The Suitcase She Begged Him Not to Open

Chapter 1 - The Suitcase

“You're pregnant, not useless. Move that suitcase.”

Clara wrapped both hands around the leather handle. The brown case shifted an inch across the marble, then stopped. A tight pain pulled through her abdomen.

She let go and pressed a palm against her apron.

“Please. It's too heavy. My baby…”

Isabel stood beneath the staircase in a red evening dress. She glanced toward the front doors, where voices were approaching.

“Then drag it. The driver is waiting.”

A black sleeve entered Clara's vision. Vincent Moretti caught her upper arm before she lost her balance.

“Stop,” he said quietly. “You don't have to lift it.”

He helped her straighten, then looked at Isabel.

“Who made her carry this?”

“Darling, it's just some old clothes.”

Vincent guided Clara to the upholstered bench beside the stairs. He asked the housekeeper to stay with her and call for medical help. Only then did he turn back to the case.

Its left corner had been repaired with a darker patch of leather. One brass clasp sat slightly crooked.

He had broken that clasp on a train platform in Florence. Elena had refused to replace the suitcase. Her father had given it to her before their wedding.

“This belonged to Elena.”

Isabel's smile vanished.

He crouched and put his fingers beneath the clasp.

“Vincent, please! Don't open it!”

He stopped.

Behind him, Clara drew a shallow breath. Isabel's hand remained suspended between them.

Vincent looked from her outstretched fingers to her face.

“What did you do to my wife?”