Alexandra Palone was born the 14th of August, 1984. The story of her conception was spread, firstly, by Palone family servants, and from there it circulated beyond, in ever-increasing circles, until, finally, Antony and Elizabeth Palone confirmed the pregnancy, and dropped subtle hints that also confirmed the lie that everyone believed. Catherine Palone smiled and merely voiced her joy at having another little one to call grandchild.
The play was cast, as was the die. At the public's enthusiastic response, the Palone family breathed easy, and enjoyed the profit boost that James predicted. Suddenly, the only thing they had to think about of this whole mess was when and how they would tell Alexandra herself.
That is, until Beatrice Contadino, the maid at the Palone estate in Italy, fell in love with a man who was shortly moving to New York City to join his cousin in a jointly held business selling reproductions of Italian Renaissance paintings to Korean-Americans. James Palone, feeling charitable, gave his blessing to the young couple and transferred the girl from Tuscany to his own New York residence so that she could be near her loved one. There, she talked to her coworkers, and eventually found the discrepancies that would eventually collapse the whole farce. It just so happened to work out that there wasn't a single time that coincided between the testimonies of the American staff and the Italian that would allow enough time for either one of them to fly across the ocean, meet the other, and then fly back. In due time, a reporter would discover this, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Catherine Palone, infuriated by the sudden reversal of public opinion, immediately turned on Elizabeth Palone and Alexandra. After a few tumultuous months of paparazzi and tabloid releases, Elizabeth volunteered to remove herself from public eye for a period of time. Catherine seconded that proposal, and insisted that the two of them – Elizabeth and Alexandra – leave the country, where the greatest amount of attention was focused. Elizabeth consented, and, on the 18th of April, 1987, she took her two-year-old daughter and left for her home country.
The only memories Alexandra had of her birth family and home were the subconscious ones that only a small child would collect, and hers were filled with a mother who was more relaxed and a house that looked like a castle.