Hidden Heart (14 page)

“
Well?”

“
Sorry you found out
this way. I tried to move as fast as I could, unfortunately it got
out of hand. I wish there was a different way to solve this
problem, but I don’t have much I can use for the
investigation.”

“
And you decided it
was okay to block my accounts? How many times do I have to say I.
Did. Not. Take. The. Money?”

“
Ms. Cosma… Tessa… As
harsh as it sounds, we need to find out where the money went,
because it didn’t end up in the farmers’ hands, that’s for sure.”
He brushed a hand through his hair, caught his forehead between his
thumb and his index finger and squeezed his eyes shut. Then he
opened them as he rubbed the back of his neck. He seemed to be in
pain.

“
How
do you know? How could you figure out they didn’t receive the
money?
I
was there
with them, in the notary’s office, handing them the money. It
didn’t by some mysterious way end up in my purse, for God’s sake!”
She took a step closer, snapped the papers from him and walked
away.

“
Wait, Tessa, wait,
let’s talk.”

She stopped and came
back to confront him.

“
There is not much you can say that would change this
mess.
This
is
Romania and you foreigners come here and think that you can operate
the same way you do in your countries. But the truth is, if any of
you would take the time to find out, we do so many things
differently; you might think closing my accounts will clear once
the investigation is over and I can use that bank happily ever
after. But I wouldn’t. Next to my name there are red flags being
drawn as we speak and I can never go back there. I’ll have to
switch to another bank. I’ll have to work again at building a
relationship with different people, gaining their trust. Our bank
system is so different than any other out there. Did you know that
up until three years ago, no one knew what a debit or a credit card
was or how to use it?”

She saw his eyebrows
drawn together and the astonishment in his eyes. She sighed and
shook her head.

“
I thought so. I just
wished you’d tell me what you plan to do. I would’ve brought you my
bank statements; I have them all nicely filed and this mess
would’ve been avoided all together. I have nothing to hide; I
didn’t take the money.”

She felt defeated. She
closed her eyes trying to fight back tears. When Alessandro’s palms
clasped around her shoulders, she opened them.

“
Tessa, listen to me.
I had no idea this was going to happen. I am so sorry, you have to
believe me. I thought it would take me a few days top to verify
your transactions, see the pattern of your expenses, see something
that would put the accusations to rest.” He squeezed her shoulders
and bowed closer to her face. “I am not your enemy here, you have
to believe me.”

She peeled his hands
off her shoulders, one by one then walked away. Before she left,
she looked at him one more time.

“
But you are not my
friend either.”

***

For the past ten days,
Tessa had submerged herself in work. She’d spent her time in the
office, morning till late at night in meetings with her colleagues
and the French team.

So far no other piece
of evidence—other than the anonymous letter—turned up and the
investigation for the fraud accusation was on hold. Any attempt to
bring farmers to testify against her remained unsuccessful.
However, the money pulled out from the company’s account didn’t
match the amounts the farmers received. Somewhere there was a leak
and all fingers pointed at Tessa.

Her accounts had been
unblocked, but she was no longer welcome at that bank. She switched
to a different one and every day before she’d leave work, she’d
send Alessandro electronically her daily expenses. Alessandro tried
to talk to her, but she always found a way to avoid him. The
tension between them seemed like a ticking bomb. Except for
subjects strictly related to their business association, she’d
refused to exchange any words with him. If she saw him coming her
way, she’d turn on her heels and walk in the opposite
direction.

She told Victor about
Daniel’s nocturnal visits and asked for his assistance. He ordered
one of the company’s chauffeurs to take her home every night and
bring her to work the following day. When Alessandro offered to
drive her home, she refused him politely. She thought she saw
disappointment in his eyes, but wasn’t so sure anymore. All signals
coming from him so far had been nothing but twisted and confusing.
Her life had enough drama as it was, no need to add to
it.

Sometimes she fought
the morning sickness and lost her appetite completely. She didn’t
want the baby but feared an abortion. She tried to tell her
sisters, but changed her mind at the last minute. She thought
seriously about giving the baby up for adoption, but she couldn’t
picture herself carrying it for full nine months. It felt like an
alien object in her body, no maternal instincts, no feelings toward
it. She read everything she could put her hands on about pregnancy
and knew decision time was close.

Chapter 7

Tessa
looked forward to Isabella’s wedding. She flew to Italy the
night before and Carlo picked her up at the airport. He gushed
about his twin boys the whole drive and promised he’d bring them
the next day for her to finally meet. His enthusiasm about being a
parent didn’t rub-off on her and when she got to her room, she
stood naked in front of the bathroom mirror for half an hour
staring at her belly.

No outward signs of the
life growing inside her yet, since the pregnancy couldn’t be more
than six weeks along based on the doctor’s estimation. She tried to
convince herself to touch her abdomen but the attempt caused her
upper lip to sweat and made her quiver. She dressed and curled up
in bed. Did she feel this way because Daniel was the father or
because being a mother just didn’t fit her future plans?

She lay in bed for part of
the night and when at last she surrendered to sleep, she knew she’d
never be able to look at the baby without remembering the hurt its
father caused her.

The next morning passed by
quickly. She met Isabella and the bridesmaids for a spa splurge,
then a hair salon visit, and finally the makeup appointment. When
she looked in the mirror, she felt beautiful. Her hair was neatly
done in a loop at the nape of her neck and a tiny silver tiara
completed the silver set of necklace and earrings she’d purchased
especially for this occasion. She wore a light pink long gown,
tailored around her waist, sleeveless and with deep cleavage that
accentuated her bosom.

