Chapter 5 - The Gift of the Barefoot GirlTwo hours later, the morning sun poured through the high dormer windows of the Moretti estate, casting golden rays across the grand dining room.
The long mahogany table was covered with fresh fruit, warm pastries, eggs, bacon, and hot cocoa.
Mateo sat in a high-backed chair, happily eating pancakes smothered in maple syrup, his gray stuffed elephant sitting proudly on the table beside his plate. Elena sat next to him, her hair freshly styled, a healthy pink color returning to her cheeks as she held Alessandro’s hand under the table.
Sitting across from them were Emma and her mother, Clara Bellini.
Clara was a quiet, hardworking woman who had spent years struggling to pay rent as a seamstress in the Bronx, doing everything she could to protect her daughter while keeping the secret of the quiet boy in the basement out of fear of Franco's men.
Alessandro set down his coffee cup and looked at Clara.
"Clara," Alessandro said warmly.
"Yes, Mr. Moretti?" Clara answered nervously, setting down her linen napkin.
"Yesterday morning, your daughter walked up to a lamp post in the rain and did something no armed man in New York had the courage to do," Alessandro said, looking at little Emma, who was currently busy putting a strawberry on top of her pancake stack. "She brought my son home."
Clara smiled softly, reaching out to stroke Emma’s hair. "She has a good heart, sir. She kept telling me the boy in the cellar didn't belong in the dark."
"Because of her," Alessandro continued, pulling a set of brass keys and a legal document from his pocket, "the Moretti family owes you a debt that can never fully be repaid."
He slid the keys and documents across the polished table to Clara.
"What is this?" Clara asked, her eyes widening as she read the top line of the document.
"That is the deed to a four-bedroom brownstone in Brooklyn, fully paid for, along with a permanent trust fund that will cover Emma’s private school and university education in full," Alessandro explained softly. "And if you accept, I would like to offer you the position of head administrator for the Moretti Children’s Foundation."
Clara covered her mouth with both hands, tears of overwhelming disbelief and gratitude spilling over her eyelashes. "Mr. Moretti... I... I don't know what to say... I can't accept all of this..."
"You already accepted when your daughter saved my life," Alessandro smiled warmly. "Take it, Clara. You and Emma will never have to worry about rent or safety ever again."
Emma looked up from her plate, her dark eyes sparkling with joy. "Does the new house have a garden, Mr. Moretti?"
May you like
Alessandro chuckled—a deep, genuine sound that hadn't been heard in the mansion for over a year. "It has the biggest garden on the block, Emma. And Mateo can come over to draw horses whenever he wants."
"Yay!" Emma cheered, reaching over to high-five Mateo, who giggled happily with maple syrup on his nose.
