Chapter 3 - The Blood on the Ledger
The video ended, leaving a frozen frame of Thomas Reed’s terrified, hollowed face on the massive screen.
The silence that followed was absolute. Fifty elite guests sat completely immobilized, their wine glasses forgotten, their breathing shallow. I gripped the edge of the dessert cart so hard my fingers ached.
Luca Moretti didn't move. He stood in front of the screen, his broad back to the room. The silence stretched for five agonizing seconds. Ten.
When he finally turned around, the man who had been defending a teenager just moments ago was gone. In his place was the ruthless head of the Moretti family. His dark eyes were devoid of all warmth, utterly terrifying in their stillness.
He looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa was hyperventilating, backing away from the table until her spine hit the mahogany wainscoting. "Luca... Luca, please. It’s a forgery. It’s a deepfake! You know how technology is these days—"
"My father died three years ago," Luca said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, gravelly register. "Thomas died two years ago. Are you telling me my father orchestrated a multi-million dollar embezzlement ring from the grave?"
Vanessa swallowed hard, her perfect makeup ruined by panicked tears. "No! I didn't—I didn't help him! Thomas was hallucinating from the medication!"
"The medication you and Dr. Evans were poisoning him with?" Luca asked softly.
He didn't wait for her to answer. He turned to Leo, the head of security. "Find Dr. Evans. Tear the city apart if you have to. Bring him to the warehouse."
"Yes, boss," Leo nodded grimly, already pulling his phone out.
Luca looked back at Vanessa. "And her."
Two guards immediately stepped forward, grabbing Vanessa by the arms. She shrieked, thrashing against their grip. "You can't do this! I am your fiancée! We’re getting married in three weeks!"
Luca reached out and grabbed her left hand. With one violent, fluid motion, he stripped the massive three-carat diamond engagement ring from her finger.
"The wedding is canceled," Luca said coldly. He tossed the ring onto the table. It clattered against a crystal wine glass, a sharp, dismissive sound.
Vanessa sobbed, sinking to her knees as the guards held her up. "Luca, I did it for us! Your father was bleeding the foundation dry to pay off gambling debts! If Thomas had audited the accounts, the feds would have seized everything! You would have gone to prison for crimes you didn't commit!"
Luca’s jaw clenched. "So you murdered my best friend to protect my inheritance?"
"I protected you!" Vanessa screamed, desperation making her voice shrill. "I did what you were too weak to do!"
Luca didn't flinch. He looked at the guards. "Get her out of my sight."
They dragged Vanessa out of the dining room. Her screams echoed down the marble hallway until the heavy doors slammed shut, plunging the room back into a terrified silence.
I looked at Olivia. The seventeen-year-old girl was trembling violently, her face buried in her hands. She had just watched her father’s murder confirmed on a screen in front of fifty strangers.
Luca walked over to her. He knelt beside her chair again, ignoring the terrified guests watching his every move. He gently pulled her hands away from her face.
"Liv," Luca said softly, the ruthless mafia boss vanishing instantly. "I am so sorry. I swear to you, on my life, I didn't know."
Olivia sobbed, shaking her head. "She killed him, Uncle Luca. She killed my dad for money."
"And she will pay for it," Luca promised, his voice thick with emotion. "But right now, I need you to be brave for me. Did your father give you anything else before he died? Any papers? A ledger?"
Olivia hesitated, wiping her eyes. "No. Just the recording. He said the proof was in the recording."
Luca frowned. "Thomas said on the tape that he found the discrepancy. He wouldn't have just made a video. He was an accountant. He would have kept the physical proof. The bank statements. The routing numbers."
I stood near the cart, my heart pounding. If Thomas had physical proof of the embezzlement, it meant he had proof of the poisonings, too. It was the only way to ensure Vanessa went to prison forever.
Suddenly, Marcus spoke from across the room. He had been quietly watching the entire exchange, his face pale and unreadable.
"He didn't leave the ledger with Olivia, Luca," Marcus said.
Luca stood up, turning to face his younger brother. "How do you know that, Marcus?"
Marcus swallowed, his eyes darting toward the security guards stationed at the doors. "Because Thomas gave it to me."
The room gasped.
Luca stared at him. "You’ve had the proof of our father’s embezzlement, and Thomas’s murder, for two years... and you never told me?"
Marcus took a step forward, his hands raised in surrender. "Luca, you have to understand. Our father was still alive when Thomas found it! He threatened to kill me if I told you! He said he would kill Olivia if I didn't keep my mouth shut!"
"Our father died three years ago, Marcus!" Luca roared, his patience finally snapping. "Thomas died a year later! You’ve had a year to tell me the truth!"
"Vanessa knew I had it!" Marcus yelled back, his voice cracking. "She found out after Thomas died! She blackmailed me, Luca! She told me if I ever brought the ledger to you, she would tell you that I was the one who poisoned Thomas!"
Luca went completely still. "Where is the ledger now?"
Marcus hesitated. He looked terrified. "I... I hid it."
"Where?" Luca demanded, taking a menacing step toward his brother.
"In the one place I knew Vanessa would never look," Marcus whispered. He looked directly at me.
My stomach plummeted. Fifty pairs of eyes suddenly snapped to me, standing in my black-and-white maid's uniform holding a silver dessert tray.
"Why are you looking at Emily?" Luca asked, his voice dangerously low.
Marcus ran a shaking hand through his hair. "Six months ago, I panicked. Vanessa was getting closer to finding out where I kept it. I needed to move it somewhere inside the house, but somewhere the family never goes."
He looked back at me, his eyes full of desperate apology.
"I hid it in her room," Marcus confessed. "Behind the loose baseboard under her bed."
My breath caught in my throat. I had been sleeping on top of the evidence of a mafia murder for six months.
Luca didn't hesitate. He turned to me. "Emily. We’re going to your room. Right now."
He didn't wait for an answer. He strode past the long table, the guests parting like the Red Sea to let him through. I dropped the dessert tray and followed him, my heart hammering in my ears.
We rushed down the long, opulent hallways, leaving the main house and entering the servant’s quarters. The contrast was stark—from crystal chandeliers and silk wallpaper to simple linoleum floors and bare walls.
We reached my small, sterile room. Luca pushed the door open and walked straight to the small twin bed in the corner.
He didn't ask for help. He grabbed the mattress and hauled it off the frame with one hand, tossing it aside. Then he kicked the wooden bed frame out of the way.
He knelt on the floor, running his hands along the cheap wooden baseboard near the wall. He found the loose section. He dug his fingers into the crack and ripped the board away.
Behind the wood was a dark, hollow space.
Luca reached inside.
He felt around for a moment. His jaw tightened. He pulled his hand out.
It was empty.
"It’s gone," Luca whispered, standing up slowly.
I stared at the empty space. "But... no one comes in here but me."
"Someone did," Luca said, his eyes scanning the room.
He walked over to my small wooden dresser. Sitting on top of it was a single, folded piece of thick, expensive cardstock.
Luca picked it up and opened it.
I watched his face. The color drained from his cheeks. His dark eyes widened in absolute shock.
He turned the card around so I could see it.
It was the place card that had been sitting in front of Camilla Bellini at the dinner table. The one Vanessa had torn in half.
But it wasn't torn anymore. It had been taped back together.
May you like
And written on the back, in elegant, flowing cursive, was a single sentence.
"You’re looking in the wrong place, Luca. I took the ledger three days ago."
