Chapter 13 - THE LAST SECRET OF THE LULLABY
Isabella was found in Switzerland.
Alive.
But deeply changed by years of confinement and isolation.
She had been told her daughter died.
She had been told her brother abandoned her.
And she had spent decades believing there was nobody left to find her.
When Sophia entered the room, Isabella stared.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then Sophia whispered the first line of the lullaby.
Isabella's hands began shaking.
She looked up.
Her eyes filled.
“Fia?”
Sophia collapsed into tears.
“Mom?”
Isabella stood.
Slowly.
Unsteadily.
Then crossed the room.
She wrapped her arms around her daughter.
And held her.
For the first time in twenty-two years.
Alejandro stood in the doorway.
His face was wet with tears.
Isabella looked over Sophia's shoulder.
“Ale?”
He nodded.
“It's me.”
She began crying harder.
Alejandro approached.
May you like
Then embraced his sister.
And for the first time in more than two decades, the Duca family began to heal.
