Chapter 1: The Shoes That Should Have Been Buried
Lily noticed the shoes first.
The four-year-old stared at the elegant vintage shoes on Claire's feet as the young maid carried linens through the Moretti mansion, and immediately recognized them as the pair her grandmother had supposedly worn at her funeral.
Alessandro recognized them too.
The distinctive silver buckle was something he had personally chosen for his mother years earlier.
When he demanded to know where Claire got them, the frightened maid glanced toward Helena before admitting that a woman downstairs had given them to her.
Helena's composure immediately broke, while Samuel avoided Alessandro's eyes.
Alessandro went straight to the basement.
Helena tried to block the door.
She failed.
Inside the hidden room, Alessandro found Isabella—his mother, believed d*ad for years—seated beneath an old bed in filthy, torn clothing.
She was older and terrified.
But alive.
Then she looked directly past her son toward Helena and revealed the truth: Helena had told everyone she was d*ad.
Why had Alessandro's aunt hidden his mother inside his own mansion?
Why had Samuel stayed silent?
Why did Isabella secretly give her funeral shoes to Claire?
And if Helena had kept Isabella alive for years instead of k*lling her, what did she still need from the woman everyone believed had already been buried?
Alessandro opened the basement expecting an explanation for a pair of shoes.
Instead, he discovered that his mother's funeral had been built around a lie.
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How did Isabella survive all these years — and what does Helena still want from her?
Comment **"TRUTH"** if you want Part 2.
