“SHE'S A DISHWASHER, NOT FAMILY! THROW THAT CAKE AWAY!” THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE SCREAMED. BUT WHEN I PUT ONE BIRTHDAY CANDLE INTO A PIECE OF BREAD FOR THE ELDERLY WOMAN, THE BOSS WENT PALE. “MY LITTLE GIRL DID THAT,” HE WHISPERED. “THE NIGHT BEFORE SHE DIED.”**

~900 words

Vincent stood by the shattered window, the cold wind whipping his tuxedo jacket.

“He went down the fire escape,” Marcus said, leaning out into the dark. “He’s got a ten-minute head start.”

“He has the deed,” Vincent said quietly. “And he has the hospital money.”

“I’ll call the police, sir.”

“No.” Vincent turned around. His eyes were entirely black. The grief had burned away, leaving nothing but cold, absolute fury. “The police will arrest Charlotte for the crash. They’ll arrest June for bringing the tea. And Arthur will disappear to Switzerland with a new identity. We handle this ourselves.”

He walked past Marcus and headed downstairs.

I followed him into the grand foyer. The house felt massive and empty without the guests.

“Marcus,” Vincent barked, pulling on a heavy black overcoat. “Lock down the airports. T.F. Green, Logan, and private strips. He’s booked on a midnight flight to Geneva. He needs a passport to leave.”

“I’m on it,” Marcus said, dialing his phone.

Vincent stopped at the front door and looked back at me. I was still wearing my maid’s uniform, shivering in the cold air blowing down from the third floor.

“Evelyn. Get June and Charlotte. Put them in the armored SUV in the garage. Keep them out of sight. When I find Arthur, I’m bringing him back here to confess on camera. Then I’m handing the tape to the FBI.”

“What are you going to do to him?” I asked, my voice trembling.

Vincent didn't answer. He just walked out into the night.

I ran back upstairs to the playroom. Charlotte was still on the floor, staring blankly at the wall. June was crying silently in the rocking chair.

“Get up,” I said, grabbing Charlotte’s arm. “Both of you. We have to go to the garage.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Charlotte mumbled. “He’s going to kill me when he gets back.”

“He’s not going to kill you, but Arthur might if he realizes you told the truth! Now move!”

I practically dragged them down the back stairs to the subterranean garage. Vincent’s black Cadillac SUV was parked in the corner. I unlocked it with the spare keys hanging on the wall and shoved them into the back seat.

I climbed into the driver’s seat and locked the doors.

We sat in the dark for what felt like hours. The silence was only broken by June’s occasional sniffles and the ticking of the car’s engine cooling down.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text from an unknown number.

Look in the glove compartment, Evelyn.

My blood ran cold.

I slowly opened the glove box.

Inside was a small, velvet pouch. I opened it.

It was Maria’s ruby necklace.

Charlotte leaned forward from the back seat, her eyes wide. “How is that in here? Arthur had it.”

Before I could answer, the heavy steel doors of the garage began to rumble. They slowly rolled open, letting in the freezing night wind.

A figure stood in the driveway, silhouetted by the streetlights.

It wasn't Vincent.

It was Arthur.

He walked into the garage, holding his suppressed pistol. He tapped the glass of my window with the barrel.

“Roll it down, Evelyn,” he said through the glass.

I didn't move.

He pointed the gun directly at June’s head through the back window. “Roll it down, or I shoot through the glass.”

I pressed the button. The window slid down an inch.

“Where is Vincent?” I asked, my voice shaking.

“Chasing a ghost at the airport,” Arthur smiled. “I’m not flying out of Boston. I’m driving to Montreal. But I needed something from this car first.”

“The necklace,” I realized. “You planted it here earlier.”

“Very good,” Arthur said. “I couldn't risk taking it with me while I was inside the house. Hand it over.”

I gripped the velvet pouch. “Why do you care so much about this necklace? You have the money. You have the house.”

Arthur’s smile faded. “Because that necklace isn't just jewelry. Open the locket.”

I froze. “It’s a teardrop. It doesn't open.”

“Press the ruby,” he commanded.

My thumb pressed hard against the red stone. There was a tiny click. The gold teardrop swung open.

Inside wasn't a picture.

It was a micro-SD card.

“Charlotte is stupid,” Arthur sneered. “She stole it from Maria’s neck because it looked pretty. She didn't know what Maria was carrying that night. Maria was on her way to the FBI.”

June gasped in the back seat.

“Maria was Vincent’s bookkeeper,” Arthur said. “She kept records of every illegal transaction, every bribe, every dirty deal the Romano family ever made. She copied them onto that drive. She was going to flip on him to protect Lily.”

He held out his hand. “Give it to me. With that drive, I don't just own Vincent’s house. I own his freedom. He’ll buy it back from me for fifty million.”

I looked at the drive. Then I looked at the keys in the ignition.