Chapter 3
Isabella moved into the Moretti estate three days later.
I had just returned from another prenatal appointment Luca had missed.
The baby was stable, but my contractions were becoming more frequent.
In the foyer, staff were carrying four suitcases and two garment bags upstairs.
"Whose are those?"
Luca stepped out of his study.
"Isabella's."
"She's staying here?"
"Temporarily. Her hotel location was compromised."
"Then move her to another one."
"Elena."
"I'm asking why she needs to live in our home."
"This is the safest place."
"For her."
"For anyone who needs protection."
"This is my home too. Our child's home."
"No one is asking you to leave."
"Someone doesn't have to throw me out for a boundary to be crossed."
"She's only staying a few days."
"Then keep her in the guest wing. She stays out of our bedroom, my things, and our marriage."
"You're making this bigger than it is."
"Last night she wore your coat while I was in the hospital. Today she arrives with four suitcases. Which part am I exaggerating?"
He said nothing.
Isabella came down the stairs in a dark red sweater.
"Luca thought this would be safer. I won't interfere with your lives."
"See that you don't."
The next morning, she was sitting on Luca's right at breakfast, in the seat I had used for five years.
She pushed black coffee toward him.
"I told the kitchen no sugar. You always hated anything sweet after staying up all night."
"Thanks."
Then she noticed me.
"Elena. I'm in your seat, aren't I?"
"It's a chair."
I sat across from them.
She smiled. "You're much easiergoing than people used to say."
"People?"
"The Morettis. I knew almost everyone here before I left."
Her gaze shifted toward the hall leading to the private offices.
"They changed the access system."
Luca looked at her.
"My old clearance doesn't work anymore," she added lightly.
"Because you don't have clearance anymore."
For half a second, her smile tightened.
Then it returned.
"Of course. I was only surprised."
Luca's voice sharpened. "Isabella."
She turned back to him.
"Ten o'clock is still in the east conference room?"
"What meeting?" I asked.
"The Vieri security arrangement," Luca said.
Moretti internal meetings were not family lunches. Phones stayed outside, guards controlled the doors, and attendance was decided in advance.
"She's attending?"
"She has information we need."
"Is she the Vieri family's official representative?"
"Not yet," Isabella said.
I looked at Luca.
"Then why is she in a Moretti internal meeting?"
"Because she knows things we need to know."
"Take the information. You don't need to give her a seat at your table."
"Elena, this isn't a hospital. Family business cannot always be handled according to what makes you comfortable."
Isabella lowered her toast.
"If my being there makes Elena uncomfortable, I can stay out of it."
She looked at Luca.
He barely hesitated.
"You're coming."
I pushed back my chair.
"You already made your decision. You don't need my reaction too."
Upstairs, I locked the bedroom door and opened the safe.
Passport. Marriage certificate. Banking records. Medical insurance. Property documents.
I laid them across the bed beside my attorney's checklist.
Through the window, I watched Luca open the car door for Isabella.
I put my latest prenatal report into the folder, zipped it shut, and pulled an old suitcase from the closet.