Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN IN THE BLUE COAT
“Lock the gates.”
Luca Moretti’s words were quiet, but every person in the dining room heard them.
His security chief, Dominic Russo, moved toward the entrance.
Vanessa Bellini grabbed Luca’s arm.
“You cannot imprison forty-six people because a child saw something she didn't understand.”
Luca looked down at her hand.
“Let go.”
Vanessa released him.
I stood beside Lily, still holding her little white shoe. Her fingers were cold against mine.
“Miss Emily,” she whispered, “is Daddy mad at me?”
I crouched.
“No, sweetheart. He’s trying to understand what happened.”
But when I looked at Luca, I wasn't entirely certain he understood that distinction himself.
He was staring at the photograph Margaret Harris had brought from St. Augustine’s Church.
Elena stood outside the church, smiling beside a dark-haired woman in a pale blue coat.
A baby slept in the woman's arms.
Around her neck hung a silver necklace Luca recognized.
His mother's necklace.
“Margaret,” he said, “tell me who she is.”
The elderly wedding planner folded her hands.
“Her name is Isabel Reyes.”
Anthony Romano lowered his eyes.
Vanessa's father, Carlo Bellini, shifted in his chair.
Luca noticed both reactions.
“Does someone want to explain why my late wife's charity was supporting Isabel Reyes?”
Margaret hesitated.
“Isabel came to the church nearly four years ago. She had nowhere safe to stay. Elena helped her find an apartment and arranged medical care for her baby.”
“What was she running from?”
Margaret looked toward Carlo.
“Her employer.”
Carlo straightened.
“That is an outrageous suggestion.”
“I haven't accused you of anything,” Margaret replied.
“You looked directly at me.”
“Then perhaps you know why.”
The room became uncomfortable.
Luca placed the photograph on the table.
“Isabel worked for Bellini Development?”
Anthony answered before Carlo could.
“In the accounting department.”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
That was the first moment I realized the missing charity money might be connected to something much older than the upcoming wedding.
Luca turned toward Anthony.
“What happened to her?”
Anthony glanced at Carlo.
“She was dismissed.”
“Why?”
“Discrepancies in company accounts.”
Carlo nodded firmly.
“She stole from us.”
Margaret's expression hardened.
“No. That was what your family claimed.”
Lily squeezed my hand.
“Miss Emily, what's stealing?”
I brushed a curl from her cheek.
“Taking something that doesn't belong to you.”
She considered that.
“Like the lunch money?”
Nobody nearby spoke.
I felt my stomach tighten.
Luca heard her.
“Princess, what lunch money?”
Lily pointed toward Vanessa.
“She said the church had to give it back because it belonged to her family.”
Vanessa took a step forward.
“I was explaining a business problem.”
“To a seven-year-old?” Luca asked.
“She overheard a conversation.”
“And you frightened her into silence.”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“I was afraid of losing you.”
The confession sounded painfully genuine.
For a moment, Luca's expression softened.
Then Margaret unfolded a second photograph.
This one showed Isabel sitting on a bench outside St. Augustine's.
Elena stood beside her, holding the baby.
Across the back, in Elena's handwriting, were four words.
For when she's ready.
Luca stared.
“My wife wrote that?”
Margaret nodded.
“She asked me to keep this until Isabel felt safe enough to explain everything.”
“Explain what?”
“That her employer had accused her of taking money she believed someone else had stolen.”
Carlo slammed his palm against the table.
“Enough. You are repeating accusations from a disgraced employee.”
Luca looked at him.
“Sit down, Carlo.”
For a moment, I thought Carlo might refuse.
Then he slowly lowered himself into his chair.
Margaret continued.
“Isabel kept copies of financial records. She believed money intended for community housing had been moved into private development accounts.”
Anthony loosened his collar.
Luca noticed.
“And you knew?”
“I knew she raised concerns.”
“Did you investigate?”
Anthony said nothing.
That silence answered more than any explanation could have.
Luca turned back to the photograph.
“Where is Isabel now?”
Margaret's face changed.
“We don't know.”
The words seemed to drain the warmth from the room.
“She disappeared shortly before Elena died.”
Luca went still.
“Disappeared?”
“Her apartment was empty. Her telephone disconnected. Someone collected her belongings.”
“Who?”
Margaret looked toward Vanessa.
Vanessa shook her head.
“I never met Isabel.”
Lily suddenly spoke.
“Yes, you did.”
Forty-six faces turned toward her.
My heart sank.
“Lily,” I whispered, “you don't have to answer anything you don't want to.”
She looked at me, then her father.
“I saw her in the church room.”
Vanessa's voice sharpened.
“That wasn't Isabel.”
“The lady in the picture,” Lily insisted.
Margaret looked startled.
“Lily, when?”
“Three days ago.”
Luca stood straighter.
“You're saying Isabel was at the rehearsal?”
Lily nodded.
“She had a blue coat.”
Carlo gave a dismissive laugh.
“Children confuse photographs with real people.”
But Lily shook her head.
“She was crying. Vanessa said she couldn't see me.”
Vanessa's face lost its color.
“Lily, please.”
The little girl pressed closer to me.
And I understood why she had been so frightened.
Every time Lily tried to tell the truth, Vanessa reacted as though the child had done something terrible.
I looked directly at Luca.
“Mr. Moretti, Lily told me she saw Vanessa with someone at the church. I didn't know who it was.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“She was afraid you'd send her away.”
His expression tightened.
He looked at his daughter, then at me.
“You should have come to me.”
“With respect, sir, I wanted to. But Lily needed to trust that I wouldn't betray her confidence.”
He was silent.
Then he nodded once.
“You were right to protect her.”
Vanessa gave a bitter laugh.
“How touching. The housekeeper is suddenly the authority on our family.”
Luca turned.
“Emily has shown my daughter more patience tonight than you have in weeks.”
Vanessa looked wounded.
And for a brief moment, I almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
Then Anthony pushed back his chair.
“Luca, there's something you should understand about Isabel.”
Carlo immediately said, “Anthony.”
But Anthony continued.
“The woman at the church wasn't Isabel.”
Margaret frowned.
“What?”
Anthony pointed toward the photograph.
“Isabel Reyes hasn't been seen in Chicago in almost three years.”
“Then who was at the church?” Luca demanded.
Anthony swallowed.
“Her younger sister.”
Luca looked confused.
“Isabel had a sister?”
“Yes. Sofia Reyes.”
Margaret shook her head.
“No. Elena never mentioned a sister.”
“Because Sofia was still a teenager when Isabel disappeared.”
Luca studied Anthony.
“And why would Sofia come back now?”
Anthony looked at Vanessa.
“She believes the child in that photograph was taken from her sister.”
The dining room fell silent.
Lily tugged my sleeve.
“Miss Emily?”
“Yes, honey?”
“The lady at church had a little picture.”
“What kind of picture?”
“Of a boy.”
I felt a chill.
“She said he was bigger now.”
Luca crouched beside her.
“Princess, did she tell you his name?”
Lily nodded.
Then she looked toward Carlo Bellini.
Her small voice barely carried across the room.
“She said the boy lives with Grandpa Carlo.”
Carlo's chair scraped backward.
“That is a lie!”
But Lily wasn't finished.
She reached into the pocket of her pink dress and unfolded a tiny piece of paper.
On it was a child's drawing of a house.
Two windows.
A red front door.
May you like
And beneath the picture, written in careful block letters, were five words.
PLEASE TELL HIM I'M HIS MOTHER.
