Chapter 50
LIANA
Thankfully, the spa is located in the heart of the city, so when we get there and find a spot to park, Massi is easily able to blend in with the surrounding cars.
“Tracker works?” Massi calls out from the driver’s seat.
“Yup,” Gio says.
“Alright, I’m calling your cell,” he says to me, then a moment later, my phone is ringing. I answer it and put it in the pocket of my blazer.
“All that’s left to check now is you,” Massi says.
“Me?”
He smiles. “Yes, you. How’re you feeling?”
I let out a shaky breath. “If I’m being honest, nervous. I feel like I don’t even know what to say to her.”
“Just remember, she’s your mom. She might not have any memory of it right now, but you both still share that connection, and that’s a powerful fucking connection to have. If anyone is going to be able to spark something in her memory, it’s going to be you.”
I nod. “You’re right. Thank you, Massi. I needed to hear that.”
His words bring me comfort, but I still can’t ignore the swarm of butterflies trying to explode from my stomach.
How did I find myself in this situation?
I never thought I’d see my mom again, and now that I have her so close yet so far away …
I don’t know. The feelings are too much to contain, but I’m doing my best.
“Alright, you better get in there. She’ll be here shortly,” Massi says.
I nod and push the door open, but before I get out, I glance over my shoulder at the three guys I never thought would be the ones to be here for me on one of the most memorable days of my life. “Thank you. All of you. This means a lot.”
“Don’t thank us yet,” Gui says.
“Yeah, you can thank us when we have your mom back in the states, safe and sound,” Gio says with a smile.
I turn my attention to Massi, who gives me a look of encouragement, and says, “Go in there and get your mom back.”
I smile, then get out of the car and head into the spa.
When I walk in, I’m greeted by a woman at the front desk, who directs me to the women’s locker room.
My leg bounces as the anticipation hits me while I wait for her to show up.
What am I going to say? I have to tell her she’s my mom.
I need to figure out what she does remember.
Is she happy with her life here? Is there even a small part of her that feels empty on the inside?
Like she’s been going through life all these years feeling like she’s missing a piece of her heart?
I’m lost in my thoughts when someone clears their throat. My head snaps up, and I make eye contact with the woman who shares so many of the same features as me.
“M—” I stop myself again and clear my throat. “Vittoria.”
She looks at me with gracious eyes, like she’s studying me. “What were you going to call me?” she asks.
“I …”
I’m unsure if I should say it. From the research I’ve done since finding out she’s alive, it says amnesia can be a delicate condition. I don’t want to overload her with too much information right away.
I shake my head. “Nothing, I just—”
“No,” she says, moving forward to close the distance between us. “You were going to call me something else. I would really like for you to tell me.”
I slowly rise to my feet, and it takes everything in me not to throw my arms around her. I just want to feel my mother’s warmth. Her comforting touch. Something I never thought I’d feel again.
“I was going to call you mom,” I choke out, tears straining my eyes. I try to push them back down, but I can’t.
My vision blurs and my lips wobble as I choke back a sob.
My mom’s eyes reflect the same thing as mine, then she throws her arms around me and takes me into an embrace I’ve needed—longed for—for the past decade.
I release the sob I’ve been doing my best to suffocate, and cry out into her hair.
We hold each other for what feels like forever, and when the cries finally subside, I pull away,
“I’m so sorry,” I say, wiping my eyes with my fingers, drying them as best I can. “That’s not how I wanted to start our conversation, I just … That hug has been a long time coming, and I didn’t even know it.”
“Why don’t we take a seat,” she says, gesturing to the couch I was waiting on.
I nod, and we take a seat next to each other.
I wait for her to speak, not knowing where I should go from here. Is it possible she remembers me? Is this the reconnection I was hoping we’d get?
She takes a deep breath, swallowing roughly, then says, “You’ll have to forgive me, but I don’t know who you are.”
My heart drops at her words, but I nod.
“But I did have an interesting dream last night. One that’s brought up some feelings and emotions I’m not sure how to process.”
My eyes light up. “What was the dream?”
“Well, that’s the thing, I had it while I was sleeping, but it felt more like a memory. But when I woke up, I couldn’t place that memory in my head properly.”
She pauses, then continues. “I believe you were in it. At least a little girl who looks like you, but much younger. Her name was Liana. There was also a man. My husband, but not the husband I have now.”
I scramble to take out my phone, completely forgetting Massi’s listening on the other line. Thankfully, I’m still able to pull up my photos and find the last one me and my parents took over ten years ago.
Showing her the screen, I say, “Is this him? The man from your dream?”
Her eyes widen when she looks at the photo. “It was, and that little girl, that was you. This looks more like her.”
I nod. “Yes, that’s my dad. Your husband.”
Tears form in my mom’s eyes, and now it’s her turn to break down. I scoot closer to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulder, and hold her.
“I just, I don’t understand. Did you make me an emerald-green dress when you were younger?”
“I did. It was for a gala you and Dad had to attend. It was the first big piece I ever made.”
“How is this happening?” she cries out.
“I have to ask first, what is the furthest thing in your past that you remember?”
