Chapter 3 - The Engagement Ring That Hid a Terrible Lie|
Luca Moretti had survived things I knew better than to ask about.
He had enemies in Chicago.
Rivals in New York.
Business associates who smiled at dinner and whispered threats afterward.
But that night, standing in the kitchen beside his frightened nine-year-old son, he looked as though someone had attacked the one place he believed was untouchable.
His family.
"Who submitted those documents?" he asked.
Marco glanced toward Benjamin.
"Sir, perhaps we should discuss this privately."
Luca immediately understood.
He looked at his son.
"Ben, would you like to finish dinner with Claire while I talk to Marco?"
Benjamin hesitated.
"You're coming back?"
Luca's expression softened.
"Yes, sweetheart."
"Promise?"
Luca placed his hand over his son's.
"I promise."
Benjamin nodded.
Then looked at me.
"Can we have apple pie afterward?"
I smiled.
"If Mrs. Carter left us any."
His little face brightened.
For a moment, he looked like an ordinary boy again.
Not a child frightened of being sent away.
Not the son of a powerful man.
Just Benjamin.
When Luca left the kitchen, I sat beside him.
He ate quietly.
After several minutes, he whispered:
"Miss Claire?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Did I do something wrong?"
My heart tightened.
"No."
He looked at his plate.
"Vanessa says I make Daddy sad."
I put down my napkin.
"Benjamin, look at me."
He raised his eyes.
"You are not responsible for making adults happy."
He considered that.
"Even if they get married?"
"Even then."
His lower lip trembled.
"She said Daddy was lonely because Mommy died."
I swallowed.
Caroline Moretti had died three years earlier.
I had never met her.
But her presence remained everywhere in the mansion.
In photographs.
In Benjamin's drawings.
In the small rose garden she planted beside the library.
From what Mrs. Carter told me, Caroline had been gentle, intelligent, and fiercely devoted to her son.
Benjamin missed her every day.
"Your daddy misses your mommy," I said carefully. "But that doesn't mean he wishes you weren't here."
Benjamin stared at me.
Then whispered:
"Vanessa said I remind him of the bad things."
The words made my chest ache.
I wanted to tell him every cruel thing Vanessa had said was wrong.
But I knew that children needed more than another adult's assurances.
They needed the person they trusted most.
Their parent.
I squeezed his hand.
"Let's make sure Daddy knows exactly what you've been told."
Benjamin nodded.
Then returned to his chicken.
Across the mansion, Luca stood in his office while Marco reviewed the documents.
Vanessa sat on the leather sofa.
Her arms were crossed.
Her engagement ring glittered beneath the lamps.
"You've turned a simple school application into a ridiculous investigation," she complained.
Luca ignored her.
"Marco. Continue."
His security chief placed a document on the desk.
"The placement application was submitted eleven days ago."
Luca frowned.
"Eleven days?"
"Yes."
"And who authorized it?"
Marco hesitated.
"Vanessa Bellini."
Luca looked toward his fiancée.
She lifted her chin.
"As your future wife, I believed I had the authority to arrange appropriate educational opportunities."
"You don't have parental authority over my son."
"Luca—"
"And I never gave you permission to seek a residential placement."
Vanessa's face tightened.
"You have no idea how difficult Benjamin can be."
Luca stared.
"He's nine."
"He's spoiled."
"He's grieving."
"He's manipulative!"
The word echoed through the office.
Luca became completely still.
Then he said:
"You will not speak about my son that way."
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
"Of course. The little prince can do no wrong."
Marco looked down.
Luca's voice became cold.
"Show me the rest."
Marco opened another page.
"The application includes a statement claiming Mr. Moretti has been undergoing treatment for a serious medical condition affecting his judgment."
Luca stared.
"That's false."
Marco nodded.
"It appears so."
Vanessa's expression changed.
Luca noticed.
"Did you make that statement?"
She looked away.
"Not exactly."
"What does that mean?"
She hesitated.
Then said:
"I was advised that certain legal arrangements would be easier if the school believed you were unavailable."
Luca slowly approached.
"Advised by whom?"
Vanessa swallowed.
"My father."
Richard Bellini.
A wealthy businessman who had been working with Luca for almost ten years.
A man who had encouraged the engagement.
A man who had recently offered to restructure several of Luca's family companies.
Luca stared.
"Your father told you to claim I was incapacitated?"
Vanessa began crying.
"He said it was only temporary."
"For what purpose?"
She shook her head.
"I didn't understand everything."
Luca didn't believe her.
Not anymore.
Then Marco spoke.
"Boss, there's something else."
Luca turned.
"What?"
"Dr. Shaw says someone told her the boy's father would be unavailable after Saturday."
Luca went still.
Saturday.
His wedding day.
"What exactly does unavailable mean?"
Marco looked uncomfortable.
"The documents refer to a scheduled medical intervention."
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Luca turned toward her.
"Vanessa."
She began shaking her head.
"No."
"What intervention?"
"I didn't arrange anything!"
Luca's voice hardened.
"Then why is your name on the paperwork?"
Vanessa stood.
"You can't blame me for everything!"
Luca looked at her.
Then slowly removed the engagement ring from its place on the desk, where she'd set it down while searching through her handbag.
He held it in his palm.
Three months earlier, he had given it to her beneath the chandeliers of a Paris restaurant.
He'd believed she could help him build a family again.
Now he was discovering she had been planning to remove the most important person in that family.
"The wedding is off," he said.
Vanessa stopped breathing.
"What?"
"You're leaving this house tonight."
Tears spilled down her cheeks.
"Luca, please!"
"Your belongings will be packed. My attorney will contact yours."
She reached for him.
He stepped back.
For several seconds, she stared.
Then her expression changed.
The tears vanished.
"You think getting rid of me will fix this?"
Luca looked at her.
"What does that mean?"
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
"My father didn't choose you for this arrangement because of your money."
Luca went still.
"Then why?"
She looked toward the hallway.
Then whispered:
"Because Benjamin's mother left something behind."
Luca stared.
"Caroline?"
May you like
Vanessa nodded.
"And after Saturday, my father was supposed to have it."
Related Stories
