Chapter 2 - The Cost of Silence
“I didn't make her promise anything,” Vanessa said, her voice tight.
She took a step back, her red silk dress suddenly looking out of place in the heavy silence of the dining room. Thirty-four guests held their breath.
Luca didn't move. He kept his eyes locked on his fiancée. “My mother just told this entire room that you leveraged a fifteen-year-old dog to control her. Tell me she’s lying.”
Vanessa touched her diamond necklace. “Luca, you’re taking the word of an old woman who sleeps on kitchen floors.”
Teresa flinched.
“Yes,” Luca said softly. “I am.”
He turned to the guests. “Dinner is over. Please see yourselves out.”
Chairs scraped immediately. Nobody wanted to cross Luca Moretti. Within three minutes, the grand dining room was empty except for Luca, Vanessa, Teresa, me, and Duke.
Vanessa crossed her arms. “You humiliated me in front of the most powerful families in Chicago.”
“You humiliated my mother,” Luca replied.
He walked to the fireplace and knelt beside Duke. The old golden retriever let out a soft sigh, resting his white chin on his paws. Luca stroked his ears.
“The wedding is off,” Luca said.
Vanessa froze. “Excuse me?”
“Pack your things. I want you out of this house by morning.”
“You can’t do this!” Vanessa’s voice pitched higher. “Our families have a pact! My father’s investment in your South Side territory—”
“I’ll buy him out. With interest.” Luca stood up. “Hannah, please help my mother upstairs. Duke comes with you.”
I nodded, my hands still shaking. “Yes, Mr. Moretti.”
Teresa looked at Vanessa with sad, tired eyes. “I never wanted this, Vanessa. I just wanted my dog.”
Vanessa’s face twisted. She reached into her evening bag and pulled out a tarnished silver pocket watch.
Teresa gasped.
I recognized it immediately. It was Frank Moretti’s watch. The one he carried every day until he died.
“You think your husband was a saint, Teresa?” Vanessa sneered. “You think this family is so pure?”
Luca stepped forward, his jaw tight. “Where did you get that?”
“I found it in your father’s desk when I was clearing out the study for the renovation,” Vanessa said. She tossed it onto the dining table. It landed with a heavy thud. “Frank wasn't the loyal family man you all worship.”
Teresa grabbed my arm for support. “Frank never took that watch off. It was lost the night he passed.”
Vanessa smiled cruelly. “It wasn't lost. He left it at an apartment on the West Side. With a woman.”
Luca’s expression darkened. “Get out.”
“Ask yourselves why a Mafia boss would leave his most prized possession in a rundown tenement,” Vanessa said, turning toward the door. “And maybe ask your little maid why she really needed a job here.”
My heart stopped.
Vanessa walked out, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor. The heavy front door slammed shut.
Silence filled the room, broken only by Duke’s quiet breathing.
Luca picked up the silver watch. He traced the engraved initials on the back. F.M.
Then he looked at me.
His eyes were cold. Searching.
“Hannah,” Luca said, his voice dangerously calm. “Why did Vanessa look at you when she mentioned the West Side?”
I swallowed hard. My throat felt like sandpaper.
“I don't know, sir.”
Luca pressed the latch on the watch. The cover popped open.
He looked at the clock face. Then he frowned.
His fingers probed the inside lid, pressing a tiny hidden hinge I hadn't seen. A false back clicked open.
Luca pulled out a small, folded piece of paper. A photograph.
He unfolded it slowly.
As he stared at the image, all the color drained from his face.
May you like
He turned the photograph around so Teresa and I could see it.
It was a picture of my five-year-old son, Leo.
