Chapter 14 - Sunlight Through the Library Windows
By the end of the week, the atmosphere inside the Duca estate had undergone a profound transformation. The heavy, oppressive silence that usually filled the hallways was replaced by the ordinary, comforting sounds of domestic life: the soft patter of Lily's tiny socks running across the parquet flooring, the gentle clinking of porcelain cups from the kitchen, and the occasional rumble of Matteo's deep voice as he conducted business calls from his study with the double doors propped wide open.
Mom had been moved out of the primary guest suite and into a sunlit, two-bedroom apartment attached to the southern wing of the estate—a warm, beautifully furnished space with flowered curtains and a bay window overlooking the estate's sprawling rear gardens. She was still recovering her strength, spending her afternoons wrapped in a thick quilt while reading fairy tales to Lily, but the hollow, chalky pallor of her skin had been replaced by a healthy, natural flush.
I was sitting at the wooden kitchen island helping the head chef chop strawberries for breakfast when Matteo walked in, wearing a casual charcoal-gray sweater instead of his usual fitted black suit. His trimmed beard was neatly groomed, and the silver watch caught the morning light as he poured himself a black coffee from the stainless-steel machine.
"How is the patient holding up today?" Matteo asked, leaning against the counter next to me and popping a sliced strawberry into his mouth.
"She ate a whole bowl of oatmeal without complaining once," I reported proudly, wiping my hands on a dish towel. "And she said she wants to start painting again once her strength comes back."
Matteo smiled, a genuine, unguarded expression that crinkled the corners of his dark eyes and completely softened his stern features. "Tell her she has an open commission for every wall in the guest wing. This house has far too many dark corners that need some color."
The transformation in him had been as surprising as the discovery behind the library wall. Beneath the cold exterior of a ruthless corporate executive was a man who had spent years guarding his privacy because he had no one left to share it with. Slowly, cautiously, our little family had slipped past his defenses and found a permanent home in his guarded world.
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"Are you still going to seal up the service tunnel today?" I asked, looking up at him with mild curiosity.
"The bricklayers are arriving at ten," Matteo confirmed, taking a sip of his coffee. "That chapter of the estate is officially closed. From now on, everyone enters through the front door."
