Chapter 6 - The Restitution of Hannah
By Saturday afternoon, the dark, oppressive tension that had hung over our lives had completely dissolved beneath the bright autumn sunshine of Manhattan.
The cramped third-floor maid's quarters in the east wing of the Caruso estate had been permanently sealed and decommissioned.
In its place, the master family pavilion on the fourth floor had been completely renovated into a sunlit, five-bedroom private sanctuary overlooking the gardens, filled with hand-carved cedar furniture, soft wool rugs, and an expansive nursery lined with floor-to-ceiling picture books and toys.
I walked into the nursery wearing a comfortable dark cashmere sweater with the sleeves rolled up, holding a silver rattle that had belonged to Julian when we were children.
Hannah sat on the plush velvet glider chair near the arched windows, wearing an elegant cream linen dress, feeding Grace a bottle of warm milk.
The baby was looking up at her mother with deep, blissful contentment, her little toes wiggling beneath a brand-new pastel yellow onesie embroidered with the small silver crest of the Caruso family.
"How does she feel, Hannah?" I asked softly, sitting on the low ottoman beside the glider.
Hannah looked up, her face glowing with a radiant, unshadowed beauty that took my breath away.
"She slept for nine hours straight, Dante," Hannah whispered, tears of sacred relief glistening in her eyes. "For the first time in her life, she didn't wake up shivering from the draft of a basement apartment."
I reached out, gently placing the silver rattle into Grace’s tiny hand. The baby’s fingers closed around the cool metal with an astonishing, firm grip, shaking the rattle with a joyful, musical chime.
"Julian would be so proud of you, Hannah," I said softly, resting my hand over hers on the armrest. "You stood in the storm and kept his light burning."
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Hannah turned her hand, lacing her slender fingers through mine, her thumb resting against my knuckles.
"We both kept it burning, Dante," Hannah answered, looking into my eyes with all her soul. "And now we are going to build a life where Grace never has to be afraid of the dark."
