All Chapters of The Messenger's Silent Farewell: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

At two that afternoon, the doorbell rang.Two movers in black uniforms stood outside. Behind them was Thomas Reid, Gabriel's assistant, who'd been put in charge of Vivian's homecoming.Thomas had a tablet in his hand. When I opened the door, he didn't even bother saying hello. He just walked straight past me into the entryway. "Ms. Linden, Mr. Moretti asked that Vivian's seven travel trunks be put in the master closet ahead of time. Also, these paintings in the living room..."He pointed at the gray-toned oil paintings on the wall. "Vivian likes big, bright blocks of color. Mr. Moretti said these gloomy little practice pieces can just go."They weren't practice pieces.Last year, Gabriel had been hospitalized for a severe gallbladder attack. I spent two full weeks outside his room praying for him, and every morning at dawn, I painted the sunrise. In the bottom right corner of each one, our initials were hidden in the brushwork.When he came home, he touched the dark circles under my ey

In that instant, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.Chloe snickered. My mother looked satisfied.Vivian's lips curved, and a look of triumph crossed her face. She pushed her outstretched hand a little closer. "Hand it over, little sister."I looked at the perfectly manicured hand in front of me and suddenly laughed.I took a velvet pouch out of my bag.Inside were the official seal of the Moretti Art Foundation and the black secondary card linked to the joint account.Three years earlier, as Gabriel's mother, Eleanor Moretti, lay dying, she pressed these into my hands with trembling fingers and held on tight. "Sweetheart, Gabe has a hot temper. He goes to extremes. From now on, I'm counting on you to hold this family together for him."The night she died, Gabriel clung to me and cried like a lost little boy. It was the only time he ever let me see him weak.I thought that meant he trusted me.Only now did I understand. I'd just been his stopgap after he lost Vivi

The lights in the hospital hallway were harsh and white.Gabriel stood rooted to the spot, gripping the thin departure record so hard he nearly crushed the corner."Five years?" he repeated under his breath. He swallowed, then let out a short, humorless laugh. "That's ridiculous. Without my signature, she can't even get proof of funds from the foundation. How is she supposed to get to Zurich?"Thomas steeled himself and answered quietly, "Sir... Ms. Linden used proof of funds from her own gallery. Two years ago, she sold three oil paintings anonymously at the Basel Young Artists Fair. All the royalties from those paintings are still in a separate Swiss bank account. That account was never included in the Moretti trust."Shock crossed Gabriel's face.He'd always assumed Vera's little gallery was just a hobby to pass the time.Whenever he transferred a large sum to her account, her statements showed no major purchases. He'd thought she was just being sensible, that she didn't care much f

Vera's POV:Fall came to Zurich earlier than I'd expected.When I got off the plane, the air was full of that crisp pine smell you only get near the Alps, mixed with the damp scent of the lake.I wheeled my suitcase out of Zurich Airport and spotted someone at arrivals holding a sign with my name on it.The young man stood tall and straight in a light gray tweed coat and rimless glasses. Behind the lenses, his amber eyes were warm and clear."Ms. Vera Linden?" He lowered the sign. He spoke fluent English in a deep, soft voice."That's me. And you are...""Felix von Halden." He smiled and held out his hand. His palm was dry and warm. "I'm Professor Hans Keller's teaching assistant. The professor is held up in a committee meeting, so he asked me to pick you up and take you to your apartment."He was a perfect gentleman. He took my fingertips in a light handshake before politely letting go, then lifted my heavy suitcase from my hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.When

Vera's POV:Winter hit Zurich fast. The first snow fell on the old bronze statues in the square and left a thin layer of white.In the open studio at the Zurich Federal Academy of Art, I stood in front of a huge canvas about six and a half feet tall. I drew my palette knife precisely along the edge, laying a coat of cool gray over what had been bright ocher.The painting was dawn over Lake Zurich. The sun itself wasn't visible, only a single beam of cold light tearing through the clouds. It was full of tension, but it also held the stillness of something coming back to life after it had nearly died."That gray is brilliant." I heard footsteps behind me, and Felix walked in carrying two hot cocoas. He handed one to me. "All that restrained emotion finally has somewhere to break through."I set down the palette knife and took the paper cup, letting the warmth wrap around my fingers. "Professor Keller just looked at it. He says it can go in the main hall at next week's Young Artists' Bien