Chapter 1 – A MOTHER’S VOICE FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE

Luca stared at the second silver canister in his hands.

His knuckles turned white as he gripped the cold metal.

Fifty dinner guests held their breath, the silence in the banquet hall so heavy it felt suffocating.

I stood a few feet away, my heart pounding against my ribs.

Vanessa’s face was completely bloodless.

“Luca,” she whispered, her voice trembling in a way that finally sounded real. “Please. You don’t need to do this tonight. Not in front of everyone.”

Luca didn’t even look at her.

He slowly lowered himself into the chair beside his nine-year-old son.

“Matteo,” Luca said, his voice dangerously calm. “Do you have the projector set up?”

The Italian businessman nodded quickly. “Yes, Mr. Moretti. It is ready in the screening room.”

“No,” Luca said. “Bring it out here. Set it up against the dining room wall. We are watching it right now.”

Vanessa stepped forward, her red satin gown rustling. “Luca, this is a birthday party! You are ruining Noah’s special night!”

Noah reached out and grabbed his father’s sleeve.

“I want to hear Mommy,” the little boy said softly.

Luca placed a protective hand over his son’s small shoulder. “And you will, buddy. Nobody is ever going to take her away from you again.”

It took Matteo less than three minutes to roll the vintage projector into the dining room.

The guests remained frozen in their seats. Nobody dared to speak or reach for their wine glasses.

I stood by the dessert cart, my hands still shaking from the confrontation. I knew I should probably step out of the room. I was just the housemaid. But when I tried to back away, Luca’s eyes met mine.

“Stay, Emily,” he said firmly.

Vanessa shot me a look of pure, unadulterated hatred.

The lights dimmed.

The projector hummed to life, casting a flickering square of light against the ivory wallpaper.

The film crackled.

And then, a face appeared on the wall.

It was Claire.

She was sitting in a hospital bed, a pale blue knitted shawl draped over her thin shoulders. Her dark hair was pushed back, her face pale but incredibly beautiful.

Noah gasped. “Mommy.”

Tears immediately spilled down Luca’s cheeks.

“Hi, my brave little man,” Claire’s voice echoed through the room. It was soft, weak, but filled with overwhelming love. “If you’re watching this, it means you’re nine years old today. Happy birthday, my sweet boy.”

Noah pressed his face against Luca’s arm, sobbing quietly.

“I want you to know how proud I am of you,” Claire continued, looking directly into the camera. “And I want you to make me a promise. Never forget that I am always with you. In your heart, in your kindness, and in the little silver pocket watch I asked Daddy to keep for you.”

Luca’s head snapped up.

He stared at the projection.

“It was my grandfather’s watch,” Claire smiled through her tears. “I told the hospital administrator to put it in my personal effects box. Keep it safe, Noah.”

The screen faded to black.

The projector clicked.

But the silence that followed was terrifying.

Luca slowly stood up. He wiped the tears from his face, but his eyes were filled with a dark, terrifying realization.

He turned toward Vanessa.

“When Claire died,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a whisper, “you were the hospital administrator in charge of her ward.”

Vanessa took a step back. “Luca, that was years ago. I—”

“You told me her personal effects box was lost in transit,” Luca interrupted, taking a step toward her. “You looked me in the eyes and said there was nothing left.”

“It was lost!” Vanessa cried out, her voice shrill. “Things get misplaced in hospitals all the time!”

I looked down at the dessert cart.

My heart stopped.

Earlier that evening, when Vanessa had asked me to fetch her lipstick from her designer handbag, the purse had tipped over in the hallway.

Something had spilled out.

Something she had frantically shoved back inside.

“Mr. Moretti,” I whispered.

The entire room turned to look at me.

“Emily, stay out of this!” Vanessa hissed, her eyes wide with panic.

But I looked right at Luca.

“Sir… Mrs. Bellini’s handbag is in the foyer,” I said softly. “When I moved it earlier… a silver pocket watch fell out.”

Vanessa lunged at me.