Chapter 5 - THE RING IN THE POCKET
The silence in the dining room shattered.
“What?” I gasped, stepping back as the officers approached me.
Victoria let out a theatrical sob, covering her face with her hands. “Officers, thank God you’re here! I took my ring off to wash my hands before dinner, and this maid stole it!”
I looked down at Victoria’s left hand.
The massive, three-carat diamond engagement ring that had been flashing beneath the chandeliers all night was gone.
“She’s lying!” Noah yelled, stepping in front of me. “She had it on five minutes ago! I saw it!”
“Move aside, son,” the officer said gently, but firmly. He looked at me. “Miss Carter, we received a tip ten minutes ago. We need you to empty your apron pockets.”
I looked at Anthony. His dark eyes were studying Victoria, analyzing her every move.
“Empty them, Emily,” Anthony said calmly.
My hands shook as I reached into the deep front pockets of my black uniform apron. I had been wearing it all night. I knew it was empty.
I pulled out a folded linen napkin. A spare pen.
And a heavy, velvet jewelry box.
The blood drained from my face.
“No,” I whispered, dropping the box onto the marble floor. It bounced open, revealing the glittering diamond ring.
“There it is!” Arthur pointed a trembling finger at me. “She’s a thief! You can’t trust a word she says!”
Victoria sneered at me. “You really thought you could get away with it, Emily? Just like your mother, doing dirty work for money.”
The officer reached for his handcuffs. “Turn around, Miss.”
“Stop.”
Anthony’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried absolute authority.
He walked over and picked up the velvet box. He didn’t look at the ring. He looked at the outside of the box.
“Officer,” Anthony said, his tone conversational but dangerous. “When did you say you received the tip about this theft?”
The officer hesitated. “About ten minutes ago, Mr. DeLuca. A 911 call from this residence.”
Anthony looked at Victoria. “Ten minutes ago, we were listening to a tape recording of my dead wife. No one left this room.”
Victoria swallowed hard. “I… I used the bathroom earlier! I must have realized it was missing then and asked my father to call.”
Anthony turned to Arthur. “Did you call the police, Arthur?”
Arthur looked at his daughter, terrified. He slowly shook his head. “No.”
Anthony held up the velvet box.
“This box has a layer of dust on the bottom. Emily is the housekeeper. Her apron is spotless. If she had taken this box from Victoria’s bathroom counter, there would be no dust.”
The officer frowned, looking closely at the box.
“However,” Anthony continued, his eyes locking onto Victoria, “there is a significant amount of dust on the top shelf of the attic. The exact shelf where Emily went to retrieve the music box.”
My heart stopped.
When I was in the attic, Arthur had tried to bribe me. But right before that… I had bumped into something in the dark.
“You followed her upstairs,” Anthony said, walking slowly toward Victoria. “While we were distracted. You slipped the box into her apron pocket in the dark hallway before she came back down.”
“That’s insane!” Victoria shrieked. “Why would I do that?”
“Because you knew what was in the music box,” Anthony said quietly. “You knew the tape would expose you. You needed Emily arrested and discredited before she could play it.”
The lead officer looked from the ring to Victoria, then at Anthony.
“Mr. DeLuca, we still found the stolen property on her person.”
“It’s not stolen property,” Anthony said.
He pulled the diamond ring out of the box and tossed it onto the dining table. It clattered against the fine china.
“I bought that ring yesterday. It’s registered in my name. And I am officially stating that it was not stolen. I asked Emily to hold it for me.”
Victoria stared at him, her mouth open in shock.
The officer lowered his handcuffs. “If you aren’t pressing charges, sir, then there’s no crime.”
“Oh, there’s a crime,” Anthony said, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. He handed the cassette tape to the officer. “I want to report a conspiracy to commit murder. Eight years ago. And I have the confession right here.”
Victoria lunged for the tape, but the second officer grabbed her arms, pinning them behind her back.
“Get your hands off me!” she screamed, struggling violently. “Anthony, you can’t do this! I loved you! I did everything for you!”
“You killed my wife,” Anthony said, turning his back on her. “Take her out of my house.”
As they dragged a screaming Victoria toward the front doors, Arthur collapsed into a chair, weeping into his hands.
The guests began to rapidly file out of the room, terrified of the mafia boss's wrath.
Soon, the dining room was empty, save for Anthony, Noah, Aunt Rosa, and me.
Noah ran to me and hugged me tightly around the waist. I hugged him back, resting my chin on his head.
Anthony walked over to us. He looked exhausted, the weight of the last eight years finally catching up to him.
He looked at me, his eyes full of a strange, profound gratitude.
“Emily,” he said softly. “You saved my son tonight. And your mother gave him life.”
“I didn’t know,” I whispered, tears falling again. “I swear I didn’t.”
“I know.” Anthony reached into his jacket pocket.
“But Isabella left one more thing in that music box. Something she wanted me to give to you, if the truth ever came out.”
May you like
He held out a sealed white envelope.
My name was written on the front.
