Chapter 2 - The Secret Grace Had Been Hiding
Grace Miller had never lied to me.
At least, that was what I believed until Vanessa walked out of my house.
I turned toward her.
"Grace?"
She stood perfectly still.
Her cheek was still red.
Noah clung to her skirt.
"Did you know Claire?"
Grace looked down.
For a moment, she didn't answer.
Then she whispered, "Yes."
My chest tightened.
"How?"
She glanced toward Noah.
"Not in front of him."
I wanted answers immediately.
But when I looked at my son's frightened face, I understood.
"Rosa," I called.
Our longtime housekeeper appeared from the hallway.
"Yes, Mr. Cole?"
"Would you take Noah to the playroom? Stay with him, please."
Noah shook his head.
"No! Mommy Grace!"
Grace knelt.
"Hey, sweetheart."
His little face crumpled.
"Are you leaving?"
She immediately shook her head.
"I'm not going anywhere right now."
I knelt beside them.
"Noah, nobody is sending Grace away because Vanessa hurt her."
He studied me.
"Promise?"
I swallowed.
"Promise."
Only then did he allow Rosa to take his hand.
When they disappeared upstairs, I turned toward Grace.
"Tell me."
She took a slow breath.
"Claire and I met at Miami Children's Hospital."
My heart stopped.
"Claire never mentioned you."
"We weren't close friends at first."
Grace sat on the edge of the couch.
"She volunteered with families whose children needed long-term medical care. I was completing my pediatric nursing placement."
I frowned.
"You studied nursing?"
She nodded.
"I had to stop before finishing my degree."
"Why?"
"My younger brother needed treatment after an accident. I couldn't afford the remaining tuition."
I stared at her.
For nearly three years, she'd lived beneath my roof.
And I barely knew her history.
Grace continued.
"Claire came to the pediatric ward every Thursday. She brought books, toys, and homemade cookies."
I felt something break inside my chest.
That sounded like Claire.
Exactly like her.
"She talked about you sometimes," Grace said.
I looked up.
"What did she say?"
Grace smiled sadly.
"That you were impossible before your first coffee."
Despite everything, I almost laughed.
"Anything else?"
Her smile faded.
"She said you were a good man who'd forgotten how to live without fighting."
I looked away.
I didn't deserve those words.
Not then.
Maybe not now.
Grace continued.
"Three weeks before Noah was born, Claire asked me for a favor."
My heart pounded.
"What favor?"
"She wanted me to promise that if anything ever happened to her, I'd make sure someone watched over Noah."
I stared.
"Why would she say that?"
Grace's eyes filled.
"Because she was frightened."
"Of childbirth?"
Grace shook her head.
"No."
Silence filled the enormous room.
Then she reached into her pocket and removed a small silver key.
"Claire gave me this."
I recognized it immediately.
It belonged to a jewelry box I'd searched for after her funeral.
"Where did you get that?"
"She told me not to use it unless someone tried to separate Noah from the people who loved him."
My throat tightened.
Grace looked directly at me.
"Dante, Claire was afraid someone in your family wanted her gone."
May you like
Then she whispered the name.
"Your mother."
