Chapter 2: The Secret Behind the Perfect Bride
Livia refused to let go of my hand.
Even after the physician examined her scalp and confirmed that the clippers had caused no serious injury, she kept touching the damaged patch of hair as though she expected it to disappear if she checked often enough.
I sat beside her on the bed in the guest suite, brushing the longer strands away from her eyes.
“Will my hair grow back, Mommy?””
“Yes, sweetheart.””
“How long?””
I swallowed.
“I'm not sure. But it will grow.””
She studied my face.
“Will Daddy still think I'm pretty?””
That question broke something inside me.
I pulled her into my arms.
“Your daddy thinks you're the most beautiful girl in the world.””
“Even like this?””
“Especially like this.””
Livia sniffled.
“Bianca said he might send me away after the wedding.””
I froze.
“What?””
“She said grown-ups need privacy. She said when she becomes my mommy, I'll have to live somewhere else because big girls shouldn't sleep near their daddy.””
I held her more tightly.
“Did she say where you'd live?””
Livia shook her head.
“She said a nice place with other children. But she said I couldn't tell Daddy because he'd be disappointed in me.””
I closed my eyes.
There it was.
The threat beneath the haircut.
Bianca hadn't merely wanted to humiliate my daughter. She had been teaching her to fear the future.
“Listen to me, Livia.”” I gently tilted her chin upward.
“Nobody is sending you away. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever without making sure you're safe and loved. Do you understand?””
She nodded, but her eyes remained frightened.
A knock sounded at the door.
Alessandro entered without his jacket, his tie loosened and his expression grim.
“May I speak to my girls?””
Livia immediately reached for him.
He sat beside us and kissed the top of her head, careful not to touch the damaged area.
“I'm sorry, sweetheart.””
“You didn't cut it, Daddy.””
“No. But I should have made sure nobody could hurt you.””
She looked at him seriously.
“Are you still marrying Bianca?””
Alessandro didn't answer right away.
Then he took her little hand between both of his.
“Not if it means putting you in danger.””
Livia leaned against him.
I watched the tension leave her shoulders, but Alessandro's face remained troubled.
“What did you mean downstairs?”” I asked.
“When you said this wasn't the first time?””
He glanced at Livia.
“Sweetheart, would you mind watching your cartoon for a little while?””
She hesitated.
“Are you going to talk about Bianca?””
“Yes.””
“Are you going to let her come back?””
“No.””
Livia nodded and reached for the remote.
Only when the television began playing did Alessandro turn toward me.
“Three weeks ago, Livia developed a rash after spending the afternoon with Bianca.””
I frowned.
“What kind of rash?””
“The doctor said it looked like an allergic reaction. Bianca claimed she'd given Livia a new bubble bath.””
“Was she allergic to it?””
“We couldn't establish that. But I found the same product in Bianca's bathroom, and the ingredients were different from the bottle she showed me.””
My pulse quickened.
“Did you confront her?””
“Yes. She cried, apologized, and blamed the housekeeper for switching the bottles.””
“And you believed her?””
“I wanted to.””
He rubbed a hand over his face.
“Then, two weeks ago, Livia told me Bianca had locked her in the pantry because she spilled juice on a rug.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
“She said it lasted only a few minutes. Bianca claimed Livia had been playing hide-and-seek and made the whole thing up to avoid punishment.””
“Alessandro, she's seven!””
“I know.””
His voice cracked on those two words.
“I know, Rosalie.””
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
I remembered Bianca's behavior during our first meeting, the way she had knelt in front of Livia with a smile that never quite reached her eyes.
She had offered the little girl a pink bracelet and told her that they would become best friends.
At the time, I had thought she was trying too hard.
Now I wondered whether the bracelet had been another way to buy my daughter's affection.
“Why didn't you postpone the wedding?”” I asked.
“I questioned Bianca. I questioned the staff. I even hired someone to investigate her background.””
“And?””
“The investigator found nothing conclusive. Bianca had excellent references, a respectable family, and no criminal history. Every person she spoke to described her as generous and kind.””
