Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW
Vanessa asked to see Luca once more.
He agreed to meet her in the lawyer's office, with both attorneys present.
She wore no jewelry. Her hair was tied back, and she looked older than she had at the engagement dinner.
“I know you don't owe me a conversation,” she began.
“Then say what you came to say.”
She looked down at her hands.
“My father told me that your family and ours had a history. He said the marriage would protect both families. I thought he meant business.”
“Did you know he had taken me from Eleanor?”
“No. I learned about Eleanor's letters four years ago. I found one in the estate office. I thought she was lying.”
“You could have asked me.”
“I was afraid you would leave.”
“So you made sure I never had the chance to choose.”
She nodded.
“I was wrong.”
Luca waited.
Vanessa swallowed.
“When I saw your birth certificate, I understood why my father had always insisted that I never ask questions about your birth. He told me that you were Giovanni's son. He never said anything else.”
“Did you know he was my biological father before the dinner?”
“No.”
“Did you know we were related?”
“No.”
Luca studied her face.
“Why did you keep the letters?”
“I didn't keep them. I destroyed them.”
“Why?”
“Because every time Eleanor wrote, I felt as if I was losing you to someone you had never met.”
“You didn't lose me to her. You lost my trust because of what you did.”
Vanessa began to cry.
“I know.”
He looked toward the window.
“I don't hate you.”
She raised her eyes.
“But I cannot have you in my life.”
“I understand.”
“I hope you get help. I hope you learn why you were willing to hurt people to keep control of a relationship.”
She nodded.
Then she stood.
At the door, she turned back.
“Luca, did Eleanor tell you about the other child?”
He went still.
“What other child?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Salvatore mentioned it once. He said Eleanor had another baby before you. I don't know if it was true.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“Why didn't you say this earlier?”
“I thought it was another lie. My father said she had been unstable after your birth.”
Luca stood.
“Do you know where the child is?”
“No.”
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then he called Detective Alvarez.
That evening, he visited Eleanor and asked her about the second child.
She became very quiet.
Then she told him the truth.
Before Luca was born, she had given birth to a daughter who had lived only a few hours. The hospital had told her the baby had died. Salvatore had been there that day, too.
“I don't know why he mentioned her,” Eleanor said. “There was no other child.”
Luca took her hand.
“Did you ever see her?”
“No.”
“Did you have a name?”
She nodded.
“Grace.”
They sat together in silence.
Luca understood then that Salvatore had used every loss in Eleanor's life to keep her obedient. He had turned grief into a weapon.
“I'm sorry,” he said.
Eleanor shook her head.
“You didn't do any of this.”
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
“I know. But I wish I could have found you sooner.”
May you like
She smiled sadly.
“So do I.”
