THE LIES BURIED BENEATH THE FAMILY TABLE

I couldn't breathe.

The silver locket swayed from Vanessa’s manicured fingers, catching the light from the chandelier. The familiar dent on the side. The tiny engraved 'C' for Claire.

“Where did you get that?” My voice was barely a whisper.

Vanessa’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I have a very resourceful security team, Claire. They tend to find things. Even things buried deep in the ground.”

I lunged forward, but Matteo grabbed my arm, his grip like iron.

“Let her go,” Rosa commanded, her voice ringing through the dining room.

Matteo released me, but stepped between me and Vanessa. “Vanessa, put it away. This wasn't part of the plan.”

“The plan changed when your grandmother decided to play real estate agent,” Vanessa snapped, her cool facade slipping. She looked at me. “Your mother didn’t die in a car accident, did she, Claire?”

The silence in the room was absolute. The twenty-four relatives, usually so loud and opinionated, were completely frozen.

I felt a cold sweat break out on my neck.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I managed to say.

“Don't lie,” Vanessa sneered. “My men dug up the casket. It was empty. Except for this locket, left sitting on the velvet lining.”

Matteo turned to look at me, real shock registering on his face for the first time. “Claire? Is this true?”

My mind raced. Ten years ago, my mother had discovered something about the Bellini syndicate—Vanessa’s family. She had been an investigative journalist. To protect her, Vincenzo Moretti—Matteo’s grandfather—had helped me fake her death. Only Vincenzo and I knew the truth.

If Vanessa knew the grave was empty, my mother was in terrible danger.

“It’s none of your business,” I said, keeping my voice steady.

Vanessa stepped closer. “It is my business when your mother has been quietly funneling encrypted files to the FBI about my father’s operations. We’ve been looking for her for a decade.”

Rosa’s hand squeezed my shoulder. I could feel her shaking.

“You won’t find her,” I said.

“Oh, I think we will,” Vanessa said softly. “Because if you don’t sign over the Tuscany estate by midnight, Matteo is going to make a phone call. And your mother’s new identity will be leaked directly to my father’s hitmen.”

I looked at Matteo. “You’d do that? You’d kill my mother?”

Matteo looked torn, his eyes darting between me and Vanessa. “Claire, just sign the papers. I can protect you. I can protect both of you if you just cooperate.”

“You’re weak, Matteo,” Rosa spat, disgust dripping from every word. “You are a disgrace to your grandfather’s name.”

Matteo’s face hardened. “My grandfather is dead. I’m the head of this family now.”

“Not while I breathe,” Rosa said. She turned to me. “Claire, go upstairs. To my bedroom. Look under the floorboard beneath my vanity.”

Vanessa’s eyes narrowed. “Stop her.”

Two of Matteo’s guards stepped forward from the shadows of the hallway.

But suddenly, the front doors of the mansion blew open with a deafening crash.

Everyone turned.

Standing in the doorway, soaked in rain and holding a heavy steel briefcase, was a man I hadn't seen in five years.