Chapter 3 - THE ROSARY BENEATH THE FLOORBOARDS
The silence in the study was deafening.
Luca stared at the crude crayon lines.
Nine years ago, Leo hadn't even been born.
"Leo," Luca said gently, dropping to one knee. "Grandma died before you were born. You couldn't have seen this."
Leo shook his head violently. "Not Grandma Isabella. The other grandma. Maria’s mom."
Luca’s head snapped up toward Maria.
Maria had gone entirely pale. Her hands gripped the fabric of her black skirt.
"Mr. Moretti," Maria choked out. "My mother used to be the head housekeeper here. Her name is Elena Santos."
Luca remembered Elena. She had vanished the week after Isabella’s funeral, leaving no forwarding address.
"Vanessa didn't push your mother today," Luca said, trying to piece the puzzle together. "She pushed her years ago?"
"No," Maria said, her voice shaking. "Vanessa pushed my mother down the stairs two weeks ago, when my mother came here to warn me about the wedding. She told everyone my mother slipped on the ice outside. But Leo was in the hallway."
Luca looked at his son.
The boy reached into the pocket of his pajama pants.
He pulled out a heavy, tarnished silver rosary.
"Vanessa dropped this when she pushed her," Leo whispered, handing it to Luca. "She told me if I ever told you, she would lock me in the dark room."
Luca took the rosary.
It wasn't just any rosary. It was the exact one his mother had been holding when she died. The police had logged it as missing from the scene.
Vanessa had been in the house the night Isabella died.
She had taken the rosary.
And now she was terrorizing his son.
A cold, lethal rage settled into Luca’s chest. The mafia boss the city feared finally woke up.
"Maria," Luca said, standing up. His voice was no longer that of an employer. It was a command. "Pack your things. Pack Leo’s things. I am getting you both out of this house."
"Where are we going?" Maria asked, pulling Leo close.
"To see your mother."
But before they could move, the heavy oak doors of the study clicked shut.
The lock turned from the outside.
Luca lunged for the brass handle. It wouldn't budge.
"Well," Vanessa’s voice echoed through the wood, cold and mocking. "It seems my new family likes to snoop."
Luca banged his fist against the wood. "Vanessa, open this door!"
"I don't think so, darling," she crooned. "You see, I found the old gardener locked in the potting shed. He was quite talkative once my security team started breaking his fingers."
Maria gasped, covering her mouth.
"You touch him again, and you're dead," Luca growled.
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"Oh, Luca. You’re not the one in charge tonight. My family’s men have surrounded the estate." Vanessa paused. "Now, Maria. Unless you want your mother to have another 'accident' at the hospital tonight, you’re going to tell me exactly where she hid Isabella’s black box."
TITLE: The Coat in the Cedar Closet
