Chapter 66 Nine Months Later Fenna
NINE MONTHS LATER FENNA
Fenna watches Luke unpack the final box from the moving van.
It’s been a rollercoaster nine months since they left Tuscany and returned to the UK to arrange two funerals.
The doctors agreed that Marianne was in such a fragile state due to the cancer and her invasive heart surgery, so although her decline was quicker than they had anticipated, it was not totally unexpected.
In a way it was good to be out of the country when the news broke about Richard’s arrest.
He pleaded guilty to abducting Carla and holding her against her will.
Evelyn stood up for him in the media. She believes her husband is innocent.
No one else agrees with her. As soon as Carla identified her attacker and Marianne’s ‘confession’ was released, it was game over.
Both Carla and Evelyn have since left Laprezia.
Despite tearing the lake house apart and re-searching Lago Parrocchetto, the police haven’t found any trace of Danielle Dixon’s body. So far, Richard has refused to comply with pleas from the police, the public, and Danielle’s family to share the location of where he put her.
Following the funerals, they put their London house on the market immediately.
Their debts were paid with the inheritance Luke received.
A silver lining to the tragic events. They finally have everything out in the open.
They’ve spoken about his drunken infidelity with Carla, and Fenna has had to come to terms with accepting it was a moment of madness. He promises it will never happen again.
‘No more secrets,’ he vowed.
She knows that everything won’t be perfect, but that’s fine. It’s important that they work through their problems for the sake of their family.
Luke’s having a lot of therapy, which is helping.
From discovering Theo is his half-brother, to trying to come to terms with his mum, Theo, and Richard all having a hand in Danielle Dixon’s disappearance, as well as learning that Richard abducted Carla.
Who knows what he was planning on doing to her in that lake house?
Her husband has had a lot to deal with. She promised to stick with him for better or worse.
And now they’re back at Villa Speranza, but this time it’s for good. Fenna had dreamt of being able to call this place home, and miraculously, it has all fallen perfectly into place.
She wipes the sweat from her forehead and places her hands on her hips.
Alba is in the lounge watching TV and Raffi is having a nap upstairs – the room which had once been Marianne and Gerry’s now belongs to them.
It will take a while to make this house their own.
She has grand designs to knock through the downstairs and create an enormous kitchen diner.
The current set-up is much too dark. Julietta has been thrilled at the idea of a bigger island.
‘Right, I think that’s it,’ Luke says, flashing a weary smile.
It took some convincing to get this move signed off.
She had persuaded him that it would benefit them all.
Leave the financial stress of London life, the trauma caused by the fictitious break-in, and their monotonous routine.
She explained how it would be a good way for him to get closure, how he would feel closer to his mum here.
What Richard did was unimaginable, but they had lost so much already, they didn’t need to lose this house, too.
Wouldn’t it be good to give their children happy memories here?
Of course, it’s going to take time for the locals to welcome them with open arms, but she will use her Italian charm. Some short-term pain will be worth it.
‘Thanks, darling. How are you feeling?’ She smiles at him.
He unscrews the cap on his bottle of lager. ‘A little strange. I hope we’ve not made a mistake.’
‘Once we’ve put our stamp on the place it’ll feel like home. Trust me.’
The stars have aligned and everything is good. It is like coming home. Fenna opens the box she carried in and carefully places a framed photo on a deep windowsill, smiling at the shot of her family. Her eyes fall to the image of Marianne that Luke must have unpacked. His loyalty runs deep.
Fenna had thought that by handing over Marianne’s journal the sale value of her mother-in-law’s art would plummet.
What she didn’t expect was that the world would clamour to get their hands on never-before-seen Marianne Fraser paintings inspired by the tragic events in Laprezia.
The proceeds from the sale of the secret Danielle Dixon paintings have gone into a trust for their children.
Fenna also made a sizeable donation to a missing persons charity.
There was a moment when Fenna was alone with Marianne in the hospital room and a small voice at the back of her mind told her to press her tubes.
Hold them shut. Get justice for Danielle.
Marianne didn’t have years left to live thanks to the cancer, and Fenna could speed up the process.
Who’s going to know? She’d leapt from her chair, terrified she could think something so evil, even for a split second.
Fenna turns the photograph of her mother-in-law the other way, so she can’t see her face.
She opens the patio doors to flood the dining room with fresh air and sunlight.
The sound of the birds chittering in the trees makes her smile.
She saw a green parakeet from the window earlier.
It landed on the washing line for a few seconds.
It felt like a good omen. She’s become a lot more superstitious recently, looking out for signs that everything is going to be ok.
Paulo knocks on the open door, beckoning her to come outside.
His face is drawn. He probably wants to talk about her grand plans for what was Marianne’s eco-garden again.
Something majestic will rise from the ugly blot on the landscape.
The statue of that girl gave her the creeps.
The sooner it’s gone the better. She has contacted a local landscaping business to come and clear the death-trap outhouses in the lower gardens too.
However, Paulo seemed adamant the wildflower garden should be left untouched.
‘Be careful. I wouldn’t if I were you,’ he’d said ominously when she’d shown him the plans.
‘You should take my advice and leave it as it is . . .’ He’d taken his soil-stained cap from his head and held it to his chest. There was something about his expression that had made her shudder despite the warm Spring-time breeze.
She pads to the door, breathing in the scent of cut grass and fresh lavender.
Luke’s voice travels down the stairs. ‘Fenna? Can you bring that last box upstairs for me, please? It’s only a small one. Oh, and Raffi’s woken up, I think he’s teething.’
Fenna tells Paulo she’ll be with him soon, his concerns can wait, right now she needs to get the house in order.
‘Coming,’ she replies, heading to join her family.
THE END
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