Chapter 1 - THE WOMAN WHO FINALLY SPOKE
“She told me that, too.”
The older server's voice was quiet, but it carried across the dining room.
Vanessa turned toward her. “Clara, don't involve yourself in something you don't understand.”
Clara Ruiz had worked in the Moretti home for eleven years. She had served Luca's father, then Luca, and had trained half the staff currently working in the mansion. She placed the water pitcher on the table.
“I understand perfectly,” she said. “Mrs. Alvarez asked for two days to be with her husband. You told her Mr. Moretti had decided the household needed someone more dependable.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“Did you hear me say that?”
“No, sir.”
“Did anyone?”
Clara looked around the table. “No, sir. Because you never said it.”
Vanessa gave a small laugh. “This is ridiculous. You're allowing staff members to turn a simple misunderstanding into a public accusation.”
Luca did not look at her.
“Clara, did Mrs. Alvarez contact me?”
“She tried. Twice. The first time, Vanessa said you were in a confidential meeting. The second time, she told her you didn't want to be disturbed.”
Luca slowly turned toward his fiancée.
“Where are those messages?”
Vanessa lifted her chin. “I don't know.”
“You manage the household calendar and my private office phone. You don't know?”
“I have a great deal to manage.”
“Then we'll review it.”
He looked toward Rafael, his head of security.
“Find Mrs. Alvarez. Ask her to come here if she's willing. And have someone bring the kitchen staff into the sitting room. Nobody is to be questioned separately or pressured.”
Vanessa pushed back her chair.
“You cannot turn dinner into an investigation because a maid spilled milk.”
Hannah flinched at the word.
“No one spilled anything,” Luca said. “You threw away food that belonged to an employee's child.”
“It was in a refrigerator used for guests.”
“It was in the kitchen refrigerator.”
“Luca, we have a household to run.”
“And the people who run it deserve to be treated like people.”
For a moment, Vanessa looked as though she might slap him. Instead, she picked up her clutch.
“I need air.”
“Rafael,” Luca said, “please make sure she doesn't leave with any household records or devices.”
Vanessa froze. “You can't be serious.”
“I am.”
She walked out without another word.
Luca turned to Hannah.
“I'm sorry. You should never have been made to explain why your baby needs you.”
Hannah did not know what to say. She had expected to lose her job. She had not expected the most powerful man in the house to apologize to her in front of thirty strangers.
“Thank you, sir,” she whispered.
“Don't thank me yet. I need to understand how this happened.”
He looked toward the trash bin. The bottles were inside, their lids loose, milk spilled over discarded napkins and food scraps. There was nothing to save.
“Go home after your shift,” he said. “Take the time you need tomorrow. You'll be paid.”
Hannah shook her head automatically. “I can't miss another day, sir.”
May you like
“You won't be punished for caring for your child.”
For the first time that evening, Hannah believed he understood that the milk was not merely milk. It was time taken from sleep, painful pumping sessions during breaks, and the only way she could keep working while still feeding the little boy waiting at home.
