Chapter 11 – THE TICKET HOME
A year later.
The snow was falling heavily outside the massive windows of the Moretti estate, blanketing the Chicago grounds in pure, untouched white.
The house was chaotic, but it was a beautiful, musical kind of chaos.
“Claire! Claire, look!”
Emily bolted into the living room, waving a piece of paper in the air. She was twelve now, taller, her hair pulled back in a messy braid.
“What is it, sweetie?” I asked, looking up from the couch where I was folding a cozy throw blanket.
“I got an A on my history project!” she beamed, thrusting the paper into my hands.
“An A?” A deep voice rumbled from the doorway.
Luca walked into the room, dusting snow off the shoulders of his black wool coat. He looked ruggedly handsome, his cheeks flushed from the cold.
Emily ran to him and launched herself into his arms. He caught her effortlessly, spinning her around while she giggled.
“An A means we get pizza tonight,” Luca declared, setting her down. “No chef food. Greasy, South Side, deep-dish pizza.”
“Yes!” Emily cheered, pumping her fist before sprinting upstairs to change out of her school uniform.
Luca watched her go, a look of profound peace on his face. Then he walked over to the couch and sat down next to me.
“Hi,” he said softly.
“Hi yourself,” I smiled.
He leaned over and kissed me, his lips cold from the winter air but his touch instantly warming me.
A lot had changed in twelve months.
I was no longer Claire the maid. I was Claire Sullivan, Emily’s official tutor, the manager of the estate’s charitable foundation, and the woman who slept in the master bedroom next to Luca Moretti every night.
My mother lived safely in her new apartment building, spending her weekends baking cookies with Emily in the estate kitchen. The shadows of Vanessa and Marcus had faded into bad memories, locked away in a past we no longer visited.
“I have something for you,” Luca said, reaching into his coat pocket.
He pulled out a small, white envelope.
I took it, raising an eyebrow. “Is it my performance review? Because I think my tutoring skills have vastly improved.”
“Just open it,” he laughed.
I slid my finger under the flap and pulled out the contents.
It was two first-class plane tickets. To Italy.
“Luca…” I breathed, staring at the destination. Florence.
“You told me once that your mother’s parents came from a tiny village outside of Florence, and that you always dreamed of taking her there to see it,” Luca said quietly.
I looked at him, my heart swelling so much it physically hurt. “You remembered that? I mentioned it in passing six months ago.”
“I remember everything you say, Claire.”
He reached out and took my hand. On my ring finger, sitting perfectly next to the silver locket around my neck, was a simple, elegant diamond band. He had proposed three months ago, quietly, in the kitchen where I had once fought for his daughter’s life.
“We leave next week,” Luca said. “Just the three of us. And your mother.”
“She’s going to complain about the airplane food,” I warned him, tears of joy stinging my eyes.
“I’ll buy the airline if I have to,” Luca smiled, wiping a tear from my cheek with his thumb.
I leaned my head against his shoulder, looking around the massive, beautiful living room.
It wasn’t a house of secrets anymore. It was just a home.
“Dad! Claire! Look!”
We both looked up.
Emily was standing at the top of the grand staircase. She had changed out of her uniform and was wearing a bright yellow sweater—the exact shade her mother used to wear.
She wasn’t crying. She wasn’t scared. She looked radiant.
“I’m ready for pizza!” she announced, skipping down the stairs.
Luca squeezed my hand.
I squeezed back.
The truth had cost this family a lot, but it had bought them something priceless.
Peace.
“Let’s go,” I smiled, standing up and grabbing my coat. “The pizza’s getting cold.”
And as the three of us walked out the front door into the falling snow, laughing together, I touched the silver locket resting over my heart.
Caroline’s wish had come true.
The family was whole again.
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