Tessa saw Alessandro coming
down the aisle; he stopped a few times to greet people, and then
took his place at Antonio’s side, next to Carlo and the other three
groomsmen. He waived at her and smiled.

Her heart pounded. Her
palms turned sweaty. She squeezed her eyes shut hoping she’d seen a
ghost. She opened them only to see him wink at her.

“
What are
you
doing here?” She
tried to keep her voice down.

“
Good to see you too,
Tessa,” he said, without losing his composure.

Carlo elbowed him and
chuckled. “I told you she’d be happy to see you.”

Alessandro glanced at Carlo
then back at Tessa and said, “I doubt she’s happy to see
me…”

The music announced the
entrance of the bride and everyone fell silent. Flower girls led
the way spreading pink rose petals, followed by a cute little boy
dressed in a tuxedo carrying the wedding rings, and then finally
Isabella appeared. Her father walked her slowly down the aisle and
people stood in awe. She looked angelic in her long white dress, a
translucent veil covering her face. She beamed with love and
happiness when she took her place next to her future
husband.

The priest opened up his
Bible and read. His baritone voice filled the chapel.

Tessa understood very
little. Before long, she didn’t hear anything. Her thoughts
wandered around; what had happened to her fulfilled life? What had
happened to her carefully and nicely outlined life? Where did it go
wrong?

Her inner turmoil stopped
when she heard the music. She looked at the happy couple, then at
Alessandro. How long had he been staring at her? Then a thought
crossed her mind; what if he’d told her friends about the fraud
accusation? What if he told everyone what a horrible person she
was, someone they couldn’t trust? Fear overwhelmed her.

When the ceremony ended,
everyone walked out for photos. Over one hundred and fifty invitees
came to the restaurant for dinner and dancing. The first melody
began and the cheerful couple walked to the middle of the dance
floor and danced; the party officially started.

Tessa felt happier than she
had felt in a long time, since before her mama had passed away. She
decided to put aside all her troubles for now and enjoy her
friends’ wedding. She came without a partner, but this shouldn’t be
a reason why she couldn’t relax and have fun. Dancing had always
been one of her favorite things to do. She’d stop for a sip of
water or a bite, then she’d be back on the dance floor.

“
Cara
mia
, look, my boys,” Carlo said,
approaching her, carrying both babies. His smile widened when he
looked back and forth from one baby to the other.

“
They look so much like
your wife.”

The smile faded instantly
from his face, then he saw Tessa’s grin. “You got me!”

She laughed at his troubled
faced.

“
Here, you take Eduardo…”
Carlo didn’t see her horror, but saw Alessandro approaching and
said, “And you take baby Ricardo.” He straightened his tuxedo and
his bowtie, pushed both his hands through his hair and said, “Don’t
panic if they cry, just rock them. You both look good, you should
have your own,” and then took off.

Speechless, both Tessa and
Alessandro watched him walk up to his wife and drag her onto the
dance floor. He gave them thumbs up and proceeded to
dance.

“
Let’s have a seat,”
Alessandro said.

She nodded. Too scared to
say something for fear the baby might cry, she followed him. She
sat and held the baby from underneath his armpits, like a rag doll,
holding her breath.

Alessandro pulled a chair
closer, so close that his left knee touched her right.

“
Tessa, you need to
breathe.” He inhaled and exhaled waiting for her to follow
suit.

She let a big whoosh of air
out and she continued the breathing exercise. The baby’s whimper
frightened her. “Oh my God, what now?”

“
He’s probably
uncomfortable in that position. Hold him like this.” Alessandro’s
forearm folded underneath baby Ricardo, who snuggled, all
smiles.

Tessa moved her forearm in
the same position and Eduardo stopped fussing. But not for too
long. He tried to find his way to Tessa’s breast, beating the air
with his little fists and turning his mouth towards her nipple. She
looked at him horrified.

“
Little man, those are not
your mama’s, here take this,” Alessandro said and put the pacifier
in Eduardo’s mouth. He took it impatiently and relaxed. He fell
asleep within seconds.

“
I take it you’re not
accustomed to babies,” Alessandro said.

She stirred in her chair.
“No, I am not, sorry I act so stupid.”

“
It’s okay, you don’t need
to apologize.” He smiled at her, and for some unknown reason,
Tessa’s heart calmed down.

“
Thanks for helping, I
don’t know what I would’ve done without you. You are so natural
with a baby in your lap and you are a man; me on the other
hand…”

Alessandro rocked the baby
and smiled.

Tessa’s heart
sank.

“
Don’t worry. I guess
having four sisters with one baby after another had its advantages.
Nothing a baby can do scares me. I changed enough diapers to last
me a lifetime and I could theoretically write a book about the
whole babysitting stuff.” He chuckled and winked at her.

“
Of all the people I know,
I can’t picture you babysitting.”

“
But he does,” Carlo said,
who approached them and heard the last sentence. His wife at his
side, Carlo continued, “I trust Alessandro to watch over my kids
more than I trust my own sister, and it’s heaven when he comes back
home. It’s a date night guaranteed for us while he
babysits.”

Isabella joined the group,
then Antonio. He brought a camera. “You guys look so good with the
babies, get closer, closer, like this, perfect, smile and one more
time. Perfect photo, come on Tessa, you can relax. Yeah, Alessandro
put your free arm around Tessa. Perfect. That’s going to be a great
photo.” Antonio snapped a few more photos; Isabella’s parents
joined the group. The babies slept through the loud music and
voices around them.

“
Okay, enough time off
guys, these little ones are going to wake up soon, so why don’t you
proud parents take them while I take Tessa for a dance.” The babies
switched carriers.