Chapter 3 - THE GOLD CUFFLINK
The grand entrance hall was dead silent.
Sebastian stared at the faded newspaper clipping in his hand.
Then his eyes moved to the head table inside the dining room.
Sitting perfectly composed, swirling a glass of expensive bourbon, was Julian Vance.
Sixty-two years old.
Silver hair.
Immaculate tailored suit.
The Chief Operating Officer of Romano Enterprises.
The man who had taught Sebastian how to run the empire after Antonio died.
Sebastian’s jaw locked.
He walked slowly into the dining room.
The seventy guests parted like the sea.
“Julian,” Sebastian said.
His voice was terrifyingly calm.
Julian Vance set his bourbon glass down.
He smiled smoothly.
“Yes, Sebastian?”
Sebastian held up the clipping.
“Were you in Pennsylvania twenty-eight years ago?”
Julian’s smile didn't reach his eyes.
He glanced toward the doorway where Frank Ellis was trembling against Ruth.
“Ah,” Julian sighed. “I see the dementia is worse than Vivienne let on.”
Vivienne stepped forward.
“Julian, what are you talking about?”
Julian stood up, adjusting his silk tie.
“Your father is clearly confused, Vivienne. A tragic disease. It destroys the mind.”
Frank shook his head frantically.
“I know what I saw! You were there!”
Julian walked slowly toward the entrance hall.
“I was there, Mr. Ellis.”
The room gasped.
Julian stopped a few feet away from Frank.
“But you’ve confused the roles.”
He looked at Sebastian.
“Your father didn't come to the mill to stop a fire, Sebastian. He came to start it.”
Sebastian froze.
“What?”
Julian’s expression turned solemn.
“Antonio Romano bought that mill in secret. It was failing. He needed the insurance money. I was the safety inspector he bribed to look the other way.”
Frank grabbed Ruth’s arm.
“Liar!” he cried out. “It was you!”
Julian shook his head pityingly.
“Frank, you were working the night shift. You saw Antonio light the match. I was the one who pulled you out of the smoke.”
Frank’s face twisted in agony.
His memory was a fragile, broken thing.
Julian was preying on it.
“You’re confused, old man,” Julian said softly. “You’ve forgotten who the real monster was.”
Frank looked at Ruth, panic filling his eyes.
“Ruth… did I?”
Ruth held him tightly.
“No, Frank. You know what you saw.”
But the seed of doubt was planted.
Sebastian stared at Julian.
For fifteen years, Julian had been a second father to him.
If Antonio had murdered seven innocent men for money, the entire Romano legacy was built on blood.
“Is there proof?” Sebastian asked, his voice rough.
Julian reached into his breast pocket.
“I kept the original insurance claim, signed by Antonio.”
He pulled out a folded document.
But as he reached forward, his sleeve pulled back.
Just an inch.
The chandelier light caught the flash of gold on his wrist.
A heavy, custom-made gold cufflink.
Engraved with an eagle clutching a serpent.
I stopped breathing.
My name is Megan Walsh.
I was just the maid.
But I knew that cufflink.
Because my seventy-year-old father kept its exact twin locked in a wooden cigar box under his bed.
When I was ten, I asked him where he got it.
He told me he found it in his delivery truck the night his life was ruined.
I took a step forward.
“Mr. Vance,” I said.
My voice shook, but I couldn't stop.
Julian frowned, looking at me like I was a piece of dirt on his shoe.
“What do you want, maid?”
I stared directly at the gold on his wrist.
“Where is the other one?”
Julian froze.
Sebastian turned to me.
“Megan? What are you talking about?”
I pointed at Julian’s wrist.
“That cufflink. He’s only wearing one.”
Julian immediately pulled his sleeve down.
“I lost the match years ago. It’s an antique.”
I looked at Sebastian.
“My father drove a delivery truck for your family twenty-eight years ago.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed.
“Thomas Walsh?”
“Yes, sir.”
I swallowed hard.
“My dad went bankrupt paying off legal fees after he was accused of transporting stolen goods. Goods taken from a paper mill in Pennsylvania.”
Julian’s face went completely pale.
I didn't back down.
“My dad told me the man who framed him left something in the passenger seat of his truck.”
I pointed at Julian.
“A gold cufflink with an eagle and a serpent.”
The dining room erupted into whispers.
Julian Vance’s polished mask finally cracked.
He looked at the two armed security guards standing by the doors.
And he gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
Suddenly, the heavy mahogany doors of the dining room slammed shut.
The locks clicked into place.
Seventy guests were trapped inside.
May you like
Julian Vance pulled a silver handgun from inside his immaculate suit jacket.
And aimed it directly at Sebastian’s chest.
