Chapter 2 - THE BOY AT THE END OF THE TABLE
“Vanessa, bring that boy to me.”
Luca Moretti's voice was quiet.
That frightened me more than shouting would have.
Across the enormous dining room, fifty-two guests sat perfectly still. Broken champagne glass glittered near Vanessa Bellini's expensive shoes.
Sophie stood beside me, clutching her faded hospital bracelet.
At the far end of the banquet table, a small boy in a navy-blue jacket stared at Luca.
He had dark brown hair.
Serious eyes.
And a face that looked so much like Sophie’s that my stomach tightened.
Vanessa stepped between them.
“Luca, you're frightening him.”
“What's his name?”
“Ethan.”
“Ethan what?”
She hesitated.
“Ethan Bellini. My sister's son.”
Luca looked at her.
“You told me your sister moved to California fifteen years ago.”
“She did.”
“Then why is her son attending my daughter's birthday dinner without his mother?”
Vanessa said nothing.
The boy slowly stood.
“I'm not supposed to talk about my mom.”
His voice was small, but everyone heard him.
Luca's expression changed.
He crouched beside the table.
“Hello, Ethan. I'm Luca.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Ethan nodded.
“Vanessa has your picture in her office.”
Something passed across Luca's face.
He extended his hand.
“Would you come over here?”
Ethan looked at Vanessa first.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly.
I saw it.
So did Sophie.
“It's okay,” Sophie called. “Daddy won't yell at you.”
Ethan stepped away from his chair.
Vanessa caught his sleeve.
“Sweetheart, remember what we discussed.”
The boy pulled back.
“You said I could tell her.”
Vanessa froze.
“Tell her what?” Luca asked.
Ethan reached into his jacket pocket.
He removed a narrow strip of blue ribbon.
It was faded, with one end carefully tied into a tiny knot.
Sophie gasped.
“That's mine!”
“No,” Ethan said softly. “This one's mine.”
He held it beside Sophie's ribbon.
The color matched.
The unusual stitching matched.
Even the small white thread running along the edge matched.
Antonio Rossi gripped the back of a chair.
“Dear God.”
Luca looked toward him.
“Antonio?”
The elderly chef swallowed.
“Elena cut that ribbon in half herself.”
Vanessa suddenly grabbed Ethan's hand.
“We're leaving.”
“No,” Luca said.
She turned.
“You don't get to give orders about a child who isn't yours.”
Luca's eyes hardened.
“That's exactly what we're trying to establish.”
Ethan looked up at Vanessa.
“You said he was my uncle.”
Luca went still.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
Then Ethan said something that made my blood run cold.
“You told me if I called him Daddy, you'd send me away again.”
Sophie moved toward him.
“Ethan?”
He looked at her.
She held out her hand.
“You can stand with me.”
Vanessa tried to pull him backward.
I stepped between them.
“Miss Bellini, please let him decide.”
Her expression twisted.
“You stay out of this, Emily!”
“Enough.”
Luca's voice stopped her.
“Antonio, take the guests into the west sitting room. Nobody leaves until I've spoken to them.”
Several men exchanged nervous glances.
Luca turned to his security chief, Marco DeSantis.
“Make sure everyone gets home safely. I need their names and contact information. No one is to be threatened.”
Marco nodded.
The guests began moving.
I noticed that several avoided looking at Vanessa.
One elderly woman crossed herself.
Within minutes, the dining room was nearly empty.
Only Luca, Vanessa, Antonio, Marco, the children, and I remained.
Sophie stood beside Ethan.
She offered him one of the folded napkins.
“You can have this one.”
He examined it.
“Why?”
“Because Mommy said there were two.”
Ethan sat beside her.
For the first time, his guarded expression softened.
Luca watched them.
He looked like a man discovering that every photograph in his house had been missing someone.
“Ethan,” he said, “how old are you?”
“Eight.”
“When is your birthday?”
“November twelfth.”
Sophie smiled.
“Mine too.”
Ethan looked surprised.
“Really?”
She nodded.
“We have the same birthday.”
Vanessa gripped the edge of the table.
“That proves nothing.”
Antonio stepped forward.
“Then explain the photograph.”
He placed Elena's hospital picture before Luca.
Two newborn babies lay in her arms.
Both wore white hospital blankets.
But I noticed something Luca hadn't.
The baby on Elena's right had a thin blue ribbon tied around one ankle.
The other wore an identical ribbon.
“Antonio,” I whispered, “look at their wrists.”
The chef leaned closer.
A moment later, his face changed.
“Those aren't ordinary hospital bracelets.”
Luca studied the photograph.
“What do you mean?”
Antonio pointed.
“Elena told me that one child was registered under her maiden name.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Because she believed someone intended to take him.”
Vanessa laughed nervously.
“That's ridiculous.”
Antonio ignored her.
“Elena was frightened before the delivery. She asked me to bring her a small bag from home.”
“What was inside?” Luca demanded.
“A baby blanket, two silver crosses, and a letter.”
“What letter?”
Antonio looked toward Vanessa.
“The letter her father had written.”
Luca frowned.
“Elena's father died before we married.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then what letter?”
Antonio swallowed.
“A warning.”
Vanessa stepped backward.
Luca noticed.
“About what?”
Antonio lowered his voice.
“About the Bellini family.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“No. He doesn't know what he's saying.”
Antonio reached into his jacket again.
This time, he removed a small silver key.
“Elena made me promise never to use this unless someone tried to separate the children permanently.”
Luca stared at it.
“What does it open?”
“A cedar box she kept in her old dressing room.”
“Elena's dressing room was cleared after her death.”
Antonio nodded.
“By Vanessa.”
The silence became unbearable.
Vanessa stared at the key.
Then she whispered:
“That box should have been destroyed.”
Luca slowly turned.
“Why?”
For a moment, Vanessa looked less like the elegant woman who had humiliated me and more like someone trapped.
“Because Elena didn't understand what she was protecting.”
Luca stepped closer.
“Then explain it.”
Vanessa's voice broke.
“You think your wife was innocent because she died.”
Sophie flinched.
I immediately covered her ears.
“Not in front of the children,” I said.
Luca glanced at Sophie.
Then at Ethan.
He nodded.
“Emily, take them to the library.”
I held out my hand.
“Come on, sweetheart.”
But before we reached the doorway, Ethan spoke.
“Wait.”
He reached into his jacket again.
This time, he removed a folded drawing.
It showed a woman holding two babies.
Above them, a little boy had written:
MOM AND US.
Luca stared.
“Who taught you to draw her?”
Ethan looked confused.
“Nobody.”
“Then how do you know what she looked like?”
The boy pointed toward Vanessa.
“She showed me pictures when I was little.”
Vanessa began shaking.
Ethan unfolded the bottom of the paper.
Something small fell onto the marble.
A silver cross.
Antonio gasped.
“That belonged to Elena.”
Ethan picked it up.
Then he looked at Luca.
“The lady who raised me said my real mother gave me this.”
Luca crouched.
“What lady?”
Ethan hesitated.
“Mrs. Whitaker.”
“Where is she?”
The boy swallowed.
“Vanessa took me away from her last week.”
May you like
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“SHE SAID I HAD TO PRETEND TO BE HER NEPHEW UNTIL AFTER YOUR WEDDING—BECAUSE ONCE YOU MARRIED HER, I WOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO COME BACK.”
