Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Lied About Her Name
Vanessa stared at Luca as if the man standing before her had become a stranger.
“Because I was young,” she finally whispered. “Because I worked for a fashion designer who borrowed antique dresses. That's all.”
Luca looked at the photograph again.
“Three days before Elena died?”
“I don't remember the date.”
“You don't remember wearing a dress that belonged to my wife?”
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“Luca, we were happy before this. Don't let someone destroy our wedding with a photograph.”
He glanced toward Emily.
“Where did you find it?”
“Under the lining, sir.”
“Did you know it was there?”
Emily shook her head.
“No.”
Luca turned to his head of security, Marco.
“Lock every exit. Nobody leaves this ballroom.”
The order sent a wave of panic through the guests.
Vanessa's father, Richard Rowan, immediately stepped forward.
“This is ridiculous, Luca. You're embarrassing my daughter in front of hundreds of people.”
Luca didn't look at him.
“Then she should have thought about that before lying to me.”
Richard's face hardened.
“Be careful. You're speaking to the man who helped finance your expansion into Chicago.”
That finally earned his attention.
Luca slowly turned.
“Are you threatening me at my wedding?”
“I'm reminding you that business and marriage are two different things.”
“Not anymore.”
Luca handed the photograph to Marco.
“Find out where it was taken. I want the original negative, the photographer, and every person who handled that dress.”
Vanessa grabbed Luca's sleeve.
“Please. Can we talk privately?”
He looked down at her hand.
“Did you know Elena?”
“No.”
“Did you ever meet her?”
Vanessa hesitated.
Only for a second.
But Luca noticed.
“Answer me.”
“I saw her once.”
The ballroom fell silent.
Luca's expression changed.
“When?”
“Years ago. At a charity event. I was nineteen. My father introduced us.”
Richard immediately interrupted.
“She was a child. Elena barely spoke to anyone that evening.”
Luca turned toward him.
“You remember the evening?”
Richard's mouth closed.
Vanessa began crying.
“I didn't want to tell you because I knew you would misunderstand.”
“What exactly am I misunderstanding?”
She looked at the wedding dress.
“I was there when Elena disappeared.”
Luca felt something cold settle in his chest.
“Disappeared?”
Vanessa quickly corrected herself.
“When she died. I mean, when the accident happened.”
“You said you never met her.”
“I was frightened!”
“Of what?”
Vanessa looked toward her father.
Richard stepped between them.
“Enough. My daughter is overwhelmed. This ceremony is over.”
Luca gave a humorless laugh.
“You don't decide when my wedding is over.”
He turned toward the guests.
“The wedding is postponed. Everyone will remain here until security has spoken with them.”
Several guests protested.
Others immediately reached for their phones.
Marco approached Luca and whispered something.
“Sir, there's another problem.”
“What?”
“The men who delivered the box are gone.”
Luca's eyes narrowed.
“Gone where?”
“The front security cameras show them entering. None show them leaving.”
“Then how did they disappear?”
Marco hesitated.
“Someone opened the underground service gate.”
Luca looked toward the staff entrance.
Emily was still standing beside the open box.
“Who has access to that gate?”
“Security, maintenance, and senior household staff.”
“Find out.”
As Marco walked away, Emily quietly approached the box.
She wasn't looking at the dress anymore.
She was staring at the inside of its lid.
“Mr. Moretti?”
Luca turned.
“What?”
“There's writing here.”
He walked over.
Emily pointed toward a small piece of white fabric stitched into the inner lining.
Three words had been embroidered in faded blue thread.
SHE HAD A DAUGHTER.
Luca stopped breathing.
Elena had supposedly died in a car accident seven years earlier.
The baby she was carrying had supposedly died with her.
He had buried an empty coffin because the hospital claimed the body was too badly damaged for viewing.
He had never questioned it.
Until now.
“Who wrote this?” he asked.
Emily shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Vanessa suddenly screamed.
“Stop looking!”
Luca turned.
She was staring at the embroidered message as though it were a loaded gun.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because Elena's child is dead!”
“Who told you that?”
Vanessa's lips parted.
For a moment, she looked at her father.
Richard's expression was no longer angry.
It was terrified.
And Luca understood that the secret inside the box was much bigger than a wedding dress.
He stepped toward Vanessa.
“Tell me where Elena's daughter is.”
Vanessa began shaking her head.
“I can't.”
“Why?”
May you like
She looked directly into his eyes.
“Because I saw her alive last week.”
