“All right.” Everything in my gut told me it wasn’t wise, but really, what choice did I have? “Now that’s been settled, can you tell me anything else about who sent you this card?”
“I had Oscar look into the postmark, and it was sent from Venice. After a lot of digging, we found nothing.”
I sank onto the bed, and we went back and forth wondering who in the world it could be, but we both came up empty.
Finally, after my head hurt, I checked the time on my phone and saw I needed to get home to Elio. “I need to get going.”
“You can’t stay a little longer?”
“I promised Elio I would be home for dinner.” I threaded my purse over my shoulder and headed for the door.
“Teddy,” she blurted, which made me turn around.
“Huh?”
She took a deep breath and held her stomach. “Your father’s name was Teddy.”
“Oh.” I instantly reached for my teddy bear pendant and held it tightly. “Teddy,” I whispered, testing out his name.
“Yeah.” She caught a tear and turned to look away, making a show of fixing the belt on her dress.
“Thank you,” I paused, “Mama.”
I heard her breath catch in her throat as she tried to hold it together. Slowly, I left with a glare at Oscar, who quickly moved out of my way.
Vinni was waiting outside for me. I jumped in the car, and we drove away.
“How was your visit?”
“I’m still digesting it.”
“Bad or good?”
“I’m still unsure.”
“Sorry.” He went back to driving while I stared at the countryside, letting my tired head idle.
When I arrived at Elio’s, I hopped out with Vinni behind me. Francesco stepped out of the house with a handful of files. I didn’t break my step as I flung myself in Francesco’s arms, holding him tightly.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I nodded. I just needed the moment. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For my name.” I felt him stiffen, but he bent down, holding my shoulder, and whispered, “Sienna you can’t tell a soul about that. I mean, your mother should not have shared that.”
“I made her a promise to keep it quiet,” I assured him. “I will honor it, until I feel it’s safe to share it.”
“I hope you come to me before you ever make that call, because—”
“I know, people are looking for me.”
“That and…” He stopped himself. “Just talk to me first.”
“I will.” He smiled and got into Vinni’s car. Vinni looked at me strangely.
I gave him a wave and a smile, then I headed inside the house, where something smelled really good. Our earlier conversation suddenly hit me like a brick wall, so instead of heading to the kitchen, I decided to go upstairs, as I needed to go through a suitcase of my belongings. I had packed it the other day, and Vinni was kind enough to drop it off here without anyone noticing.