Chapter 1 - THE LETTER IN THE SUITCASE
“SHE QUIT! SHE'S NOT OUR PROBLEM ANYMORE!”
Dominic Moretti returned home shortly after midnight.
He was crossing the garage when he noticed someone curled up on an old leather bench.
Emily Carter.
Twenty-five years old. Seven months pregnant.
Her thin coat barely covered her stomach.
A small suitcase rested beside her feet.
“Emily?”
She didn't answer.
Dominic touched her shoulder.
Her skin was cold.
“Emily, wake up.”
Her eyes fluttered open.
“Mr. Moretti?”
“What are you doing out here?”
She tried to sit up.
“I'm sorry, sir. I'll leave in the morning.”
“Leave?”
Before she could explain, Vanessa Sterling appeared at the garage entrance.
“Dominic, darling. I thought you were upstairs.”
He looked at her.
“Why is Emily sleeping in the garage?”
Vanessa shrugged.
“She quit this afternoon. I told her she could wait here until her ride arrived.”
Dominic stared.
“In this cold? She's pregnant!”
Vanessa folded her arms.
“She made her choice.”
Emily lowered her eyes.
Dominic removed his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“Do you have someone I can call?”
Emily shook her head.
“My phone died.”
“Is your charger in your suitcase?”
She nodded weakly.
Dominic reached for the small case.
Vanessa suddenly stepped forward.
“DON'T OPEN THAT!”
He froze.
“Why?”
“Those are her private belongings!”
Dominic looked at Emily.
“May I?”
Emily hesitated, then nodded.
“There's a charger in the side pocket, sir.”
He opened the suitcase.
Inside were two maternity dresses, a baby blanket, a pair of worn shoes—
And a white envelope.
DOMINIC MORETTI.
His name.
Written in a handwriting he recognized immediately.
His late wife, Isabella.
Dominic stopped breathing.
Isabella had died eighteen months earlier.
He slowly lifted the envelope.
Beneath it lay a folded medical report.
The patient's name was Emily Carter.
The appointment date was six months earlier.
But another name appeared under Emergency Contact.
DOMINIC MORETTI.
He looked up.
“Why is my name on this?”
Emily began crying.
Vanessa's face went white.
“Dominic, don't listen to her.”
He ignored Vanessa.
“Emily. Did you know Isabella?”
Emily nodded.
“She helped me when I had nowhere to live.”
Dominic stared.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Mrs. Sterling said you'd fire me if I ever mentioned your wife.”
Vanessa snapped, “That's a lie!”
Emily flinched.
Dominic's voice turned cold.
“Let her speak.”
Emily wiped her tears.
“Before Mrs. Moretti died, she gave me that envelope. She said I should deliver it when the time was right.”
“Why wait eighteen months?”
Emily looked down.
“I was afraid. And when I finally decided to give it to you, Mrs. Sterling found it.”
Dominic slowly turned toward Vanessa.
“Is that why you threw her out?”
Vanessa said nothing.
He examined the envelope.
The seal was broken.
Someone had already opened it.
Dominic unfolded the letter.
My dearest Dominic,
If you're reading this, something has happened to me.
His hands began trembling.
There's a reason I asked Emily to keep my letter. I couldn't trust anyone else in the house.
Dominic swallowed.
Then he reached the final paragraph.
The night before my surgery, I discovered that someone had changed my medical records.
I kept proof.
Emily knows where.
Dominic looked at the young maid.
“What proof?”
Emily pressed a trembling hand against her belly.
“Mrs. Moretti gave me a second envelope. I hid it somewhere safe.”
Vanessa suddenly grabbed Dominic's arm.
“Darling, please. Isabella was very ill. She didn't know what she was saying.”
Dominic pulled away.
“Then why did you open her letter?”
Vanessa began crying.
He turned back to Emily.
“Where's the second envelope?”
Emily hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Inside the hospital where your wife died.”
Dominic froze.
“What?”
Emily's voice shook.
“Your wife arranged for it to be kept with her original test results. She said you'd understand once you saw the name.”
“What name?”
Emily looked toward Vanessa.
“The person who signed the order to stop her treatment.”
The garage fell silent.
Dominic stared at his fiancée.
Vanessa was trembling uncontrollably.
Then Emily added:
“Sir… there's one more thing.”
She pointed to the medical report beneath the letter.
“Mrs. Moretti paid for my first prenatal appointment. That's why your name is listed as my emergency contact. She'd arranged for you to help me if anything happened to her.”
Dominic looked down at the report again.
Then noticed a handwritten note on the back.
Tell Dominic to check the consent form.
Below it was Isabella's signature.
And one final sentence.
“I NEVER AGREED TO THE SURGERY.”
Dominic slowly raised his eyes.
“Vanessa…”
His voice was dangerously quiet.
“Who authorized my wife's operation?”
May you like
Vanessa backed toward the garage door.
And for the first time, she looked genuinely terrified.
