Chapter 5 - THE BLOOD-STAINED COAT
The heavy winter coat hit the marble floor with a soft, sickening thud.
The dark fabric was stiff, ruined by a massive, dried rust-colored stain covering the entire left sleeve.
I stared at it, my heart climbing into my throat. I knew that coat. I recognized the missing wooden button near the collar, the frayed edge on the pocket.
“That’s my mother’s coat,” I whispered, my voice trembling so violently I could barely form the words. “She was wearing it the night she had her stroke.”
Alessandro Romano nodded grimly. “Yes, Emily. She was.”
Luca looked from the coat to Alessandro, his dark eyes sharp and demanding. “Explain.”
Alessandro clasped his hands in front of him. “For five years, my sister Catherine has been living in hiding in Rome. She has been recovering from the poison Vanessa fed her. But eight months ago, Catherine received an anonymous message through a secure channel.”
Alessandro turned his gaze to Vanessa, who was now backed entirely against the dining room doors, trapped by the two massive bodyguards.
“The message was from Emily’s mother,” Alessandro said. “Anna Carter had seen Vanessa’s engagement announcement in the paper. Anna managed to track down my sister’s emergency contact in Italy. She warned Catherine that Vanessa was about to officially take over the Moretti family.”
I pressed my hand to my mouth. My mother hadn’t just threatened Vanessa. She had actively tried to save Luca from marrying a monster.
“Anna Carter told my sister she had kept the hospital receipt,” Alessandro continued, his voice echoing in the silent room. “She said she was going to the police the next morning.”
“But she never made it to the police,” Luca said softly.
“No,” Michael interrupted, his voice thick with guilt. “She didn't.”
Michael stepped forward, looking at me with a profound, agonizing sorrow.
“I was there that night, Emily,” Michael confessed.
I stopped breathing. “You were at my house?”
“Catherine called me from Rome,” Michael explained. “She was terrified Vanessa had intercepted Anna’s message. Catherine begged me to go to your house and protect your mother until she could get to the precinct.”
Michael closed his eyes, a tear escaping.
“I drove to your house as fast as I could. But I was ten minutes too late.”
My legs gave out. I would have collapsed if Luca hadn’t reached out, his strong arm catching my waist and holding me upright. Mia clutched my hand tightly, anchoring me to the floor.
“What happened, Michael?” Luca demanded, his voice a low, terrifying rumble.
“When I got there, the front door was open,” Michael whispered. “Anna was lying on the floor in the hallway. She was wearing that coat. She was bleeding from a severe head wound.”
Vanessa suddenly let out a hysterical, mocking laugh.
“She slipped and fell!” Vanessa shrieked, her perfect hair now wild and tangled. “The old bat fell and hit her head! That’s what caused the stroke! The doctors said so themselves!”
“The doctors said the trauma caused the stroke, yes,” Michael agreed, his voice hardening. He looked at Vanessa with absolute disgust. “But she didn't fall, Vanessa. You pushed her down the porch stairs.”
A collective gasp went up from the guests.
“You have no proof!” Vanessa screamed, pointing a trembling finger at him. “You didn't see anything! You’re just trying to frame me because you’ve always hated me!”
“You’re right, I didn't see you push her,” Michael said calmly.
Then, Michael reached into his tailored suit pocket.
“But when I found Anna bleeding on the floor,” Michael said, “her hand was clenched tight. She was holding onto something she had ripped off her attacker’s neck before she fell.”
Michael opened his hand.
Resting in his palm was a heavy, ornate gold rosary.
The silence in the room was absolute.
I recognized that rosary. Everyone in the mansion did. Vanessa wore it to church every Sunday. She claimed it was an antique from her late grandmother. She had reported it stolen eight months ago.
Luca stared at the gold beads resting in his brother’s hand.
“You filed a police report claiming a maid stole that from your bedroom,” Luca said to Vanessa, his voice dead and hollow.
Vanessa’s face turned the color of ash. She was completely cornered. The walls had finally closed in.
“She… she did!” Vanessa stammered, her eyes darting wildly. “Emily’s mother must have bought it from the maid! She was trying to frame me!”
It was the most pathetic, desperate lie she had told all night.
Luca didn't even acknowledge it. He slowly released my waist, ensuring I was steady on my feet, and walked toward his brother. He took the gold rosary from Michael’s hand.
Luca held the rosary up to the crystal chandelier.
“You wore this every day for two years, Vanessa,” Luca said quietly.
Then, Luca did something nobody expected.
He gripped the heavy gold cross at the bottom of the rosary—and twisted it.
There was a tiny, metallic click.
The bottom half of the solid gold cross slid open, revealing a small, hollow compartment inside.
Vanessa gasped, her hands flying to her mouth in genuine horror. She hadn’t known.
“Catherine designed this rosary before we were married,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a terrifying register. “She had it custom-made. It wasn't your grandmother’s heirloom, Vanessa. You stole this from my wife’s jewelry box the night you poisoned her.”
Luca tipped the hollow cross over his palm.
A tightly rolled piece of paper slid out.
It wasn't a note from Catherine.
It was a small, heavily folded document bearing the official seal of the Falcone crime family.
And as Luca unrolled the paper, the final, devastating reversal of the night was revealed.
“You didn't poison my wife out of jealousy, Vanessa,” Luca whispered, reading the document. He looked up, his eyes burning with a cold, lethal fire.
May you like
He looked at the fifty guests.
“Vanessa Bellini isn't just a murderer,” Luca announced, his voice echoing off the high ceilings. “She is Leo Falcone’s sister.”
