Chapter 2: The Secret Hidden in Silver
I couldn’t hear anything after those words.
Not the piano.
Not the whispers.
Not the sound of rain tapping against the restaurant windows.
Only one sentence kept repeating in my head.
My wife was wearing that necklace the night she disappeared.
But Isabella Moretti was dead.
Everyone knew that.
Six months earlier, Brooklyn had watched Rico Moretti bury the woman he loved.
There had been photographs.
News reports.
Flowers outside the Moretti estate.
A funeral attended by politicians, celebrities, and men who looked like they had never smiled in their lives.
So why was Rico looking at my necklace like he had seen a ghost?
“I think there’s been a mistake,” I said.
My voice sounded smaller than I wanted.
Dante shook his head.
“No mistake.””
Rico raised a hand.
Dante immediately stopped speaking.
“Where did you say you got it?””
“My mother.””
“Your mother’s name?””
I felt every pair of eyes in the restaurant on me.
I hated it.
I hated being the center of attention.
I hated that this man, a stranger with a dangerous reputation, suddenly seemed to know something about my family that I didn’t.
“Evelyn Carter,” I answered.
The name left my mouth.
Rico froze.
Actually froze.
Like someone had taken away the air around him.
“Say that again.””
“Evelyn Carter.””
His face changed.
Not anger.
Not suspicion.
Pain.
“You know my mother?””
Rico looked away.
For a moment, he wasn’t the man everyone feared.
He was someone remembering something he wished he could forget.
“I knew a woman named Evelyn.””
I tightened my grip on Leo’s hand.
“What does that have to do with this?””
Leo looked up at me.
“Don’t go.””
His small voice cut through the tension.
I looked down.
“I’m not going anywhere.””
Rico noticed.
Something shifted in his expression.
“You made him trust you in five minutes.””
I glanced at Leo.
“I didn’t make him do anything.””
“No?””
He looked toward his son.
“My own people can’t get near him when he’s like this.””
“Maybe because everyone keeps trying to force him.””
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Dante looked horrified.
Victor, watching from across the room, looked like he wanted to hide under a table.
But Rico didn’t react.
Instead, he asked:
“What would you suggest?””
The question surprised me.
“I don’t know.””
“You walked into a room full of people who were afraid of me.””
His eyes stayed on mine.
“And you think you don’t know?””
I looked at Leo.
“He needs someone to listen before he needs someone to fix him.””
For a few seconds, Rico said nothing.
Then he looked at Dante.
“Cancel the car.””
Dante blinked.
“Boss?””
“We’re staying.””
The entire staff looked shocked.
Rico Moretti never stayed anywhere longer than necessary.
He certainly didn’t stay in a restaurant with a waitress who had just challenged him.
I carefully pulled my hand from Leo’s.
“Your son should eat something.””
Leo immediately reached for me again.
“Clara.””
Rico noticed.
“Sit.””
I looked at him.
“I’m working.””
“I’ll pay for your time.””
“I’m not a babysitter.””
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Then what are you?””
I looked at Leo.
“Someone who doesn’t want him to feel alone.””
For the first time, something almost like respect appeared in Rico’s expression.
“Sit with him.””
I hesitated.
Then I sat.
The next hour was the strangest hour of my life.
The feared Ricardo Moretti sat across from me while his son colored on a napkin.
A man who could make grown businessmen tremble was patiently answering questions about cartoon animals.
“What’s that?”” Leo asked.
“A lion,” Rico replied.
“No.””
Rico frowned.
“No?””
“It’s a dog.””
I looked at the drawing.
It definitely looked like a lion.
But Rico nodded seriously.
“You’re right. It’s a dog.””
I almost smiled.
Almost.
Because seeing this side of him was confusing.
The rumors said he was ruthless.
Cold.
Impossible to reach.
But with Leo, he was just a father.
A tired one.
A grieving one.
When the restaurant finally emptied, Victor approached me.
“Clara.””
I stood.
“Don’t say I told you so.””
“I wasn’t going to.””
He looked at Rico.
“I was going to say you’re either incredibly brave or completely insane.””
“Probably both.””
Victor lowered his voice.
“Be careful.””
I knew what he meant.
Because when powerful people entered your life, they rarely left without taking something with them.
After closing, Rico stopped me near the entrance.
Rain poured outside.
His driver waited beside a black car.
“You need a ride home.””
“No.””
His expression hardened.
“That wasn’t a question.””
“And my answer is still no.””
Dante looked like he expected me to be thrown into the street.
Instead, Rico simply studied me.
“You really aren’t afraid of me.””
“I’m afraid of plenty of things.””
“Such as?””
I looked toward the empty restaurant.
“Losing people I love.””
Something flickered in his eyes.
Then Leo appeared beside him, holding a folded napkin.
“Clara.””
I crouched.
“What is it?””
He handed it to me.
A drawing.
Three people.
A small child.
A woman.
A man.
I smiled softly.
“It’s beautiful.””
Leo pointed at the woman.
“Mommy.””
My smile faded.
Then he pointed at me.
“Clara.””
Rico went completely still.
Leo pointed at the man.
“Daddy.””
The rain outside sounded louder.
Rico stared at the drawing.
His son had drawn a picture of a family.
And somehow, in the place where his mother should have been…
he had drawn me.
The next morning, I found an envelope waiting at my apartment door.
Inside was a photograph.
An old photograph.
My mother stood beside Isabella Moretti.
Both women were smiling.
May you like
On the back, someone had written four words:
*Ask your mother why.*
