Pris kept shaking her head and murmuring under her breath, like she refused to accept their discovery. “There must be an explanation. Mom is not the type to hide a secret life and an Italian getaway. It’s not possible.”

“Anything’s possible,” Bailey pointed out. “This must’ve happened before Dad, though. Do you think she looked this guy up after the divorce?”

Dev lifted a brow. “Well, Dad was the one who had an affair. Maybe she got back in touch with this guy for revenge? Or from loneliness?”

A strange sense of anger made Pris snap. “I think we’re overreacting and there’s a rational explanation. Let’s read another letter. The latest one. What’s the date?”

Bailey flipped to the end of the pile, careful of the ink on the crisp white paper. “No date.” She hesitated. Dev held her breath, sensing they were all caught on the precipice of knowing too much. Once they fell off the cliff, there’d be no turning back or pretending it didn’t happen. Did they want what they knew about their mom to change forever?

But it was already too late to turn back. They had discovered these letters, and Bailey had already begun to read.

Dearest Livia,

For too long, I was unable to accept your letters. It was best for both of us—to finally let go of a past that was too beautiful, it may have ended up destroying us both. I had done my best to keep those summers locked away. Even that one precious week when I believed you’d come back to me is a memory best not to revisit. I convinced myself our time together was a dream, but when I saw my name on those envelopes, I realized I alone could ruin a life that I’d rebuilt after you left. I couldn’t do that, dolcezza. Not even for you.

But now, I find myself at a crossroads. I still think about you. I still wonder what could have been. I still want to gaze upon your face one more time.

So, yes, I will meet you here for your 65th birthday.

R

Bailey dropped the pile of papers. They gazed at one another in stunned silence.

Dev’s mind clamored to understand, and she stumbled over the timeline. Her mom had passed in February. Her birthday was in May—which meant she’d died before this meeting could have taken place. After the funeral, her sisters had taken time to settle paperwork and the will, putting off the house to the last task.

Had this man been waiting for her in Positano on Mom’s sixty-fifth birthday? Did he know she passed? Or was this a secret kept from everyone?

Dev was the first to break the silence. “I think we need to read all these letters and figure out what’s going on.”

Bailey slowly nodded. “I think I’ll cancel my reading tonight.”