Chapter 6: What Rosa Could No Longer Hide
Dr.
Ellis called the deputy director on speaker.
“Simon, where did Lily Mendes’s sample come from?”
Silence answered first.
Then a man whispered, “Mr.
Romano said my debts would disappear.”
Vincent’s attorney shut his folder.
Vincent did not look at him.
“Leave.”
“You told me the arrangement was protected.”
“I said leave.”
The attorney walked out without offering Vincent his hand.
Alessandro faced Isabella.
“You arranged the false result.”
“I protected my marriage.”
“There is no marriage.”
“You cannot end a treaty because a maid produced a child.”
Rosa stepped between them.
“Stop calling me that as if my work makes me less than you.”
Isabella laughed once.
“Four years polishing his floors, and now you expect his name?”
“I expect nothing from him.”
Alessandro looked at Rosa.
“Is that true?”
She met his eyes.
“You do not get to ask me that today.”
Vincent picked up the forged bank statement.
“She expected fifty thousand dollars.”
Marco blocked the fireplace as Vincent moved toward it.
“Put the document down.”
Vincent smiled.
“A guard giving orders to Vincent Romano?”
“A witness protecting evidence.”
Mr.
Bruno took the statement from Vincent’s hand.
“The routing number belongs to a bank that did not open until 2 years after this transfer date.”
Vincent’s smile disappeared.
Rosa touched the edge of the desk.
“There is something else.”
Alessandro waited.
“The night before you left for Naples, I came to tell you I was expecting Lily.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Your father stopped me outside the study.
He said you were meeting the woman you would marry.”
Alessandro’s jaw tightened.
“There was no woman.”
“I heard Isabella’s name.”
Isabella looked toward her father.
Rosa continued, her voice unsteady.
“Don Giuseppe told me the Romano agreement had already begun.
He said if I cared about you, I would not stand in the way.”
“My father knew?”
“He gave me money.
I left it on his desk.”
“And then Vincent sent the letter.”
“Yes.”
Alessandro gripped the chair back.
“You should have told me.”
“You should have made it safe to tell you.”
The chair creaked beneath his hand.
“You are right,” he said.
“I hid behind business, duty, and a house where everyone feared speaking plainly.
You and Lily paid for it.”
Rosa covered her mouth.
He did not reach for her.
“I loved you,” she said through her tears.
“That was the truth I was most ashamed of, because I thought loving you had placed my child in danger.”
Alessandro’s eyes filled.
“I loved you too.
I was a coward who called obedience responsibility.”
Lily slipped from Mr.
Bruno’s arms and pushed Bun into Rosa’s hands.
“No cry, Mama.”
Rosa sank to her knees and held her daughter.
Alessandro knelt several feet away, waiting until Lily reached for him.
She placed one small hand against his cheek.
Isabella swept the brass lamp from the desk.
It struck the floor, and the curtain caught the flame.
“Take the letter!” Vincent shouted.
He reached for the envelope as smoke climbed the fabric.
Marco pulled the curtain down and stamped out the flame.
Mr.
Bruno carried Lily into the hallway while Alessandro dragged the desk away.
Isabella snatched the forged letter and ran toward the side door.
Rosa stepped into her path.
“You frightened my child, lied about her father, and tried to erase her.
You will not erase the proof.”
Isabella raised her hand.
Rosa caught her wrist.
“You told me I had no place in this house,” Rosa said.
“But you are the one running from it.”
Sirens sounded beyond the gates.
Isabella looked at Vincent.
“You said the police would never come here.”
Vincent stared through the window.
“I did not call them.”
May you like
Marco held up his phone.
“My mother did.”
