Chapter 3 - THE SCENT OF EXPENSIVE LIES AND CHEAP BETRAYAL
I froze.
The yellow pawn ticket was still in my hand.
Vanessa stood in the doorway.
Her red silk gown rustled as she stepped into the room. Her smile was gone.
“I asked you a question, Rebecca.”
My mind raced.
If I told her Luca sent me, she would manipulate him. She would twist the story before he even saw the proof.
“I was looking for bandages,” I lied.
I held up my injured arm. Blood had seeped completely through the white gauze.
“Mrs. Carter said there was a first-aid kit in the vanity.”
Vanessa’s eyes dropped to the blood.
Disgust flashed across her perfect face.
“You’re dripping on my Persian rug. Get out.”
I didn’t wait.
I shoved the yellow pawn ticket into my apron pocket, shut the velvet case, and rushed past her.
I ran straight down the back stairs to the library.
Luca was exactly where I left him.
I pulled the yellow ticket from my pocket and placed it on the desk.
“She didn’t have the rosary, sir.”
Luca picked up the ticket.
His eyes scanned the ink.
The inscription. The date. The location.
I watched the realization hit him.
The watch was a gift from his late father. He thought he had lost it in Chicago.
Vanessa had stolen it.
“She’s broke,” Luca whispered.
He looked at the unpaid bank notices I had quickly described to him.
“Her father’s business didn’t just take a hit. They’re bankrupt. That’s why she pushed the wedding to this month.”
He wasn’t angry.
He was lethal.
“Thank you, Rebecca. Go home. Take care of your arm.”
I nodded and backed away.
“Mr. Moretti?”
He looked up.
“Vanessa caught me in the room. I told her I was looking for bandages. But she might check the case.”
“Let her,” Luca said. “It’s time she realizes she isn’t the smartest person in this house.”
I left the estate and took the bus back to my small apartment.
My six-year-old son, Leo, was sitting at the kitchen table with his babysitter.
“Mommy!”
He ran to me, hugging my waist.
“Careful, baby,” I winced, hiding my bandaged arm.
I paid the sitter the last of my cash and locked the door.
As I tucked Leo into bed, I noticed a piece of paper sticking out from under his pillow.
“What’s this, sweetie?” I asked.
“A drawing,” Leo said softly. “From when I went to work with you last year.”
I pulled the paper out.
My breath caught in my throat.
It was a crayon drawing of a woman with red hair.
Vanessa.
But she wasn’t alone.
She was standing over an older woman in a bed.
The older woman had her eyes closed.
And Vanessa was holding a pillow over her face.
“Leo,” I whispered, my hands trembling. “Why did you draw this?”
Leo looked up at me, his wide eyes full of innocence.
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“Because that’s what the scary lady did to the nice grandma before the ambulance came.”
TITLE: A CHILD’S MEMORY NEVER FORGETS A MONSTER
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