Chapter 5 - THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BLUE PILLS
The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
“Blue pills?” Luca repeated.
Vanessa scrambled to her feet, her eyes darting around the room in absolute panic. “Vitamins! They were just her daily vitamins! Luca, she’s confused again!”
But my heart started pounding against my ribs.
Because I was the one who gave Teresa her medication every morning.
“They aren't vitamins,” I said aloud, stepping forward.
Luca turned to me, his eyes dark and intense. “Explain, Hannah.”
“Every Sunday night, Vanessa brings me a pill organizer for the week,” I said, my voice trembling slightly as the pieces suddenly clicked together in my mind. “She told me the doctor prescribed a new blue pill for Mrs. Moretti’s blood pressure. She said I had to make sure she swallowed it every single morning.”
Luca’s jaw clenched so hard I thought his teeth might shatter. “How long has she been taking them?”
I swallowed hard. “For about six months, sir. Ever since her stroke.”
“Her stroke,” Luca whispered.
He slowly turned his head toward Vanessa. The look in his eyes was lethal.
“My mother’s stroke was six months ago. She was recovering perfectly. And then, suddenly, she started getting confused. She started having tremors. Her memory started failing.”
Vanessa backed away, shaking her head wildly. “She’s old, Luca! That’s what happens to old people! The doctor said—”
“Which doctor?” Luca snapped. “Dr. Evans? The one your father recommended?”
Vanessa didn’t answer. She just kept backing away until she hit the wall.
“Hannah,” Luca commanded without looking away from his ex-fiancée. “Go to my mother’s bathroom. Bring me the pill organizer. Now.”
I ran. I sprinted up the stairs, my apron flying behind me. I pushed open the door to Teresa’s grand suite, flicked on the bathroom light, and grabbed the plastic Sunday-to-Saturday organizer sitting on the marble counter.
Inside the Friday slot were three pills: a white heart medication, a yellow vitamin, and a small, unmarked blue pill.
I ran back downstairs and handed the plastic container to Luca.
Luca popped open the slot and tipped the blue pill into his large palm. He stared at it for a moment, then walked slowly toward Victor, who was sweating profusely on the sofa.
“Open your mouth,” Luca said softly.
Victor shook his head, his eyes wide with terror. “No. Luca, please, you don’t understand—”
“Open your mouth.”
When Victor refused, one of the security guards clamped a hand around the back of Victor’s neck and pinched his jaw open.
Luca placed the blue pill on Victor’s tongue.
“Swallow it.”
Victor gagged, thrashing against the guard. “Spit it out!” Vanessa screamed. “Don’t swallow it, Victor!”
But the guard held Victor’s mouth shut until he was forced to swallow.
Victor slumped forward, gasping for air, tears streaming down his face.
“What is it?” Luca asked, his voice dead.
Victor looked up, his eyes already wide with panic. “It’s… it’s a heavy neuro-sedative. It’s illegal in the States. It mimics the symptoms of early-onset dementia and suppresses motor function.”
Teresa gasped, covering her mouth with her trembling hands.
My stomach churned violently.
Vanessa had been intentionally poisoning a seventy-eight-year-old woman, trapping her inside her own body, just to convince Luca she needed to be locked away.
“You poisoned my mother,” Luca said. It wasn’t a question.
Vanessa burst into loud, theatrical sobs. “My father made me do it! He said she was too sharp! She was going to find out about the offshore accounts! Luca, please, I didn't want to hurt her!”
Luca didn’t flinch. “Take them both to the basement,” he told the guards.
“No! Wait!” Vanessa shrieked as the guards grabbed her arms. “Luca, you can’t do this to me! I know your secrets!”
The guards dragged them away, their screams echoing down the hall.
The room was finally quiet.
Luca stood perfectly still for a long time. Then, he looked at his mother. The guilt and heartbreak in his eyes were devastating.
“Mom…” his voice broke. “I’m so sorry.”
He fell to his knees in front of her, burying his face in her lap. The powerful, terrifying mafia boss wept like a child. Teresa stroked his dark hair, crying softly.
“It’s okay, my sweet boy,” she whispered. “I’m still here.”
I wiped a tear from my own cheek, turning to give them privacy.
But as I turned, I noticed something draped over the back of the hallway chair.
It was the black cashmere coat Vanessa had worn when she arrived from shopping earlier that afternoon. She had asked me to take it to the dry cleaners tomorrow.
And sticking out of the pocket was a thick, white envelope.
I walked over and pulled it out.
Inside was a pair of first-class plane tickets to Zurich, Switzerland. Departing tomorrow morning.
But the names on the tickets made my blood run cold.
One ticket was for Vanessa Bellini.
May you like
The other ticket wasn’t for Luca.
And it wasn’t for Victor, either.
