Chapter 27 - THE SHIRT
Five years after that terrible Thursday, Matteo opened an old drawer.
Inside lay the white shirt Emma had tried to repair.
The stitches were crooked.
Some were too tight.
Some were nearly invisible.
He touched them gently.
Sophia entered the room.
“You kept it?”
“Of course.”
She smiled.
“It was ruined.”
“No.”
Matteo shook his head.
“This is the most important shirt I own.”
Sophia understood.
That shirt had been present when everything changed.
The day a child exposed a crime.
The day a frightened mother was saved.
The day Matteo discovered that wealth could not protect people unless someone was willing to see them.
Emma, now eight, ran into the room.
“Why are you looking at that?”
Matteo showed it to her.
She covered her face.
“I was so bad at sewing!”
“You were three.”
“I know.”
Everyone laughed.
Emma touched the old stitches.
“I fixed you.”
Matteo smiled.
“No.”
May you like
He gently squeezed her hand.
“You fixed all of us.”
