Chapter 6 - Claire Recalls The Terrifying Chicago Apartment Fire
Later that night, seated in the private family library, Claire recounted the harrowing details of that fateful winter night.
A crackling fire burned in the hearth as Vincent and Eleanor listened in rapt silence to every single word.
“The smoke was so thick I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face,” Claire explained, staring into her teacup.
“I found her huddled under a wet towel in the bathroom, whispering her mother’s name over and over again.”
“She told me her name was Lucia, but she had lost her locket in the hallway during the panic,” Claire added softly.
Eleanor opened a velvet jewelry box resting on the mahogany desk, pulling out a tarnished gold locket with an engraved 'L'.
“This was her christening necklace... she clutched it so tightly the night she disappeared,” Eleanor wept, placing it on the table.
Claire stared at the locket, a wave of childhood memories washing over her as the final puzzle pieces clicked together.
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“I kept that locket in a tin box under my bed for years, thinking it was just a lost trinket,” Claire whispered.
Vincent looked at his newly discovered sister with a fierce, protective intensity that defined the Moretti bloodline.
