Chapter 5 - WHAT MRS. CARTER KEPT
When Mrs. Carter heard that Luca had called Eleanor “Mom,” she cried for nearly five minutes.
I was sitting with her in the small sitting room beside the kitchen. Her wrists were wrapped in soft gauze, and a doctor had advised her to rest for at least a week.
“You should be resting,” I told her.
“I have rested enough for one lifetime.”
She tried to stand.
I gently pushed her back into the chair.
“Mr. Moretti specifically told me not to let you work.”
She smiled.
“He always was a stubborn boy.”
A little later, Luca arrived.
He knelt beside her chair.
“How are your hands?”
“Better.”
“Did the doctor give you anything for the pain?”
“Yes, sweetheart.”
“Are you sure?”
She patted his cheek.
“I raised you. I know how to handle a little pain.”
Luca looked at the bandages.
“I should have protected you.”
Mrs. Carter shook her head.
“You can't protect everyone every minute.”
“I should have known.”
“You trusted someone you planned to marry. That's not a crime.”
He looked down.
“I trusted the wrong person.”
“That is something you can learn from. It doesn't have to become the rest of your life.”
She reached into the pocket of her cardigan and brought out a small envelope.
“I kept this.”
Luca frowned.
“What is it?”
“The first letter Eleanor sent me.”
He took it carefully.
The envelope was dated four years earlier. The handwriting was neat, with Luca's name written across the front.
“Why didn't you give it to me?”
“I tried.”
He looked up.
Mrs. Carter explained that she had taken the letter to the main office. Vanessa intercepted her and said Luca was traveling. A week later, she asked Mrs. Carter to hand over any future letters from Eleanor.
Mrs. Carter refused.
After that, Vanessa began making her work difficult. She shortened her breaks, moved her room, and threatened to have her dismissed.
“Why didn't you tell me?” Luca asked.
“I thought I could manage it. I didn't want to bring trouble into your life.”
He held the envelope against his chest.
“You were protecting me from the truth.”
“I was trying to protect you from another disappointment.”
Luca shook his head.
“I wish you had trusted me.”
Mrs. Carter's eyes filled.
“I know that now.”
He opened the letter.
Eleanor had written only a few paragraphs. She said she did not want money or property. She wanted Luca to know that she was alive and that she had never stopped loving him. She included a telephone number and an address.
At the bottom, she had written:
If you do not want to meet me, I will accept that. I only ask that you know I did not abandon you.
Luca read the sentence twice.
Then he folded the letter.
“I'm keeping this.”
Mrs. Carter smiled.
“You should.”
He looked at her.
“And you're not going back to work until the doctor says so.”
She sighed.
“Then I suppose I have to obey.”
“Yes.”
“Even if I don't like it?”
“Especially then.”
She laughed softly.
It was the first time I had heard her laugh since the dinner.
Luca stood and turned toward me.
“Olivia.”
“Yes, sir?”
“You did the right thing that night.”
I glanced at Mrs. Carter.
“I only cut the zip tie.”
“You were the only person in that room who did what was right when it mattered.”
I didn't know what to say.
He continued.
“Your job is safe. And I want you to speak with the estate manager about any changes you think would make this house safer for the staff.”
May you like
I nodded.
Then he added, “No one in this house should ever be afraid to ask for help.”
