Chapter 9 – THE FAMILY HEIRLOOM

Two weeks later, the Moretti mansion was unrecognizable.

The heavy, dark curtains Vanessa had insisted on were gone, replaced by light, sheer linens that let the autumn sun pour into the rooms. The oppressive silence was replaced by the sound of Isabella’s laughter echoing down the halls.

I was sitting in the sunroom, wearing comfortable jeans and a soft cashmere sweater, helping Isabella with her math homework.

Clara and my mother were sitting on the patio outside, drinking tea and catching up on a lifetime of missed memories. Clara had moved into my mother’s house, and the two of them were inseparable.

“Okay,” I said, tapping Isabella’s notebook with a pencil. “If you have five apples, and I take two, how many are left?”

“Three!” Isabella grinned. “And if Vanessa tries to take my apples, my daddy will throw her in jail.”

I laughed, pulling her into a sideways hug. “Exactly right.”

Footsteps sounded on the hardwood floor. Luca walked into the sunroom, looking incredibly handsome in a simple black button-down shirt and slacks. The lines of stress that had aged his face for three years were completely gone.

“Homework on a Saturday?” Luca asked, leaning down to kiss the top of Isabella’s head.

“Emily says math doesn’t take the weekend off,” Isabella sighed dramatically.

Luca chuckled. “Emily is very wise. Bella, why don’t you go show your aunt Clara your new drawing?”

Isabella scrambled out of her chair, grabbed her sketchbook, and ran out to the patio.

Luca watched her go, a profound peace settling over his features. Then, he turned to me.

He didn’t say anything at first. He just looked at me, his dark eyes intense and warm, making my heart do a familiar flutter in my chest.

“You look beautiful,” Luca murmured.

I blushed, looking down at my hands. “I’m just wearing jeans, Luca.”

“You could wear a burlap sack, Emily, and you’d still be the most beautiful woman in this house,” he said, stepping closer.

He reached out and gently took my hand, pulling me to my feet.

“I have something for you,” Luca said softly.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, intricately carved wooden box.

I recognized it immediately. It was the heirloom box Clara had mentioned on the night of the dinner party—the one Vanessa had planned to give to Luca as a fake engagement gift.

“Luca, what is this?” I asked, my heart beating a little faster.

“When the police searched Vanessa’s apartment, they found this in her safe,” Luca explained. “She didn’t buy it. She stole it from Catherine’s cedar chest.”

He pressed the wooden box into my hands.

“Open it,” he said quietly.

I slowly lifted the delicate brass latch. The lid creaked open.

Inside, resting on a bed of faded red velvet, wasn’t a piece of jewelry.

It was a thick, folded piece of parchment paper, sealed with red wax.

And written on the front of the envelope, in Catherine’s elegant cursive, was my name.

To Emily.

Share