HE BEGGED THE NURSES TO KEEP HER AWAY.

The chandelier above the dining table suddenly seemed too bright.

Thirty wealthy guests were frozen in their seats, their expensive champagne warming in their glasses, their eyes darting between a grieving mother and the woman who was supposed to marry the head of the Chicago mafia in three days.

Olivia stood trembling, clutching her sleeping baby.

"What do you mean?" she whispered to her mother-in-law. "What do you mean Adrian begged the nurses not to let me see Matthew?"

Eleanor Price gripped the edge of the mahogany table.

"When the hospital called me," the older woman said, her voice shaking, "they told me Matthew had been asking for you. But when I got there, Adrian was already standing outside Matthew’s room. And Vanessa was with him."

Luca Moretti went completely still.

He didn't look at Eleanor. He didn't look at his sister.

He slowly, deliberately turned his head to look at his fiancée.

"You were at the hospital?" Luca’s voice was barely more than a whisper, but it carried across the silent room like a gunshot.

Vanessa’s face lost every drop of color. Her beautiful red silk gown suddenly looked less like a celebration and more like a warning.

"Luca, darling, you have to understand—"

"Were you at the hospital, Vanessa?"

She swallowed hard. "Yes."

"Before or after they called my sister to tell her her husband was dying?"

Vanessa’s throat moved, but no sound came out.

Olivia let out a ragged breath. "They called me at 11:45 PM. I was asleep. The police said the accident happened at 11:30." She stared at Vanessa. "How could you possibly have been there before me?"

Vanessa stepped back, her heels clicking nervously against the marble floor. "Adrian called me! He was hysterical. He said there was a terrible crash on the interstate."

Eleanor shook her head.

"That’s a lie," the older woman said quietly.

Vanessa whipped around. "Excuse me?"

"You weren't hysterical," Eleanor said, tears spilling over her wrinkled cheeks. "When I ran into the ICU waiting area, you were holding Matthew's clothes. You were holding his bloody shirt, Vanessa. And Adrian was blocking the door to his room."

My heart hammered against my ribs. I stood by the serving cart, my hands gripping the silver handle so tightly my knuckles turned white.

"Why?" Olivia pleaded, her voice breaking. "Why wouldn't he let me see him?"

"Because Matthew was still conscious," Eleanor sobbed. "And Adrian told the nurses that seeing you would upset Matthew’s heart rate. He said they needed five minutes to calm him down. But through the glass..." Eleanor choked on a sob. "I saw Adrian leaning over my son. He wasn't comforting him. He was searching him."

The room inhaled a collective, horrified breath.

Luca took a slow step toward his fiancée.

"What was your brother searching for?"

"Nothing!" Vanessa cried out. "Eleanor is confused. She was in shock!"

"I saw him take it," Eleanor said, her voice suddenly finding a core of absolute steel. "Matthew handed Adrian his silver pocket watch. The one his grandfather gave him. The one he carried every single day."

Olivia gasped. She pulled my cardigan tighter around her shivering shoulders. "They told me that watch was lost in the crash. They said it was destroyed."

Luca’s dark eyes locked onto Vanessa. "Where is the watch?"

"I don't know!" Vanessa shouted, her composure finally shattering. "It must have been lost!"

I wasn't supposed to speak.

I was a maid. My rent was due Friday. If I opened my mouth, I would lose my job, and my mother would be evicted.

But I looked at Olivia, clutching her tiny, fatherless daughter.

I took a breath that felt like swallowing glass.

"Mr. Moretti?"

Thirty heads snapped toward me.

Luca turned. "What is it, Claire?"

My entire body trembled. "Miss Bellini is lying."

Vanessa lunged forward. "Shut your mouth, you stupid girl!"

Luca didn't even raise his hand. He just shifted his weight, putting his body between Vanessa and me. "Speak, Claire."

"The morning after the accident," I whispered, the words tumbling out of me. "I was cleaning Miss Bellini's dressing room. She didn't know I was there. She was locking her private floor safe."

Vanessa’s eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated terror.