Chapter 1
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# THE MAFIA BOSS SAW HIS MAID BEING DRAGGED OUT OF HIS WEDDING—THEN HIS DAUGHTER RAN AFTER HER SCREAMING, “SHE HAS MOMMY'S LETTER!”
“THROW THAT MAID OUT! SHE'S NOT RUINING MY WEDDING!” THE MAFIA BOSS'S BRIDE SCREAMED AS TWO SECURITY GUARDS DRAGGED A YOUNG HOUSEKEEPER TOWARD THE EXIT. BUT WHEN HIS SIX-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER RAN AFTER HER, CRYING THAT SHE WAS CARRYING A LETTER FROM HER DEAD MOTHER, THE MAFIA BOSS STOPPED THE CEREMONY. WHAT THE LITTLE GIRL SAID NEXT MADE HIS BRIDE TURN DEATHLY PALE.
“LET GO OF ME! PLEASE!”
Emily Carter struggled as two security guards pulled her across the marble floor.
The twenty-five-year-old maid clutched a cream-colored envelope against her chest.
Around her, two hundred wedding guests turned to stare.
Crystal chandeliers illuminated the grand ballroom of the Moretti estate.
White roses decorated the aisle.
A string quartet had stopped playing.
And Vanessa Sterling, wearing a magnificent ivory wedding gown, stood beside the altar.
“GET HER OUT BEFORE LUCA SEES HER!”
Emily shook her head.
“Mrs. Sterling, this letter belongs to Mr. Moretti!”
Vanessa's expression hardened.
“You stole it!”
“No, ma'am!”
Emily tightened her grip on the envelope.
“Someone delivered it for him!”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Then give it to me.”
Emily remained still.
“I'm sorry. I can't.”
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
“I'M YOUR EMPLOYER NOW. GIVE ME THAT LETTER!”
Emily swallowed.
“It was addressed to Mr. Moretti personally.”
Vanessa raised her hand toward the guards.
“Take her outside.”
One guard seized Emily's wrist.
The other grabbed her shoulder.
The envelope nearly slipped from her fingers.
“Please!” Emily cried. “Don't destroy it!”
A small voice suddenly rang through the ballroom.
“STOP! DON'T TAKE EMILY!”
Six-year-old Sophie Moretti ran down the aisle.
Her white flower-girl dress fluttered behind her.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
She grabbed Emily's skirt.
“Please don't go!”
Vanessa spun around.
“Sophie! Get back to your seat!”
The little girl shook her head.
“No!”
Vanessa marched toward her.
“Today is my wedding! Stop making a scene!”
Sophie clung to Emily.
“SHE HAS MOMMY'S LETTER!”
The entire ballroom fell silent.
Vanessa froze.
“What did you say?”
Sophie pointed at the envelope.
“That's Mommy's handwriting!”
Vanessa's face drained of color.
For three years, everyone had believed Isabella Moretti was dead.
Luca's first wife had vanished during a storm.
Her car had been found near the Hudson River.
After two years without evidence that she was alive, a court had declared her legally dead.
Sophie had never stopped asking when her mother would return.
Vanessa slowly reached for the envelope.
“Give me that.”
Emily stepped back.
“Mrs. Sterling—”
“NOW!”
The guards tightened their grip.
Emily winced.
Then a deep voice thundered from the entrance.
“RELEASE HER.”
Everyone turned.
Luca Moretti stood beneath the ballroom's enormous double doors.
Thirty-eight years old, tall and broad-shouldered, he wore a black wedding tuxedo.
His expression was terrifyingly calm.
He had been preparing for the ceremony in his private study when he heard the commotion.
Now he saw his maid being restrained.
His daughter crying.
And his bride reaching for a mysterious envelope.
Luca approached.
“I SAID LET HER GO.”
Both guards immediately released Emily.
She rubbed her wrists.
Sophie rushed toward her father.
“Daddy!”
Luca knelt and caught her.
“Princess, what's wrong?”
Sophie buried her face against his shoulder.
“Vanessa wants to take Mommy's letter!”
