Chapter 4 - THE GRANDMOTHER'S SECRET
The heavy steel revolver spun on the polished marble floor before coming to a dead stop.
For a terrifying five seconds, nobody moved.
The only sound in the massive ballroom was Sophie’s quiet, confused breathing from behind her father’s legs.
Luca didn’t draw his weapon, but his posture shifted into something lethal. His eyes locked onto Margaret.
“Margaret,” Luca said, his voice dangerously low. “Why did you bring a loaded gun into my home? Wrapped as a gift for my daughter?”
Margaret was trembling so violently she looked like she might collapse. She stared at the gun on the floor, her hands hovering in the air as if she had just touched a hot stove.
“I… I can explain, Luca,” she stammered, tears spilling over her wrinkled cheeks. “It isn't what it looks like.”
“It looks like you came here to kill someone,” Luca replied coldly.
I stood frozen near the doorway, my apron feeling suddenly tight around my waist. My mind raced. Had Margaret come to shoot Vanessa? To get revenge for Caroline’s death? But she hadn’t known Vanessa was in the car until tonight. So who was the bullet meant for?
“Daddy, why does Grandma have a gun?” Sophie whispered, clutching Luca’s trousers.
Luca didn’t take his eyes off his mother-in-law. “Emily, take Sophie upstairs to her bedroom. Do not leave her side.”
I snapped out of my shock. “Yes, sir.”
I gently took Sophie’s hand. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go read a story.”
As I hurried Sophie out of the ballroom and up the grand mahogany staircase, my heart pounded. I locked the heavy oak door of Sophie’s bedroom and sat her on the bed, pulling her favorite quilt around her shoulders.
I paced near the door, straining to hear anything from downstairs.
I needed this job. My sister, Clara, was three months away from graduating nursing school, and her final tuition payment was due next Friday. If Luca’s empire was truly bankrupt, if the police raided this house, I would lose everything.
Twenty minutes later, a soft knock echoed on the bedroom door.
“Emily. It’s Luca.”
I quickly unlocked the door.
Luca stepped inside. He looked exhausted. He knelt in front of Sophie, kissing her forehead.
“Everything is going to be okay, honey,” he promised. “Your grandmother was just very scared. She brought the gun to protect herself.”
“From who?” Sophie asked innocently.
Luca hesitated. “From bad people. But they can’t hurt us now.”
He stood up and looked at me. “Emily, come with me for a moment.”
I followed him into the dimly lit hallway. He closed Sophie’s door behind us.
“What’s going on, Mr. Moretti?” I asked, keeping my voice down.
Luca leaned against the wall, rubbing his temples. “Margaret didn't bring the gun to shoot Vanessa. She brought it to shoot me.”
My stomach dropped. “You? But… you loved Caroline. Why would she want to hurt you?”
“Because Margaret has been receiving letters for the past three years,” Luca explained, his voice grim. “Anonymous letters. Telling her that I ordered the hit on Caroline. The letters claimed I wanted Caroline dead so I could seize full control of the offshore accounts without a messy divorce.”
“But that’s a lie! David and Vanessa admitted they did it tonight!”
“I know,” Luca said. “But Margaret didn't know that. The person writing the letters convinced her I was a monster. They told her I was planning to send Sophie away to an abusive boarding school in Europe after the wedding. That’s why she came tonight. She planned to shoot me and run away with Sophie.”
I felt sick. The level of manipulation was staggering.
“Who sent the letters?” I asked.
Luca reached into his tuxedo jacket and pulled out a small, folded piece of thick stationary. He handed it to me.
“Margaret brought the final letter with her. She found it stuffed in her mailbox yesterday. Read it.”
I carefully unfolded the heavy paper. The handwriting was sharp, elegant, and chillingly familiar.
“Margaret. Luca is finalizing the boarding school papers tomorrow. If you want to save the child, come to the engagement party. Bring the revolver. When he turns his back, do what needs to be done. I will make sure the security cameras are turned off.”
I stared at the paper. I knew this handwriting.
I saw it every Friday when I picked up the grocery money from the estate manager’s desk.
“This is Julian’s handwriting,” I whispered, looking up at Luca in horror.
Julian Moretti. Luca’s older cousin. The man who ran the legitimate real estate wing of the family business. The man who always tipped the staff generously and smiled at everyone.
Luca nodded slowly. His eyes were completely hollow.
“David was the architect. Vanessa was the weapon. But Julian… Julian was the one pulling the strings from inside my own house.”
“Julian wants to take over the family?”
“Julian wants me dead,” Luca corrected. “He used David’s greed and Vanessa’s ambition to weaken me. And he used a grieving mother’s pain to try and pull the trigger.”
Suddenly, the heavy silence of the mansion was shattered by a sound that made my blood run cold.
The loud, unmistakable screech of the front gates being forced open.
Luca immediately grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the window.
“Get back in the room. Lock the door. Hide Sophie in the closet.”
“Luca, what’s happening?” I panicked.
“Julian realized David and Vanessa failed,” Luca said, pulling a weapon from his shoulder holster. “He’s not waiting in the shadows anymore. He brought his men.”
Before I could turn the doorknob, heavy footsteps echoed on the marble stairs.
“Luca!” Julian’s voice boomed through the hallway. It wasn't the friendly, polished tone I was used to. It was rough, violent, and victorious.
“It’s over, little cousin!” Julian shouted. “The guards are on my payroll now. Come out and face it like a man.”
Luca looked at me. His gray eyes were fiercely protective.
“Take my phone,” he shoved his cell into my apron pocket. “Call Marcus. Tell him Julian is in the house. Go!”
I slipped into Sophie’s room, locking the deadbolt as quickly and silently as I could.
But as I turned around to grab Sophie, my heart stopped.
May you like
The bedroom window was wide open. The cold October wind was blowing the curtains wildly.
And the bed was completely empty.
