Chapter 1 - SHE'S THE ONE WHO DESERVES YOUR JOB
“Emily, untie your apron. You're finished here.”
Vanessa Bellini stood beside the dining table in a fitted red silk gown, smiling as though she'd just announced something wonderful.
Forty guests watched.
Beside her stood a beautiful blonde woman in her early thirties.
She wore a cream-colored dress, expensive heels, and a gold necklace.
She certainly didn't look like someone who'd come to clean bedrooms.
“This is Natalie,” Vanessa announced. “She's taking over your position starting tonight.”
I stared at her.
“Ma'am, have I done something wrong?”
Vanessa laughed.
“Do I need a reason to replace a housemaid?”
My face burned.
My name is Emily Carter. I'm twenty-five years old, and I've worked at Luca Moretti's Chicago mansion for eleven months.
I'd never missed a shift.
Never complained about working late.
And when Vanessa dismissed two other housekeepers the previous month, I'd taken over their duties without asking for extra pay.
I needed this job.
My mother was recovering from surgery, and the money I sent home paid most of her bills.
But what hurt wasn't being fired.
It was the way Vanessa wanted everyone to watch.
“Take off your apron,” she repeated.
I reached behind my back.
My fingers were shaking.
Then Vanessa pointed toward Natalie.
“And apologize for making her wait.”
I looked at the stranger.
Natalie wouldn't meet my eyes.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered.
Vanessa smiled.
“Not to me, sweetheart. To your replacement.”
Several guests shifted uncomfortably.
I swallowed.
“I'm sorry you had to wait.”
“Better.”
Vanessa held out her hand.
“Now give her the apron.”
I slowly removed it.
But when I offered it to Natalie, she stepped backward.
“No,” she said quietly.
Vanessa's smile tightened.
“Natalie.”
The blonde woman shook her head.
“I told you I didn't want to do this.”
The room went silent.
Vanessa grabbed her wrist.
“We discussed this.”
Natalie pulled away.
“You said he wouldn't be here.”
My heart started pounding.
He?
Before I could understand, a deep voice came from the head of the table.
“Who wouldn't be here?”
Luca Moretti stood beside his chair.
Thirty-seven years old.
Dark swept-back hair, black tailored suit, tattoos visible across his hands.
He was staring at Natalie.
And his face had gone completely pale.
Vanessa immediately stepped between them.
“Darling, I'm making some staffing changes.”
Luca didn't look at her.
He was watching Natalie.
“What's your name?”
The woman swallowed.
“Natalie.”
“Natalie what?”
She hesitated.
“Natalie Reed.”
Luca slowly set down his glass.
“That's interesting.”
Vanessa laughed nervously.
“Why?”
He looked directly at her.
“Because my first wife's maiden name was Reed.”
Nobody moved.
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
“It's a common name, Luca.”
He ignored her.
“Natalie, how long have you known my wife?”
The woman looked toward Vanessa.
Then whispered, “Almost twelve years.”
Luca stopped breathing.
His first wife, Caroline, had died six years earlier.
At least, that's what everyone believed.
And Vanessa had always claimed she'd never met her.
Luca pulled out the chair beside him.
“Natalie. Sit down.”
Vanessa grabbed the chair.
“She doesn't belong at this table.”
Luca looked at her hand.
“Move it.”
She released the chair.
Natalie sat.
Then Luca turned toward me.
“Emily, you're not fired.”
My eyes filled.
“Thank you, sir.”
But Natalie was crying now.
Quietly.
As though she'd spent years holding something inside.
Luca sat across from her.
“Tell me why you're here.”
Natalie looked at Vanessa.
“She promised me I could see something.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Natalie, don't.”
Luca leaned forward.
“See what?”
The woman wiped her cheeks.
“She said if I came here and did exactly what she asked, she'd finally let me see what Caroline left behind.”
Luca's expression changed.
“What Caroline left behind?”
Natalie swallowed.
“Something she wanted you to have.”
Vanessa suddenly stood.
“This conversation is over.”
But I remembered something.
The previous afternoon, Vanessa had ordered me to prepare the guest bedroom.
Then she'd told me to remove every photograph of Caroline from the hallway.
At the time, I thought she was being cruel.
Now I understood.
She hadn't wanted Natalie to see them.
“Mr. Moretti?” I whispered.
Luca turned.
“Yes, Emily?”
“Mrs. Bellini told me to take down your wife's photographs yesterday.”
Vanessa's face drained.
Luca looked at her.
“Why?”
She couldn't answer.
Then Natalie suddenly reached for my hand.
“Emily, were there pictures of Caroline with her hair short?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
She began crying harder.
Luca stared at her.
“Why does that matter?”
Natalie looked directly at him.
“Because Caroline cut her hair the week before she disappeared.”
Luca went completely still.
“My wife died in a boating accident.”
Natalie shook her head.
“That's what Vanessa told you.”
A terrible silence settled over the table.
Vanessa whispered, “Natalie, please.”
But Natalie wasn't looking at her anymore.
She was looking at Luca.
“Caroline was my older sister.”
Luca gripped the edge of the table.
“You told me Caroline had no living family.”
Natalie nodded through tears.
“I know. That's why she was trying to reach you before the accident.”
Vanessa backed away from the table.
And suddenly, Luca understood something.
He turned toward me.
“Emily, you said Vanessa had you prepare the guest bedroom?”
“Yes, sir.”
“For Natalie?”
I hesitated.
Because there was something else.
Something I'd noticed while changing the bedding.
“No, sir. Mrs. Bellini told me to prepare it for a woman who couldn't remember her own name.”
Natalie covered her mouth.
Vanessa went completely white.
Luca slowly stood.
“Vanessa. Who were you expecting tonight?”
And Natalie whispered the words that made my knees nearly buckle.
“Luca... Caroline is alive.”
He stared at her.
Then Natalie looked toward the woman in red.
“But Vanessa told me if I wanted my sister back, I had to come here tonight and make sure Emily was gone first.”
Luca turned toward me.
May you like
For the first time, I saw genuine fear in his eyes.
“Emily... what exactly did you see in that guest bedroom yesterday?”