Luca froze.
He slowly looked toward Emily.
“What letter?”
Vanessa hurried forward.
“Darling, it's nothing. The maid was trying to disrupt our wedding.”
Luca stood.
“Emily?”
The young woman held up the envelope.
“Sir, a woman delivered this to the service entrance twenty minutes ago.”
Luca frowned.
“What woman?”
“She wore a gray coat. She wouldn't give me her name.”
“And?”
“She said I had to put this directly into your hands before the ceremony.”
Vanessa interrupted.
“IT'S OBVIOUSLY A SCAM!”
Luca ignored her.
“Did she say anything else?”
Emily hesitated.
“Yes, sir.”
“What?”
“She said you'd recognize the handwriting.”
Luca looked at the envelope.
His name was written across the front.
Luca Moretti.
He stopped breathing.
He knew those letters.
The distinctive curve of the L.
The narrow spacing.
The way the final stroke of his surname rose sharply.
Isabella had written his name that way on birthday cards, anniversary notes, and the little messages she left beside his morning coffee.
Luca reached for the envelope.
Vanessa suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Luca, please. Don't open it here.”
He turned toward her.
“Why?”
“Because we're about to get married!”
Luca stared at her.
“My daughter believes this came from her mother.”
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“Isabella is dead.”
Sophie began crying again.
“DON'T SAY THAT!”
Luca gently touched her shoulder.
“It's okay, sweetheart.”
Then he looked at Vanessa.
“Step aside.”
She didn't move.
“Luca—”
“STEP ASIDE.”
Vanessa backed away.
Luca carefully examined the envelope.
It was sealed with a small strip of transparent tape.
On the back was a faint blue ink mark.
A tiny butterfly.
His heart tightened.
Isabella used to draw butterflies on letters she left for Sophie.
He looked at Emily.
“Did you open this?”
“No, sir.”
“Did anyone else touch it?”
Emily glanced toward Vanessa.
“Mrs. Sterling tried to take it from me.”
Luca's expression hardened.
Vanessa shook her head.
“I was protecting you!”
“From what?”
She couldn't answer.
Luca slowly removed the tape.
Inside was a folded sheet of stationery.
He pulled it out.
The paper carried a handwritten message.
At the top were three words.
My dearest Luca.
His hands began trembling.
He recognized his wife's handwriting.
Luca unfolded the page.
But before he could read the first sentence, Sophie tugged at his sleeve.
“Daddy?”
He looked down.
“What is it, princess?”
The little girl pointed toward the bottom of the letter.
“Look at the date.”
Luca frowned.
He turned the paper slightly.
A date was written beneath Isabella's signature.
It was from six weeks earlier.
Luca's face went white.
That was impossible.
Isabella had been declared dead more than a year ago.
Vanessa suddenly stepped forward.
“Luca, that has to be forged!”
He looked at her.
“Why are you so afraid of this letter?”
“Because someone is trying to hurt you!”
Luca glanced at Emily.
Then at his daughter.
Sophie was staring at the paper with tears in her eyes.
“Daddy, I know that letter.”
Luca knelt.
“How?”
Sophie swallowed.
“Because Mommy showed it to me.”
Luca's breath caught.
“When?”
The little girl looked toward Vanessa.
Then back at her father.
Her voice began trembling.
Vanessa took another step forward.
“Sophie, that's enough.”
But Luca raised his hand.
“Let her speak.”
Sophie grabbed her father's jacket.
Then, loud enough for every wedding guest to hear, she screamed:
“DADDY, MOMMY WROTE THAT LETTER AFTER EVERYONE SAID SHE WAS DEAD!”
Luca froze.
The ballroom fell completely silent.
He stared at his daughter, still holding the unopened message in his trembling hands.
Then he slowly turned toward Vanessa.
His bride looked as though she had just seen a ghost.
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And for the first time, Luca wondered whether the wedding he was about to celebrate had been built on a lie.
Read Chapter 2 in the first comment to discover what Isabella wrote in the letter—and why Vanessa was desperate to stop Luca from reading it before their wedding.
