Chapter 2: The Car That Should Not Have Been Moving
Luca was already moving.
He crossed the dining room in four steps, shoved open the side door, and ran toward the garage.
I stayed with Teresa, but I could hear everything.
Tires on gravel.
A gate.
Then Luca's voice — low and controlled in a way that was somehow worse than shouting.
"Stop the car."
A pause.
Then the engine cut.
I wheeled Teresa to the doorway so she could see.
Vanessa climbed out of the passenger side slowly, smoothing her dress like nothing had happened.
"Luca, I can explain—"
"Where is she."
Not a question.
The rear door opened.
Sophie stepped out in her pajamas, clutching a stuffed rabbit, her eyes red from crying.
Luca dropped to one knee on the gravel and pulled her close.
Sophie buried her face in his shoulder.
"She said we were going on a trip," Sophie whispered.
"She said you told her to take me."
Luca didn't move for a long moment.
When he stood, he looked at Vanessa with an expression I had never seen on his face before.
Vanessa raised both hands.
"I was protecting her.
Your enemies have been watching this house for weeks and you know it."
"My daughter." His voice dropped to almost nothing.
"In a car.
At night.
Without me knowing."
Vanessa's composure finally cracked.
"You were never going to choose her over your mother and that girl—"
"Go inside, Vanessa."
"Luca—"
"Now."
Teresa was still holding my hand when Luca carried Sophie back through the door.
But as he passed me, he stopped.
"Hannah."
I looked up.
"Don't go anywhere tonight."
---
What Luca discovered about Vanessa in the next hour changed everything — and Hannah was the only one who had known the truth all along.
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