Chapter 4 - THE LION'S DEN
Marcus Vance had been the best man at Gabriel’s wedding. He was the godfather to the child Gabriel had lost. He was family.
Gabriel took the gold cufflink from Lily’s palm, his fingers trembling slightly. "Are you absolutely sure, Lily? Did he say anything to you?"
"He didn't see me," Lily whispered, clutching her rabbit tighter. "He was talking on his phone. He said, 'The dog ruined it. We have to move the timeline up.' Then he walked away, and his foot made a dragging sound."
A dragging sound.
Olivia looked up. "Marcus wears a lift in his left shoe. He shattered his ankle skiing in Switzerland three years ago."
Matteo holstered his weapon, the suspicion in his eyes shifting from Olivia to a much larger, more dangerous target. "Marcus oversees the security budget. He knows the blind spots. He has master keys. He could have planted the receiver in Olivia's locker while we were all locked in the library."
"Take Olivia and the child to the main suite," Gabriel ordered, his voice hardening into something cold and metallic. "Lock them in. Post two guards. Nero goes with them."
"Mr. Duca, I can help," Olivia started, standing up.
"You have helped enough, Olivia. Your daughter is the only witness to a corporate espionage ring, or worse. You are targets now." Gabriel looked at Matteo. "Where is Marcus right now?"
"He stays in the East Wing guest house on weekends when we prepare the quarterly reports," Matteo said. "He should be asleep."
"Let's wake him up."
Ten minutes later, Olivia sat on the edge of a massive four-poster bed in Gabriel's private suite. The doors were deadbolted. Nero sat at attention by the door, ears swiveling. Lily was already drifting back to sleep, exhausted by the adrenaline.
Olivia couldn't sit still. She paced the length of the luxurious room. She noticed a heavy mahogany coat rack in the corner. Hanging on it was a thick, dark wool coat.
She paused.
She recognized the coat. It had belonged to Mrs. Hess, the former estate manager who had abruptly retired and moved away six months ago. Olivia had always wondered why Mrs. Hess left so suddenly without saying goodbye.
Why was Gabriel keeping her coat in his private bedroom?
Meanwhile, across the grounds, Gabriel and Matteo kicked down the door of the East Wing guest house.
The living room was empty. The bed was unmade.
"Clear," Matteo shouted from the bathroom.
Gabriel walked into Marcus’s temporary office. The laptop was gone. The safe in the wall was hanging open, emptied.
"He ran," Matteo said, coming in behind him. "He must have known the girl saw him."
Gabriel didn't answer. He was staring at the open safe.
He reached inside and pulled out an object that had been left behind. Not forgotten. Left intentionally.
It was an old, tarnished silver rosary.
Gabriel’s breath hitched. He backed away from the safe as if the rosary were a coiled snake.
"Gabriel?" Matteo asked. "What is it?"
"My wife's," Gabriel whispered. "She was holding this when she died."
Matteo stepped closer. "How did Marcus get it?"
"He couldn't have," Gabriel said, his eyes wild, the betrayal fracturing his iron composure. "It was buried with her."
Before Matteo could process the horror of that statement, the radio on his shoulder buzzed. It wasn't static. It was a voice.
"Matteo," Marcus’s voice crackled through the speaker. Calm. Measured. "If you're finding the rosary, it means you're too late."
Gabriel snatched the radio from Matteo's shoulder. "Marcus! What have you done?"
"I didn't want to hurt you, Gabe. I just wanted what was promised," Marcus replied. The sound of a car engine revved in the background. "But she convinced me you were never going to step down. Look at the cameras, Matteo."
Matteo pulled up the estate feeds on his tablet.
"Sir," Matteo said, his voice dropping an octave.
Gabriel looked.
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The main gates were wide open. Three black SUVs were tearing up the winding driveway toward the main house.
"The perimeter is breached," Matteo said. "They aren't running, Gabriel. They're coming to finish it."