“I …” She stares straight ahead while she thinks about that. As she shakes her head and crinkles her brow, I can tell the strain this is putting on her.
“It’s okay. Don’t strain yourself trying to remember.”
“I just wish I knew, but every time I try, there’s a wall there and I get stuck in this thick, heavy fog that I can’t seem to get out of.”
“Do you recall anything that happened to you? Anything traumatic? Maybe over a decade ago?”
She nods, then looks at me. “I was in a plane crash that caused memory loss.”
“A plane crash. Yes, that’s correct.”
“You know about that?”
“Yes, that plane crash involved you and my dad, but he … he didn’t make it.”
It hurts saying those words, because finding out my mom was alive gave me a glimmer of hope that my dad might be too. So when I found out he wasn’t, it was like I had lost him all over again.
“I remember some things from when I was younger, but then I’m missing a large gap of my life. I woke up in a private care facility where I met Ignazio, then the rest was history.”
I furrow my brow. “So you don’t remember him from before?”
“What do you mean?”
I pause for a moment, wondering if I should give her any of this information, but knowing I might not have much longer with her, I decide to tell her everything in hopes it will help bring more memories back.
“Ignazio. You were engaged to him in your early twenties.”
“I was engaged to him? But that …” She drops her head in her hands. “None of this makes sense. I wish I could just remember.”
“Have you spoken to any doctors or therapists who might be able to help you recover your memories? I know there are some specialists in New York.”
“Ignazio has introduced me to a few, but they’ve all said my case is too severe, and expressed concern if my memories came back.”
“What was the concern?”
“That it could cause more harm and damage to my brain.”
“I hate to place this doubt in your head, but I don’t think you should trust the doctors Ignazio brought you to. He wanted to keep your memories locked away.”
My mom closes her eyes and brings her fingers up to the side of her head and rubs it.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“I’m okay, sweetheart. It’s just a migraine.” She lets out a deep breath, then turns her attention back to me. “This is a lot of information to process. I’m going to have to take everything into consideration.”
“Oh, of course. Um, is there anything I can do to help? Do you want me to show you some more pictures of our family?”
A small smile lifts at her lips. “I’d really like that.”
We sit around in the locker room for a while, and I show her photos of our family and the stories that go along with each one. There were several times her expression would change to that of confusion or sadness, but when I would try to stop, she would encourage me to continue.
We’re wrapping up our time together when I have to ask her the question that’s been on my mind since I got here. “So, do you mind if I ask where we go from here?”
I want to tell her she needs to come back to New York with us. That this fake husband of hers stole her from the life she had. But bombarding her with all this information might push her in the opposite direction. After all, I am a stranger to her.
“I’m unsure, Liana. I … I feel like I need to confront Ignazio about this …”
My eyes widen, knowing the man I’ve learned him to be. Her life would be in danger if she questioned him.
“But I know that would be putting myself in danger. I just don’t know how I’m supposed to go back to him and act as if everything is okay when all the proof I’ve been given is screaming at me, telling me he’s the devil I need to run away from.”
I let out a small breath of relief. She believes me, and she’s starting to see the man this fake husband of hers is. I might actually have a better chance at getting her to come home with me than I thought I would.
“Some people might think I’m crazy putting so much faith in what you’re telling me, but there’s this … connection I feel with you. My mind is telling me this could all be some intricate lie, and how could I be considering leaving the man I’m married to, but my heart is telling me the opposite.”
“I think you need to know that Ignazio could be very dangerous. For all of us, but especially you. He was willing to do whatever he needed to do to keep you, and I’m sure that desperation is still in him.”
She nods. “I know you’re right, I just think I need some time to … think.”
“I understand. This is a lot for you, and I’m happy to help in any way I can.”
She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “I know this is a lot for you too, and I appreciate you giving me the time I need to sort through all of this, Liana.”
“Of course. I just … I just want you happy and safe in the end. Please remember that.”
“I know, sweetheart. I’m going to figure this out soon, okay? I’ll reach back out to you if I need anything, but as long as Ignazio knows I haven’t spoken to you again, I think I’ll be fine. After everything I’ve learned, I fear it’s you who is going to have a target on her back. You must lay low.”
“I will. I’ll be here when you make a decision, so please call me, okay?”
She nods.
Leaning in, I wrap my arms around her and give her the biggest hug, not wanting to let go. I know she said this won’t be the last time I see her, but I’ve learned life is too damn short and you never know what could happen.
I struggle to let go, not wanting to lose her. Can’t I just force her to come with me? I’m not above kidnapping my own mother.
“It’s okay, Liana,” she soothes, and I hadn’t even realized tears were shedding from my eyes again and the sniffles had taken over.
“Everything will be okay.”
I nod into her hair. “I know, Mom, I know,” I whisper, and she tenses just a bit, but I ignore it because I couldn’t hold back saying it any longer.
She’s my mom whether she fully remembers or not, and I know she feels our familial connection. I just have to pray she makes the right choice and she makes it soon, because with Ignazio knowing we know about my mom, I’m not sure how much longer we have before everything comes crashing down.