Chapter 5
Vanessa’s grip was surprisingly strong.
The pantry smelled of dried herbs and expensive olive oil. It was pitch black, save for a sliver of light bleeding under the door.
She slowly removed her hand from my mouth.
"What do you want?" I hissed, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Haven't you done enough?"
"You have to listen to me," Vanessa whispered frantically, her voice trembling. "Arthur is going to kill him."
"Kill Luca?"
"Yes! The marriage contract is a distraction. If Luca signs it, Arthur gets half. But if Luca dies before the wedding, the Moretti bylaws state that the fiancée inherits the trust entirely, as long as the engagement was formalized in front of witnesses."
I stared at her in the dim light. "You just formalized it tonight. In front of thirty-eight people."
"Exactly," Vanessa choked out. "Arthur doesn't want fifty percent. He wants everything. He used me to get into the house, and he used your mother’s secret to corner Luca."
"Then go tell Luca!" I said, pushing past her.
Vanessa grabbed my arm again. "I can't! Arthur’s men are outside. They’ve locked the gates. The guests think it’s just a dramatic family fight, but nobody is allowed to leave."
My blood ran cold.
"Why are you telling me?" I asked.
"Because you know the house better than anyone," Vanessa pleaded. "And because Arthur’s lying about Teresa."
I stopped fighting her. "What do you mean?"
Vanessa reached into her evening gown and pulled out a small, heavy object. It was cold and metallic. She pressed it into my hand.
It was a rusted iron key.
"My mother didn't take the fall for Teresa," Vanessa whispered. "She took the fall for Arthur."
My mind spun. "Arthur killed the baby?"
"He didn't just kill her," Vanessa sobbed softly. "Arthur was obsessed with Teresa. When she married the Moretti heir, he lost his mind. He snuck onto the property the day of the drowning. He thought if he took the child, Teresa would leave her husband and run away with him. But the child fell."
I stared at the iron key in my hand. "What is this?"
"It opens the old pool house," Vanessa said. "The one Luca’s father boarded up thirty years ago. Arthur hid something in there the day it happened. My mother saw him do it. She told me before she died."
"Why didn't she tell the police?"
"Because Arthur threatened to kill me if she did," Vanessa said. "He’s my father, Hannah."
I stepped back, horrified. "Arthur is your father?"
"He forced himself on my mother after she was fired. He controlled us our whole lives." Vanessa wiped her eyes, smearing her expensive makeup. "You have to get to the pool house. Find whatever he hid. It’s the only way to prove he’s lying before he forces Luca to sign that paper—or kills him."
"I can't go out there," I panicked. "Arthur’s men—"
"I'll distract them," Vanessa said firmly. "I'll go back to the dining room and cause a scene. You go through the kitchen service door. Go, Hannah. Please. Save him."
Before I could answer, Vanessa pushed out of the pantry and sprinted down the hall.
I stood alone in the dark, the rusted key digging into my palm.
I had been fired. I owed this family nothing. Luca had looked at me with pure hatred just five minutes ago.
But I remembered Teresa’s trembling hands. The way she practiced her speech just to make him proud.
I couldn't leave her to the wolves.
I slipped out of the pantry and sprinted toward the kitchen.
The service door was locked, but I knew the code. I punched it in, and the heavy metal door clicked open.
The night air was freezing.
I kept to the shadows, running along the tall hedgerows toward the back of the estate. The old pool house sat in complete darkness, covered in overgrown ivy and rotting wood. Luca’s father had ordered it sealed the week after the funeral.
I reached the heavy wooden door. The padlock was thick with rust.
I forced the iron key into the slot and turned. With a sickening crunch, it popped open.
I pulled the door open and stepped inside.
It smelled of decay and stale water. I pulled out my phone and turned on the flashlight.
The beam swept across cracked tiles, old lounge chairs covered in dust sheets, and the drained, empty concrete pool.
What am I looking for? I thought frantically.
I walked along the edge of the empty pool. At the deep end, near the drainage grate, something caught the light.
I climbed down the rusted metal ladder into the basin.
Tucked behind the metal grate was a small, waterproof metal box.
I pulled it free. The latch was broken.
I opened it.
Inside was a small child’s shoe. White leather, perfectly preserved.
And wrapped around the shoe was a heavy gold men’s watch.
I picked up the watch and turned it over. The back was engraved.
To Arthur. Forever Yours. - Teresa.
My breath hitched.
It was proof. Arthur was at the pool.
"Well done, Hannah," a cold voice echoed from above.
May you like
I looked up.
Standing at the edge of the empty pool, blocking my only way out, was Arthur. He was holding a suppressed pistol, pointing it directly down at me.
