Chapter 3

“A plane ticket?”

Luca spoke as though the words belonged to somebody else’s life.

Madame Fournier placed the itinerary beside Sophie’s unfinished dessert.

“Chicago to Zurich. Friday afternoon.”

Sophie leaned forward.

“That’s the day of my school play.”

Nobody answered immediately.

Then Luca looked at her.

“What school play, sweetheart?”

“The one about American history. I’m supposed to be Abigail Adams.”

He blinked.

“I thought that was next week.”

Sophie shook her head.

“It’s Friday.”

The silence that followed was painful.

Because Luca had just discovered two things.

His fiancée had arranged to send his niece out of the country without his permission.

And he’d forgotten something important enough that Sophie had marked it on the kitchen calendar three weeks earlier.

Vanessa seized the moment.

“You see, Luca? You’ve been overwhelmed. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to explain.”

He looked at her.

“Don’t use my mistake to excuse yours.”

“I’m not. I’m saying Sophie needs more attention than you’ve been able to give her.”

Sophie lowered her eyes.

Luca noticed.

He turned back to her.

“You’re right about the play. I should have remembered.”

“It’s okay.”

“No. It matters to you.”

He took her hand.

“And I want you to know I would have been there.”

Vanessa gave a quiet sigh.

“You can’t promise to attend everything, darling.”

“Then I’ll stop promising things I haven’t made time for.”

His answer surprised her.

It surprised me too.

He wasn’t pretending he’d been the perfect guardian.

But he wasn’t allowing his shortcomings to become an excuse for abandoning the child.

Madame Fournier pointed to the itinerary.

“The travel reservation was made through Mrs. Bellini’s office.”

Luca read another line.

“Accompanying adult: Vanessa Bellini.”

“Yes.”

“And where am I listed?”

The French woman hesitated.

“You aren’t.”

Vanessa straightened.

“I planned to accompany Sophie myself. I was already going to Geneva for wedding arrangements.”

“You never mentioned traveling with Sophie.”

“I intended to discuss it.”

“When? After her plane landed?”

“Luca, please.”

Madame Fournier spoke again.

“For clarity, arranging travel does not authorize enrollment. The school would still require verified guardian consent.”

Luca nodded.

“Then she isn’t going.”

Vanessa’s eyes flashed.

“You’re making a decision based on one emotional evening.”

“I’m stopping a trip I never approved.”

“You’re not even listening to the benefits.”

“Then explain them without lying.”

Vanessa looked toward Sophie.

“She could study French. Learn to ride horses. Make friends from all over the world.”

Sophie stirred in her chair.

“I would like horses.”

Vanessa gave a small, triumphant smile.

“See?”

“But I don’t want to live there,” Sophie continued.

The smile disappeared.

Madame Fournier leaned toward her.

“That is a perfectly reasonable distinction.”

A gray-haired guest near the windows cleared his throat.

“Perhaps this should be discussed privately.”

Luca looked around the room.

Several guests lowered their eyes.

He was visibly struggling between protecting his niece from further embarrassment and allowing her to speak.

Then Sophie surprised everyone.

“I want to stay.”

Luca looked down.

“Here at the table?”

She nodded.

“Everybody already heard that I’m leaving.”

His expression tightened.

“I understand.”

“I want them to hear if I’m not.”

He pulled her chair a little closer to his.

“Then you’re staying.”

I watched Vanessa press her fingers into the edge of the white tablecloth.

For the first time that evening, I understood how much she had depended on Sophie’s silence.

Luca turned toward the sideboard.

“Mrs. Carter?”

The senior housekeeper stepped forward.

She was a woman in her late fifties with silver-streaked hair and a face that rarely revealed emotion.

“Yes, Mr. Moretti?”

“Has anyone packed Sophie’s belongings?”

Mrs. Carter hesitated.

“Some clothing, sir.”

Sophie looked up sharply.

“My clothes?”

“Only the things Mrs. Bellini requested.”

Vanessa interrupted.

“There’s nothing unusual about preparing a suitcase.”

Luca kept his attention on Mrs. Carter.

“Did you know where Sophie was going?”

“I was told she would be attending a school in Switzerland for a trial term.”

“And you believed I knew?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why?”

The housekeeper glanced at Vanessa.

“Mrs. Bellini said the arrangements had been approved.”

Vanessa’s voice hardened.

“I manage this household with Luca’s permission.”

Mrs. Carter looked down.

“That’s what I understood.”

Luca took a slow breath.

“You followed the instructions you believed were authorized. We will discuss the household arrangements later.”

Mrs. Carter’s shoulders relaxed slightly.

Then Sophie spoke.

“Did you pack my yellow sweater?”

Mrs. Carter nodded.

“The one with the little flowers.”

Sophie swallowed.

“Mommy bought that.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

“Did you pack my bracelet too?”

“No. I left that with you.”

Sophie held it tightly against her wrist.

“I was going to put it in my shoe.”

Luca frowned.

“Why?”

“So nobody would take it when I got there.”

Madame Fournier looked genuinely distressed.

“Sophie, children at our school are allowed to keep their family photographs and personal belongings.”

Sophie looked confused.

“Even if they make you cry?”

“Even then.”

Sophie turned toward Vanessa.

“But you said they wouldn’t let me have things that made me miss home.”

Vanessa’s face reddened.

“I said it might be easier to settle in without constant reminders.”

“Those aren’t the same thing,” Madame Fournier replied.

Luca crouched beside Sophie.

“Nobody is taking away your mother’s bracelet.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

She studied his face.

“Even after you get married?”

He paused.

“Why would that change anything?”

Sophie looked toward Vanessa.

Her eyes filled.

“She said things would be different after the wedding.”

Luca gently brushed a tear from her cheek.

“What things?”

“Where I lived. Where I sat at dinner. How much time you had.”

He swallowed.

“Sophie—”

She interrupted him.

“She said you made a promise when Mommy died.”

“I did.”

“But promises like that don’t last forever.”

Luca stopped breathing for a moment.

Vanessa whispered, “Sophie, that’s not exactly—”

The little girl shook her head.

“You said I needed to understand.”

Luca slowly rose to his feet.

His hands were shaking.

He turned toward Vanessa.

“What did you tell her?”

Vanessa looked away.

Then Sophie answered for her.

“She said your promise to Mommy expired when you married her.”