The Commanding Italian's Challenge

An apology for how she’d come into the world was written in the pages of Luigi’s letter. In it, he admitted his knowledge of what his brother had done to her mother—how, several years after the attack, a family friend who’d attended the same party had divulged what he suspected had happened.

Luigi, ever the conscientious brother, had looked further into the incident and tracked down her mother. His discovery that Angela had borne his brother’s child had shocked him. He’d intended to make anonymous reparation, but then he’d seen Angela with Faye in a playground.

Befriending Angela had revealed to Luigi the true depths of her fragile mental state. He’d married her out of guilt, and a desperate need to make amends, but had known deep down he couldn’t provide the sort of care Angela needed. Steering her to New Paths had been his way of helping her after he’d fallen in love with Carlotta. He had always been ashamed he’d never revealed his true identity and he begged forgiveness.

Faye’s discovery that her school scholarship had been orchestrated by Luigi, and that New Paths was fully funded by a Fiorenti-Caprio foundation, had enraged her for all of five minutes before she’d dissolved into tears again. Luigi had done his best for them, and she couldn’t fault him for that.

‘I don’t think I can quite bring myself to say his name, but I’m glad you have the answers you need,’ her mother said, her eyes a forest of shadows.

It was Faye’s turn to comfort her. ‘I’m so sorry, Mum.’

Her mother nodded solemnly. ‘I know he left us, but I’m glad you had a father figure for a while—especially when I couldn’t be the mother you deserved.’

A lump clogged Faye’s throat. ‘I wouldn’t trade you for the world.’

They stayed silent, absorbing their emotions.

‘Now, the postman...’ Angela pressed. ‘What’s that about?’

Faye blinked away fresh tears. Since her email account remained empty of anything to do with Maceo or Casa di Fiorenti, she’d taken to stalking the postman. She knew she should give up now, after six weeks of silence, and instruct a lawyer to deal with securing her inheritance. Except her inheritance wasn’t paramount in her mind. What she yearned for more was something, anything, from the man she’d lost her heart to in Naples. Even if it was a stuffy letter from his legal team.

‘You’re holding back about this Maceo. Is he the one?’ her mother intuited.

Faye’s heart quaked even when she thought about him. ‘Yes.’

‘What happened?’

Misery gripped her tight. Miraculously, those harrowing tabloid exposés hadn’t reached Devon. Faye intended to keep it that way.

‘We rowed... I accused him of...of unspeakable things.’

‘Did he deserve it?’

Faye held her breath for the longest time, then shook her head. ‘I didn’t wait for an explanation.’

‘I suspect you know he didn’t deserve it, or you wouldn’t be feeling this bad.’

Tears of remorse slid down her cheeks as she accepted her mother’s assessment. Shock and pain had stopped her from hearing Maceo out. From accepting his reasons for withholding. Six weeks of silence said she’d lost her chance.

‘You may be in luck today. Here’s the postman.’

Faye twisted in her seat, her heart hammering as the middle-aged man made a beeline for her. He pulled out a thick envelope and handed it over. Transfixed, she stared at the Casa di Fiorenti logo.

‘Is this what you’re waiting for?’ her mother asked.

Was it?

Swallowing, she tore the letter open, devouring the missive from Maceo’s lawyers, offering to buy her share. If she agreed to the sum, the formal signing would be in London in two days. If she didn’t agree, she was welcome to commence negotiations with Maceo via his lawyers.

Despite her heart sinking at the stiff formality of the letter, her insides continued to somersault. Would Maceo be in London?

Even without knowing the answer Faye knew she would be there.

Taking a deep breath, she read the rest of the document. Her mouth dropped open when she saw how much Maceo intended to offer her. It was almost twice what his lawyers in Naples had said the partial share was worth. Whether Maceo turned up or not, she would be a fool to reject it.

She looked up. Her mother was smiling.

‘Regardless of how you came into the world, you deserve every happiness. You’ve settled your past, Faye. Now go and fight for your future.’