. “Thank you, Luca. I don't know what to say.”
“You saved my son, Maggie. Your mother gave him a life of peace. I owe your family everything.”
Vanessa walked into the room.
She looked lighter. The heavy burden of a thirteen-year secret was finally gone from her shoulders.
She and Luca had mutually ended their engagement. There was no need for a marriage of protection anymore. Instead, they were united as fiercely loyal co-parents, preparing to slowly integrate into Toby’s life.
“Toby loved the architecture books you sent him,” Vanessa said, smiling at Luca. “He asked if the 'anonymous benefactor' would like to get coffee this weekend.”
Luca’s eyes lit up with a joy I had never seen in him.
“Tell him yes. Tell him I’ll be there.”
He looked back at me.
“Now, as for you, Maggie. The estate manager position is yours, if you want it.”
“I’d be honored,” I said.
Luca nodded, pulling a small, velvet box from his desk drawer.
“Before we get to work, there is one last thing my father’s attorney found in a safe deposit box yesterday.”
He pushed it across the desk.
“It has your father’s name on it.”
I froze.
My father had died when I was a baby. He was a factory worker. Why would his name be in Antonio Moretti’s vault?
“Open it,” Vanessa encouraged gently.
I picked up the box and popped the lid.
Inside sat a pristine, gold pocket watch.
But it wasn't the watch that caught my attention. It was the small, folded newspaper clipping tucked beneath it.
I unfolded it carefully.
It was an obituary from thirty years ago.
May you like
My father’s obituary.
And stapled to the corner was a handwritten note from Antonio Moretti.
