Chapter 3 - MRS. ALVAREZ RETURNS
Mrs. Alvarez arrived three days later.
She entered through the kitchen door carrying a small handbag and wearing the same navy cardigan Hannah remembered from before her leave. She looked tired, but her eyes brightened when she saw Clara.
They embraced.
“I heard what happened,” Mrs. Alvarez said.
Hannah looked down. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble.”
Mrs. Alvarez took her hand.
“You didn't cause trouble, child. You revealed it.”
Luca met with her in the library that afternoon. He asked Hannah and Clara to remain, not because he needed them to confirm Mrs. Alvarez's story, but because he wanted the staff to hear the truth directly.
Mrs. Alvarez placed her old phone on the desk.
“I called you twice,” she said. “I also left a message with your office.”
Luca picked up the phone.
“Why didn't I receive them?”
“Vanessa told me you were unavailable. Then she said you had instructed her to accept my resignation.”
“I never did.”
“I know that now.”
She opened her messages. The first was a short text from Vanessa's number telling her not to contact Luca again. The second said the household had already hired a replacement.
Luca read them without speaking.
“Why didn't you come to the house?” he asked.
“I was worried about my husband. He had been admitted to the hospital. I didn't have the strength to argue with someone who told me my twenty-two years of service meant nothing.”
Luca looked genuinely ashamed.
“You should never have been put in that position.”
Mrs. Alvarez continued.
“There is something else. Vanessa asked me to sign a paper saying I was leaving voluntarily and had received all my outstanding pay. I refused because the amount was wrong.”
Clara inhaled sharply.
“What amount?”
“Three weeks of overtime. Several holiday shifts. And the final month of my salary.”
Luca looked toward Rafael, who stood beside the door.
“Get the payroll records.”
Mrs. Alvarez shook her head.
“I brought copies.”
She placed a folder on the desk. Inside were handwritten time sheets, payment summaries, and a copy of the document Vanessa had asked her to sign. The signature line was blank.
Luca turned the pages slowly.
“Who prepared this?”
“Vanessa's office.”
“Did anyone else see it?”
“The payroll assistant. I don't know if she was told what it meant.”
Luca closed the folder.
“I'll make sure you're paid what you're owed. And I want an independent review of every household payroll record from the past year.”
Mrs. Alvarez nodded.
“I don't want to cause a scandal, Mr. Moretti. I only want what I earned.”
“You aren't causing it. Whoever altered these records did.”
Before Mrs. Alvarez left, she turned toward Hannah.
“Have you been able to keep milk for Noah?”
Hannah's throat tightened.
“Not at work. I haven't brought any since that night.”
Mrs. Alvarez looked at Luca.
“Then perhaps the house needs a proper place for it.”
Luca nodded immediately.
“Set aside a refrigerator in the staff room. Label it clearly. Employees may store food and medication there. No one touches another person's belongings.”
He looked at Hannah.
“And the next time someone throws away something that belongs to your child, tell me.”
Hannah gave a small, uncertain smile.
May you like
“I hope there isn't a next time, sir.”
“So do I.”
