Chapter 7

“All of it,” Sophie repeated.

Luca looked at Vanessa.

“Give me my sister’s letter.”

Vanessa stared at the cream-colored program.

For several seconds, she didn’t move.

Then she lifted the back cover.

An old ivory envelope had been tucked inside.

The corners were worn.

Across the front, in soft blue ink, were two words.

My Sophie.

I watched Luca reach for it.

His fingers trembled.

He recognized Julia’s handwriting before he even opened the envelope.

“I remember when she wrote this.”

Sophie looked up.

“You do?”

He nodded.

“She asked me to bring her a pen that didn’t hurt her fingers.”

His voice softened.

“She was having trouble holding things near the end.”

Sophie lowered her eyes.

“I remember.”

Luca carefully removed the letter.

He glanced at his niece.

“Do you want me to read it?”

She nodded.

“Please.”

He unfolded the page.

For a long moment, he simply looked at his sister’s handwriting.

Then he began.

“My darling Sophie,

There are so many things I wish I could stay and teach you.

How to make pancakes without burning them. How to tell when somebody is being kind. How to forgive yourself after making a mistake.

But I want you to discover wonderful things for yourself, too.

Go see the ocean. Learn another language. Make friends in places I’ve never been.

Don’t be afraid to go away and discover the world.”

Luca stopped.

Sophie looked toward Vanessa.

“That’s what she showed me.”

Vanessa nodded.

“Because Julia wanted you to be brave.”

Luca looked down.

“There’s more.”

He continued.

“But remember something important, sweetheart.

Going away to discover the world is not the same as being sent away because somebody has no room for you.

You should never have to leave a place just to make someone else happy.

Your uncle Luca loves you more than he knows how to explain. He will make mistakes. He’s always been stubborn, and sometimes he forgets that people can’t read his mind.

When that happens, tell him.

And when you miss me, you can cry. You can laugh too. You don’t have to choose.

Most of all, remember that home is where you are loved without having to earn it.

All my love,

Mommy.”

Nobody spoke.

Luca lowered the letter.

Tears slipped silently down his face.

Sophie held out her arms.

He pulled her into his lap.

She was almost too big for it now, but he didn’t seem to care.

“Mommy said you were stubborn,” she whispered.

He laughed through his tears.

“She said that a lot.”

“She said you forgot things.”

“I do.”

“Like my play.”

He nodded.

“Like your play.”

Sophie pressed her forehead against his shoulder.

“But she said I should tell you.”

“Yes.”

“So I’m telling you now.”

He held her tighter.

“I’m listening.”

I turned away for a moment.

My grandmother had died when I was seventeen.

I still remembered the way she folded letters, the smell of lavender in her dresser, and how she’d insist that love was something people proved in ordinary moments.

I wished Sophie could have one more ordinary morning with her mother.

But the letter was the closest thing she had.

And somebody had used half of it to frighten her.

Vanessa wiped her cheeks.

“I didn’t invent Julia’s wishes.”

Luca looked up.

“No. You removed the part that contradicted yours.”

“I believed Sophie would benefit from going.”

“You were entitled to believe that.”

Vanessa looked surprised.

He continued.

“You were entitled to suggest a school. You were entitled to tell me you felt overwhelmed. You were even entitled to say you weren’t ready to become part of a household raising a grieving child.”

His voice hardened.

“But you weren’t entitled to make Sophie feel unwanted.”

Vanessa lowered her eyes.

Madame Fournier leaned forward.

“Mrs. Bellini, did Sophie know you had submitted a request limiting contact with her guardian?”

Luca looked sharply toward her.

“What request?”

The French woman opened the blue folder.

“I hadn’t intended to discuss it before speaking privately with you. But given what Sophie has described, I believe you must see it.”

She placed another page on the table.

Vanessa whispered, “That was only a suggestion.”

Luca read it.

His face tightened.

“Eight weeks?”

Madame Fournier nodded.

“Mrs. Bellini requested that during the initial settling period, ordinary correspondence be directed through her.”

“Why?”

“She said Sophie became distressed after communicating with you.”

Sophie stared.

“That’s not true.”

Vanessa looked at her.

“You always cried after talking about your mother.”

“Because I missed her.”

“And I thought some distance might help.”

Madame Fournier shook her head.

“Our school does not impose that kind of restriction merely because a guardian requests it. I specifically questioned this proposal.”

Luca turned the page.

At the bottom was a short statement, written in the same careful handwriting as Sophie’s earlier letter.

I agree not to contact my uncle during the settling period.

There was Sophie’s signature.

Luca looked at her.

“Sweetheart, did you sign this?”

She nodded slowly.

“Did you know what it meant?”

“Vanessa said it would make things easier.”

“For whom?”

Sophie looked down.

“For you.”

Luca swallowed.

“Why would not hearing from you make things easier for me?”

Sophie’s eyes filled.

“Because she said every time I cried about Mommy, you felt like you couldn’t be happy.”

Vanessa closed her eyes.

Luca looked at her.

“You knew she believed that?”

“I thought she needed to learn not to depend on you for everything.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Vanessa remained silent.

Sophie pulled the letter against her chest.

“I didn’t want to ruin your marriage.”

Luca’s face crumpled.

“Oh, sweetheart.”

She began crying.

“I was going to try really hard not to call.”

He held her against him.

“You never have to earn the right to call me.”

“Even if you’re busy?”

“Even then.”

She wiped her face.

Then she looked toward Madame Fournier.

“Can I tell you something?”

“Of course.”

“I didn’t want to stop talking to my uncle.”

“I understand.”

Sophie took a shaky breath.

“I signed it because Vanessa said he’d stop loving me if I changed my mind.”

Luca turned slowly toward his fiancée.

His expression was no longer merely angry.

It was devastated.

“Vanessa, I need one answer. Did you knowingly make my niece believe she had to leave this family to keep my love?”