Chapter 4 - Whispers in the Garden
The morning sun broke over the Boston skyline, casting a pale, deceptive gold across the manicured lawns of the Moretti estate. Inside the massive industrial kitchen, Isabella was already knee-deep in preparation, her hands moving mechanically as she sliced fresh fruit for breakfast.
The heavy oak doors swung open, and Mrs. Gentry, the head housekeeper who had served the Moretti family for over thirty years, walked in. Her gray hair was pulled back into a severe bun, and her posture was as stiff as a poker, but as she looked at Isabella, a flicker of genuine concern softened her stern features.
"You played with fire last night, child," Mrs. Gentry murmured, lowering her voice as she checked the hallway. "Dominic Moretti does not tolerate defiance. Not from capos, not from politicians, and certainly not from domestic staff."
"He was terrifying his son, Mrs. Gentry," Isabella replied quietly, not stopping her knife work. "Leo looks like a ghost. What happened to them? Where is Leo’s mother?"
Mrs. Gentry’s face paled instantly. She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "We do not speak of her name in this house, Isabella. That name is buried six feet under, along with the scandal that nearly tore the Moretti empire apart three years ago. Dominic built this fortress out of concrete and iron precisely because he couldn't protect the one person he loved."
"Protect her from what?" Isabella pressed, pausing her work.
Before Mrs. Gentry could answer, the kitchen door swung open again.
Lily trotted in, wearing a bright yellow sundress, holding a plastic watering can she had found on the back porch. Right behind her, looking hesitant and small, was Leo.
"Mommy! Look! Big brother Leo said we can water the roses in the courtyard!" Lily announced happily, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere in the room.
Isabella sighed, kneeling down to her daughter. "Lily, sweetie, we talked about—"
"It's alright, Mrs. Isabella," Leo interrupted quietly, stepping forward with his hands clasped neatly behind his back, mimicking his father's posture in a heartbreaking way. "My father went into town for a meeting with the council. He won't be back until afternoon. Can... can we play outside for a little while? Please?"
Looking into Leo's hopeful, hollow eyes, Isabella simply didn't have the heart to say no. "Alright. Just twenty minutes. And stay within sight of the kitchen windows."
As the children ran out toward the sunlit courtyard, laughing and chasing each other through the manicured hedges, Isabella followed them slowly with a tray of fresh lemonade.
The courtyard was a sanctuary of blooming white roses and ancient stone fountains, completely walled off from the dangerous underworld that Dominic ruled. For a few brief minutes, watching Leo chase Lily around the marble fountain, his melodic laughter echoing in the crisp air, Isabella felt a rare sense of peace.
Then she noticed something glinting in the grass near the base of the rose bushes.
She walked over and bent down. It was a small, silver locket, half-buried in the soil, attached to a snapped silver chain. The casing was engraved with interlocking initials: D & E.
Isabella gently flipped the locket open.
Inside was a faded polaroid photograph of a stunning woman with warm, smiling eyes and dark hair remarkably similar to Leo’s, laughing brightly in the exact same courtyard. But right across the woman’s face in the photo, a deep, jagged scratch had been carved into the film with the blade of a knife.
A chill ran straight down Isabella’s spine.
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"That was my mother’s," a quiet voice said behind her.
Isabella gasped, spinning around. Leo was standing just a few feet away, his expression hauntingly blank, staring down at the open locket in her hand.
