Chapter 4 - THE ROOM CAROLINE LEFT BEHIND|
Sophie returned from the hospital shortly after midnight.
The X-ray showed no fracture, but Dr. Harris diagnosed a severe sprain and ordered rest, ice, and a follow-up appointment. Luca carried his daughter upstairs despite her protests that she was too heavy.
“You're eleven,” he told her. “You're allowed to let your father carry you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
Claire followed with the doctor's instructions and a small bag containing Sophie's belongings.
At the bedroom door, Sophie asked her father to stay until she fell asleep.
Luca sat beside her bed.
Claire placed the medication on the nightstand and started to leave.
“Miss Claire?”
She turned.
Sophie was holding a faded photograph of Caroline.
“Can you stay, too?”
Claire glanced at Luca.
He nodded.
“Of course.”
Sophie settled against her pillows.
“Mommy used to sit between us when I couldn't sleep.”
Luca's expression softened.
“She did.”
“She used to tell me that families are supposed to feel safe.”
He gently touched her hair.
“She was right.”
Sophie looked toward the hallway.
“Then why doesn't it feel safe when Vanessa is here?”
Luca stopped moving.
Claire felt the room grow quiet.
“Has Vanessa done something else that frightened you?” he asked.
Sophie stared at the photograph.
“Sometimes she tells me that if I make you sad, you'll send me away to boarding school.”
Luca's face tightened.
“Did she say that tonight?”
“Before.”
“How many times?”
Sophie began to cry.
“I don't know.”
He pulled her into his arms.
“You are never going to be sent away because you make me sad. You can be angry. You can cry. You can tell me when something is wrong. You don't have to be perfect to belong here.”
Sophie clung to him.
Claire stood quietly near the door, feeling both relief and anger. The girl had been carrying fears that should never have belonged to her.
After Sophie fell asleep, Luca walked Claire downstairs.
“Thank you for staying,” he said.
“She needed someone to listen.”
“I should have noticed.”
Claire hesitated.
“You work hard, sir. Sometimes children hide things because they don't want to upset the people they love.”
He looked at her.
“Did you know she was afraid of Vanessa?”
“I knew she was uncomfortable. I didn't know how bad it had become.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Claire lowered her eyes.
“Miss Bellini said I would lose my job if I interfered.”
Luca went still.
“She threatened you?”
“She said I was a housemaid and not Sophie's dance instructor.”
His expression darkened.
“You should have been able to tell me.”
“I didn't know whether you would believe me.”
That answer hurt him more than he expected.
He had built an empire in which people obeyed his orders because they feared the consequences of refusing. Somewhere along the way, he had allowed that same atmosphere to settle inside his home.
“Claire, you have my word. Nobody will punish you for protecting Sophie.”
She nodded.
“Thank you, sir.”
He watched her return toward the staff corridor.
Then he walked to Caroline's old sitting room.
He had not entered it in months.
The little piano stood beneath the window, untouched except for the occasional dusting. A framed photograph of Caroline sat beside a vase of dried yellow daisies.
Luca sat at the piano and pressed one key.
The sound trembled through the room.
He remembered Caroline laughing as she danced with Sophie in her arms. He remembered the way she had once told him that love could not be built on fear.
At the time, he had promised he understood.
Now he wondered how much he had forgotten.
He opened the drawer where Caroline had kept her sheet music.
Beneath the familiar pages lay a sealed envelope.
His name was written across it in Caroline's handwriting.
He broke the seal.
Inside was a single sentence.
Luca, if Vanessa ever tries to take Sophie away from you, find the blue notebook.
He stared at the paper.
May you like
Caroline had written the letter before her death.
And Vanessa had entered their lives only six months later.
