The House on Seventy-Eighth Street
Chapter 06 - The House on Seventy-Eighth Street
Rose asked to visit her home the following Sunday. Dante brought her, along with a nurse for support and her new attorney, who had agreed to meet them afterward. Evelyn came at Rose's invitation, carrying a paper bag of cinnamon rolls.
The brownstone smelled of furniture polish and dried lavender. Sunlight came through lace curtains, touching the old piano Rose's husband had bought on their first anniversary.
Rose stood in the doorway and cried.
“I thought I'd never see it again.”
Dante felt sick. “Ma, nobody is taking it from you.”
“Someone already tried.”
He couldn't argue.
Rose led Evelyn upstairs to a small sewing room lined with boxes of photographs. Inside a cedar chest lay letters Margaret had sent decades earlier. The oldest were affectionate and ordinary—stories about pregnancy cravings, winter storms, and a friend named Laura who helped her find work. Later letters became tense.
In one, Margaret wrote that a man called Dominic Marconi had begun visiting her employer and asking questions about a child. Dante recognized the surname instantly.
“Celeste's family?” Evelyn asked.
“Possibly. It's a common name in some circles,” Dante said, though his voice had gone tight.
The final letter read: If anything happens, give the locket to Laura. She knows what to do.
Evelyn touched the pendant beneath her collar.
“Did Mom know my real family?”
Rose nodded slowly. “I believe she knew much more than she ever said.”
***
Outside, Dante found Anthony studying a vehicle parked across the street. It was a gray sedan with tinted windows. When Anthony walked toward it, the driver pulled away.
“Any idea who?” Dante asked.
“Not yet. I got the plate.”
Dante looked back at the brownstone. He was used to enemies watching his own movements. He had never wanted his mother exposed to that world.
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Then Evelyn emerged from the house with a letter in her hands.
“Mr. Romano,” she said, “this one is addressed to my mother. It says somebody wanted a baby to disappear.”
