Chapter 4 - THE COAT IN THE UTILITY ROOM
The ride back to the house was completely silent.
Ruby had fallen asleep against Nico’s chest in the back seat, wrapped securely in her mother’s handmade quilt.
June sat beside them, her hands trembling as she stared out the window.
I sat in the front, my bruised arm aching with every bump in the road.
My mind was racing.
He knows what Brielle did.
What had Brielle done before the accident?
When Nico pulled through the iron gates of his estate, the house was blazing with lights.
A silver Mercedes was parked haphazardly near the front steps.
Brielle had beaten us home.
Nico parked the SUV. He didn’t turn off the engine.
“Hannah,” he said softly, careful not to wake the little girl in his arms.
“Yes, sir.”
“Take June and Ruby through the garage. Bring them straight to the guest wing. Lock the doors.”
“I can take her,” June whispered.
“No,” Nico said, his voice hard. “Hannah goes with you.”
He trusted me.
Despite everything that had happened, he trusted the maid who had dropped the coffee more than the woman wearing his diamond ring.
I nodded, sliding out of the car.
Nico carried Ruby to the garage entrance and handed her gently to June.
Then he turned and walked up the main steps to the front doors.
I led June through the kitchen, keeping my head down.
Mrs. Turner was standing by the stove, holding a dish towel. She looked terrified.
“She’s tearing the master bedroom apart,” Mrs. Turner whispered to me as we passed.
“Keep the kitchen doors locked,” I told her.
I got June and Ruby settled in the far guest suite. I checked the window locks twice.
Then I stepped back into the hallway.
From the top of the grand staircase, I could hear shouting.
“You’re throwing me out over a misunderstanding!” Brielle’s voice echoed down the marble foyer.
“I’m throwing you out,” Nico said, his tone cold and steady, “because you put a man in my daughter’s doorway who had no right being there.”
“He had a legal document, Nico!”
“A document you procured. Without telling me.”
I stood near the bottom of the stairs, out of sight.
I wasn’t trying to spy. I was waiting for Mrs. Turner to bring the fresh ice pack she had promised me.
Suddenly, something heavy hit the floor above.
Footsteps rushed toward the landing.
Brielle appeared at the top of the stairs, dragging a heavy leather suitcase.
Her mascara was smeared, and her green silk dress looked wrinkled.
She saw me standing in the shadows.
The fear in her eyes instantly turned to venom.
“You did this,” she hissed, gripping the banister. “You couldn’t just keep your mouth shut.”
I didn’t move.
“I didn’t lie for you,” I said quietly.
Brielle let out a harsh laugh. “You think he’s going to keep you? A broken maid who can’t even pour a cup of coffee?”
Nico appeared behind her.
He didn’t look angry. He looked completely exhausted.
“The car is waiting, Brielle.”
She whipped around to face him. “You’ll regret this, Nico. Marcus isn’t going to just walk away. He wants his money.”
“I’ll deal with Marcus.”
“You don’t even know what you’re dealing with!” she screamed, her voice cracking.
She dragged her suitcase down the stairs, bumping it hard against every step.
When she reached the bottom, she stopped in front of me.
“You think you saved little Ruby’s treasures?” she whispered, leaning in close. “You didn’t save the one that matters.”
She walked out the front door.
The heavy wood slammed shut behind her.
The house plunged into silence.
Nico slowly walked down the stairs. He stopped on the bottom step and ran a hand over his face.
He noticed me standing there.
“How is your arm?” he asked softly.
“Better, sir.”
He nodded, looking toward the door. “She’s right about one thing. Marcus won’t walk away.”
I thought about the photograph in my pocket.
“Mr. DeSantis,” I said hesitantly. “Before Brielle came down… she said I didn’t save the treasure that matters.”
Nico looked at me.
“She was throwing away Beth’s things,” I continued. “But what if she wasn’t just trying to get rid of memories? What if she was looking for something specific?”
Nico’s brow furrowed. “The safety deposit key?”
“Marcus already had that,” I said. “He showed it to us in the hallway.”
“Then what was she looking for?”
I closed my eyes, trying to remember the donation bag.
The quilt. The pictures. The small photo album.
What else was in Ruby’s drawer?
I gasped.
“The rosary,” I said, opening my eyes.
Nico straightened up. “Beth’s wooden rosary? She kept it in the top drawer.”
“It wasn’t in the bag,” I said. “And it wasn’t in the drawer when I packed the lunch today.”
Nico’s chest rose and fell.
He walked past me, heading straight for the guest wing.
I followed him.
He knocked gently on the bedroom door. June opened it.
Ruby was sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes.
Nico sat on the edge of the mattress.
“Sweetheart,” he said softly. “Do you remember Mommy’s wooden beads?”
Ruby nodded slowly.
“Do you know where they are?”
Ruby looked at me.
“I didn’t want Brielle to take them,” the little girl whispered. “So I hid them.”
Nico smiled gently. “Where did you hide them, bug?”
Ruby pulled the quilt up to her chin.
“In Hannah’s coat pocket.”
My breath caught.
My winter coat was hanging in the utility room. Right next to the door where Brielle had pushed me.
“Hannah,” Nico said, turning to me.
But I was already running.
I sprinted down the hall, through the kitchen, and into the dim utility room.
I found my worn wool coat on the hook.
I shoved my good hand into the right pocket.
Empty.
I shoved my hand into the left pocket.
My fingers brushed against something hard and wooden.
I pulled it out.
It was the rosary.
But as I held it up to the light, a piece of folded paper slipped from between the wooden beads and fluttered to the floor.
I bent down and picked it up.
It was a faded dry-cleaning receipt.
But the name printed at the top wasn’t Beth’s.
It was Marcus’s.
And scribbled on the back in red ink were three words.
May you like
Check the brakes.
TITLE: The Truth In The Metal Clasp
