Chapter 9 - THE HOUSE WITHOUT FEAR
Mrs. Carter returned to the mansion after three weeks of recovery.
Luca had arranged for a nurse to visit twice a week, but she insisted she was perfectly capable of looking after herself.
He had also changed the household rules.
Every employee received written information about breaks, medical emergencies, and how to report mistreatment. Security staff were instructed that no employee could be detained or searched without a lawful reason and proper procedure.
The estate manager was replaced after an internal review showed that several staff complaints had been ignored.
Olivia was offered the position of assistant household supervisor.
I nearly refused.
“I don't know if I'm qualified,” I told Luca.
“You noticed something was wrong when everyone else chose to look away,” he said. “That matters.”
“I still have a lot to learn.”
“Then we'll make sure you get the training.”
I accepted.
Mrs. Carter was delighted.
“I always said you had good instincts,” she told me.
“You also said I folded the guest towels incorrectly.”
“You did.”
She smiled.
One afternoon, Luca brought Eleanor to the estate for the first time.
She stopped at the entrance.
“I remember this house,” she said.
Luca looked at her.
“You've been here before?”
“Once. The year after you were born. I came to the gate, but Salvatore's men told me you weren't here.”
He took her hand.
“Come inside.”
The staff had prepared a quiet lunch in the small garden room. Mrs. Carter was waiting beside the table.
When Eleanor entered, the two women stared at each other.
Then Mrs. Carter crossed the room and embraced her.
“I should have done more,” she whispered.
“You did enough,” Eleanor replied. “You kept him safe.”
They held each other for a long time.
Luca watched from the doorway.
Later, he asked Mrs. Carter why she had kept the letters even when Vanessa demanded them.
“Because I knew one day you might need to see them,” she said.
He smiled faintly.
“You always knew more than you told me.”
“Not everything, sweetheart.”
“Enough.”
That evening, Eleanor stayed for dinner.
She sat in the chair beside Luca, the same place where Vanessa had once sat during the engagement dinner.
The room felt different.
No guests were watching. No one was performing. The staff ate together in the kitchen after serving, and the doors remained open.
At the end of the meal, Luca asked Eleanor whether she would like to keep the blue blanket at the mansion.
She shook her head.
“I think it should stay with you.”
He folded it carefully and placed it in the small wooden box beside his bed.
May you like
For the first time in thirty-nine years, the blanket was no longer waiting for a reunion.
It had found its way home.
