Chapter 6 - The Coat in the Closet
The mansion transformed into a fortress within an hour.
Dozens of armed men patrolled the perimeter. The heavy steel gates were locked down.
Dominic was in his study, shouting orders into a phone, coordinating a city-wide hunt for Antonio Rossi and the six-year-old boy.
I stayed in the kitchen with Margaret, making sure the old judge was safe and fed.
"I should have recognized the danger sooner," Margaret murmured, staring into her teacup. "I knew Victoria was ambitious, but I didn't know she was capable of this."
"You couldn't have known," I said softly, wiping down the marble counters.
Suddenly, my cell phone buzzed in my apron pocket.
I pulled it out.
It was a text from an unknown number.
Go to the guest room on the third floor. Look in the closet. Don't tell Dominic.
My breath caught in my throat.
The third floor was strictly off-limits to the staff, reserved only for Dominic's most trusted associates.
I looked at Margaret. She was dozing lightly in her chair, exhausted by the evening's events.
I slipped out of the kitchen and quietly made my way up the grand staircase.
My heart hammered against my ribs as I reached the third floor. The hallway was dark, illuminated only by a few wall sconces.
I found the guest room at the end of the hall. The door was unlocked.
I pushed it open and flicked on the light.
The room was pristine, untouched.
I walked slowly to the large walk-in closet and opened the double doors.
It was empty, except for a single, heavy winter coat hanging on a cedar hanger.
It was a child's coat. Navy blue, with small wooden toggles.
I reached out and touched the sleeve. It was damp.
Someone had been wearing this recently. Outside, in the rain we'd had earlier this evening.
I checked the pockets.
My fingers brushed against something hard.
I pulled it out.
It was a silver rosary.
I gasped.
I knew this rosary. It belonged to Dominic's mother. It was kept in a glass display case in the library.
Suddenly, the bedroom door clicked shut behind me.
I spun around.
Victoria was standing there.
Her hair was a mess, her expensive gown torn at the hem. She had a bruise forming on her cheek.
"How did you get out of the guest house?" I whispered, taking a step back.
Victoria smiled, a cold, terrifying expression.
"Guards can be bought, Sophie. Especially when you promise them a cut of fifty million dollars."
She looked at the child's coat in the closet.
"He's here, isn't he?" Victoria asked, her eyes darting around the room. "Antonio brought him here. He texted me."
I stared at her in shock. "You brought Antonio Rossi into this house?"
"Antonio is going to kill Dominic," Victoria said calmly. "And once Dominic is dead, Leo inherits the entire Romano estate. And I am his legal guardian."
She took a step toward me.
"Hand me the rosary, Sophie. It has the combination to the main vault engraved on the back of the cross."
I gripped the silver beads tightly in my fist.
"No."
Victoria lunged at me, her manicured nails like claws.
She shoved me against the closet door, ripping the rosary from my hands.
"Stupid girl," Victoria spat.
She turned to leave the room.
But as she opened the bedroom door, she froze.
Standing in the hallway, looking up at her with wide, terrified brown eyes, was a six-year-old boy.
He was holding a stuffed bear.
"Mommy?" Leo whispered.
Victoria stared at her son. But she didn't look relieved. She looked annoyed.
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"Where is Antonio?" she snapped at the child.
Before the boy could answer, a massive hand reached out from the shadows and grabbed Victoria by the throat.
