My heart is beating a million beats a minute, but I try to ignore it.
“My name is Liana, and I… I really need to speak with you. In private. Somewhere that’s not here.”
“Are you sure you don’t have me mistaken for someone else?” she asks.
“You have to trust me. I know this is going to sound crazy, but not everything is as it seems. Please, just meet with me tomorrow.” I step toward her, and she tenses, surely suspicious of the kind of person I am.
“I promise, I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to tell you the truth.” I hold out the paper to her. “Here’s the time, location, and my phone number. I’ll be there, and I’ll explain everything to you, but you have to make sure to come alone, or things might not turn out so well for me.”
She glances at the paper, then draws her gaze back to mine. “I don’t think I’m who you’re looking for.”
“You are. I promise, and I can prove it to you. Please.” I extend my hand farther to her.
She looks at the paper again, then reluctantly takes it.
“And one more thing. You can’t tell your husband about me.”
“You know my husband? You must realize how strange this is, and now you’re asking me not to tell him about it?”
“I know, this is all very weird, but please believe me when I say no one can know about this interaction, or else it could turn out very badly for me. I just want to talk. Please. Meet me at the address tomorrow and everything will make more sense.”
I hurry on by her, exiting the bathroom, and run into Massi’s arms.
“Is everything okay?” he asks, worry in his tone.
“Yes, just take me back to the villa, please.”
As we hurry back to the car, all I can think about is whether my mom will meet me tomorrow. My anxiety is heightened, and while I would love for her to trust me, there’s no telling what will happen, and I don’t blame her.
48
VITTORIA
There was something so familiar about that girl at the restaurant today. I keep racking my brain, trying to figure out where I know her from, but I’m drawing a blank. It’s like the answer is there, but as soon as I’m about to figure it out, it gets fuzzy, eventually fading away into an abyss.
“Tesoro … Tesoro … Vittoria …”
I mentally snap myself out of my thoughts and bring my attention back to my husband. “I’m so sorry. I got lost there for a moment.”
He places his hand on my thigh as we sit side-by-side in bed and gives it a light squeeze. “What were you thinking about?”
I know that girl told me not to tell Ignazio about her, but maybe he’ll know who she is.
“There was a girl at the restaurant Rosa and I had lunch at today. She looked very familiar. Honestly, she kind of reminded me of myself.”
Ignazio’s grip tightens on my leg, which draws my gaze to his. He still has the book he was reading open on his lap, but he’s staring at a random spot on our comforter.
He clears his throat. “A girl, you say? One that looked like you?”
“Yes. She seemed a bit frazzled, definitely concerned about something, and very familiar. I’ve been trying to figure out where I could know her from, but it’s stumping me.”
“Did she tell you her name?”
“That’s the weird thing. She told me her name is Liana, but I still can’t place her. It’s like everything about her sounds and looks familiar, but when I try to focus and think of how I could know her, there’s this wall I can’t break through to get the answer. Do you know a Liana? Maybe she’s friends with Chiara?”
Ignazio clenches his teeth.
So he does know who Liana is.