He paused.
“But this morning, when I heard Livia crying, I saw something in Bianca's face.””
“What?””
“Not panic. Not regret.””
He looked toward our daughter.
“Disappointment. As if she'd been interrupted before she could finish what she started.””
My skin prickled.
Alessandro stood and walked to the window.
“The wedding is canceled.””
I exhaled slowly.
“What will you tell the guests?””
“The truth.””
“Will they believe us?””
“They'll believe whatever they want. My daughter's safety isn't a popularity contest.””
Before I could respond, his phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed.
“What is it?”” I asked.
“Someone has sent me a photograph.””
He handed me the phone.
The image showed Bianca standing outside Livia's bedroom three nights earlier. Her hand rested on the door handle, and the corridor clock indicated 2:17 a.m.
The timestamp was clear.
I enlarged the photograph.
“Who took this?””
“The security system.””
“Why were you checking the cameras?””
“I wasn't. My head of security reviewed them after I found out about the pantry.””
I looked up.
“What's behind that door?””
“Livia's bedroom.””
“No. I mean, what was Bianca doing there?””
Alessandro's jaw tightened.
“That is what I'm trying to find out.””
He swiped to another image.
This one showed Bianca entering the room.
A third photograph showed her leaving several minutes later.
In the final image, she was holding something small and metallic.
I leaned closer.
It looked like a key.
“Did you ask her about this?””
“I did. She said she was checking whether Livia was sleeping comfortably.””
“And the key?””
“She said it belonged to a jewelry box.””
I stared at the photograph.
Something about it bothered me.
“Alessandro, can you zoom in on her other hand?””
He enlarged the image.
Between Bianca's fingers was a small white object.
A folded piece of paper.
I pointed to it.
“What's that?””
“I don't know.””
He immediately called his head of security.
“Marco, I need the original footage from the third-floor corridor. All recordings from the last month. And I want the staff schedules for every night Bianca entered Livia's room.””
He listened for a moment.
Then his expression hardened.
“Say that again.””
I watched his face.
“What?””
Alessandro ended the call.
“They found something in Bianca's dressing room.””
“What kind of something?””
“A second set of keys to Livia's bedroom.””
I felt sick.
“Why would she need those?””
He looked at me.
“Because the locks were changed after the pantry incident.””
The television played cheerfully in the background.
Livia laughed at something on the screen, unaware that the adults around her were trying to understand how far someone she trusted had gone.
Alessandro knelt in front of her.
“Sweetheart, I need you to stay with Mommy for a little while. Marco will stay outside the door.””
“Are you going to the wedding?””
“No.””
“Are you going to be with Bianca?””
His face softened.
“No, sweetheart. I'm going to make sure she can't hurt you anymore.””
Livia hugged him tightly.
“Promise?””
“I promise.””
He kissed her forehead, then stood and motioned for me to follow him into the corridor.
As soon as the door closed, he showed me a message from Marco.
It contained a photograph of a small envelope recovered from Bianca's dressing room.
The envelope had Livia's name written across the front.
Inside was a document from a private boarding facility specializing in long-term residential care for children.
At the bottom was a signature.
Alessandro Moretti.
He stared at it in disbelief.
“I never signed this.””
I looked at the date.
It had been prepared two weeks earlier.
The same week Livia had told her father about the pantry.
And attached to the document was a note in Bianca's handwriting.
Once the wedding is over, the child will be out of our way.
I could barely breathe.
Alessandro's fingers tightened around the paper.
Then he looked at me with a frightening calm.
“Find out who forged my signature.””
Before I could answer, his phone rang again.
This time, the caller ID showed an unfamiliar number.
He answered.
A man's voice came through the speaker.
“Mr. Moretti, my name is Adrian Cole. We need to talk about your fiancée.””
Alessandro's face turned pale.
“Who are you?””
“I'm the man Bianca was supposed to marry before she met you.””
May you like
A pause.
Then Adrian added, “And if you think cutting your daughter's hair was the worst thing she planned to do today, you need to see what she left in my hotel room.””
Related Stories
