Chapter 3 – THE GIRL WHO NEVER FORGOT

Teresa was resting in her bedroom, an IV dripping slowly into her arm.

The doctor had sedated her, citing extreme exhaustion and stress.

I sat in the corner, holding the bus ticket in my sweaty palm.

Luca paced the floor, his suit jacket discarded, his tie loosened.

“Why would she try to run away?” he muttered.

“Because she thought you didn’t want her anymore,” I said softly.

He stopped pacing. “I never gave her a reason to think that.”

“Vanessa did.”

Before he could respond, the bedroom door flew open.

Nine-year-old Sophie ran in, still wearing her school uniform.

“Daddy!” she cried.

Luca caught her. “Sophie, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at Aunt Maria’s.”

“I made them bring me home!” Sophie pulled away and ran to the bed, carefully taking Teresa’s sleeping hand.

“Why did they say Grandma was moving away?” the little girl asked, tears welling in her eyes.

“Who said that?” Luca demanded.

“Vanessa,” Sophie sniffled. “She told me Grandma’s brain was broken and I wasn’t allowed to see her anymore because I made her sad.”

Luca’s hands curled into fists.

“Daddy,” Sophie reached into her backpack. “I brought the drawings. The ones Vanessa said Grandma threw away.”

She pulled out a crumpled stack of crayon drawings.

“I found them in the trash outside Vanessa’s office.”

My heart broke.

Vanessa hadn’t just been keeping Teresa’s letters from Sophie. She had been throwing away Sophie’s gifts to Teresa.

Luca took the drawings. His hands were shaking.

“I thought Grandma didn’t love me anymore,” Sophie cried.

“She loves you more than anything,” I said, stepping forward. I couldn’t help it. “She practiced writing your name every single day.”

Luca looked at me, a deep gratitude in his eyes.

Just then, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out, his brow furrowing.

“It’s a text from Michael,” he said.

He read it aloud: ‘Look in Vanessa’s jewelry box. False bottom.’

Luca left the room instantly. I stayed with Sophie.

Ten minutes later, he returned. He was holding a stack of letters.

Not from Teresa.

They were addressed to Vanessa. From a private investigator.

“What is it?” I asked.

Luca’s voice was hollow. “Vanessa wasn’t just trying to steal my mother’s money. She was looking for Gabriel.”

I frowned. “Why would she care about your brother?”

Luca looked up, and the betrayal in his eyes was absolute.

“Because the letters say Gabriel didn’t leave five years ago on his own. Vanessa’s father forced him out.”

Sophie suddenly pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket.

“Daddy? I got a letter today at school. But it wasn’t from Grandma.”

She handed it to Luca.

I saw the handwriting. It was sharp and aggressive.

Luca read it, his face turning pale.

“It’s from Gabriel,” he whispered. “He says… he says Vanessa’s father is the one who ordered the hit on my wife.”

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