Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Called Herself Grandma
Two mornings later, Lily opened her apartment door and found Dominic Moretti standing in the hallway holding two grocery bags.
She stared at him.
“You found me.”
“Yes.”
“You look better.”
“So do you.”
“I look the same.”
Dominic considered that.
“Then I clearly need better conversation skills.”
Lily looked at the bags.
“What’s that?”
“Food.”
Her expression immediately changed.
“We don’t need charity.”
Dominic almost smiled.
“Your grandmother teaches you everything?”
“Mostly.”
A woman’s voice came from inside.
“Lily, who is it?”
Eleanor Hayes appeared.
She was thin, silver-haired, and leaning heavily on a cane.
The moment she saw Dominic, the color drained from her face.
Dominic noticed.
So did Lily.
“Grandma?”
Eleanor gripped the cane.
“You need to leave.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“You know me.”
“No.”
“You looked at me like you did.”
“I know what kind of man shows up at someone’s home without being invited.”
Lily frowned.
“He’s Dominic. I told you about him.”
Eleanor looked at her.
“The warehouse man?”
“He brought groceries.”
“I see that.”
Dominic quietly placed the bags on the floor.
“I’m not here to frighten either of you.”
Eleanor gave a humorless laugh.
“Men like you don’t have to try.”
Lily looked between them.
“You two are being weird.”
Dominic crouched.
“Could I talk to your grandmother alone?”
“No.”
“Lily—”
“I untied you.”
“You did.”
“So I get to stay.”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“Go finish your homework.”
“I finished it.”
“Then check it.”
“I already—”
“Lily.”
The girl sighed dramatically.
“Adults always start lying when they send children away.”
She disappeared into the bedroom.
Dominic waited until the door closed.
Then he took Anna’s photograph from his coat.
Eleanor stared at it.
Her cane trembled.
“Where did you get that?”
Dominic’s voice became very quiet.
“She was my daughter.”
Eleanor sat down.
Dominic watched every movement.
“Her name was Anna Moretti.”
Eleanor looked toward the bedroom.
“How old?”
“She was six when the car went into the river.”
Eleanor’s head snapped toward him.
“Six?”
“Three years ago.”
Silence.
Dominic leaned closer.
“Lily isn’t six, is she?”
Eleanor said nothing.
“She’s small because she hasn’t had enough food. Her school records are false. Her birthday changes depending on which document Victor looks at.”
“Who is Victor?”
“Someone very good at finding the truth.”
Eleanor’s voice sharpened.
“You stay away from her.”
“I need an answer.”
“No.”
“Look at the scar.”
“I said no.”
“Look at the photograph.”
Eleanor slammed her palm against the table.
“I KNOW!”
The bedroom went silent.
Both adults froze.
Lily’s voice came through the door.
“Grandma?”
Eleanor swallowed.
“We’re fine, sweetheart.”
Dominic never took his eyes from her.
“You know.”
Eleanor whispered, “I know she looks like that girl.”
“Where did you find her?”
“I didn’t say I found her.”
“You just did.”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
Dominic leaned back.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Finally Eleanor said, “Three years ago, after that storm, I was volunteering at a church shelter near the waterfront.”
Dominic stopped breathing.
“A fisherman brought in a child.”
His hands tightened.
“She was alive?”
“Barely.”
Dominic looked away.
It took him several seconds to speak.
“Why didn’t anyone call the police?”
“We did.”
His head turned.
Eleanor continued.
“A man came before the police did. Expensive coat. Said he was with the family.”
“Name?”
“He gave one. I don’t remember it.”
“Think.”
“I’m trying.”
“What did he look like?”
“Forties. Tall. Gray at the temples.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
Eleanor shook her head.
“I didn’t trust him. The girl woke up when he entered and started screaming.”
Dominic whispered, “Anna.”
“She didn’t know her name. She didn’t know anything. But she knew she was afraid of him.”
“What happened?”
“I told him the child had been transferred to another hospital.”
“And?”
“He followed the ambulance.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“Then you took her.”
“I protected her.”
“You kept my daughter from me for three years.”
Eleanor rose despite the pain in her knees.
“And where were you?”
Dominic stood too.
“Searching!”
“Then why did men keep looking for her?”
That stopped him.
Eleanor’s eyes filled with anger.
“Someone came to the shelter the next day. Then another man came to my apartment. He told me if the child had survived, she wouldn’t survive twice.”
Dominic went still.
“He knew you had her?”
“He suspected.”
“So you disappeared.”
“I had no husband. No children. Nothing they could use except her.”
Dominic’s voice broke despite his effort to control it.
“You could have found me.”
“I didn’t know if you were the one trying to kill her!”
The bedroom door opened.
Lily stood there.
Nobody spoke.
She looked at the photograph on the table.
Then at Dominic.
“Why is everyone talking about me?”
Eleanor’s face crumpled.
“Sweetheart…”
Lily walked toward the table.
She picked up Anna’s photograph again.
“This girl.”
Dominic nodded slowly.
“Her name was Anna.”
“Was?”
“I thought she died.”
Lily stared at the photograph.
Then she whispered something that made Eleanor grip the chair.
“I dream about water.”
Dominic’s eyes closed.
Lily touched the scar under her eye.
“And someone calling me Annie.”
Dominic opened his eyes.
Claire had been the only person who called their daughter that.
He took one slow breath.
“Lily…”
She looked at him.
May you like
“Was Anna me?”
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