Chapter 3 - THE SILVER WATCH
The heavy silver watch rested in Luca’s palm, catching the light of the chandeliers.
The dining room had descended into utter chaos. Guests were pushing away from the table, whispering frantically as Luca’s security men moved to block the exits. Nobody was leaving until Luca Moretti allowed it.
Vanessa stood trapped between the dining table and the heavy oak doors, her chest heaving. The elegant, commanding woman who had terrorized the household staff for a year was unraveling right in front of me.
“Where did you get this, Vanessa?” Luca asked, not taking his eyes off the engraved silver casing.
“She stole it!” Vanessa shrieked, pointing a manicured finger at me. “That maid went through my private belongings! She’s trying to ruin our engagement because she’s obsessed with you, Luca! It’s pathetic!”
I didn't flinch. “I was emptying your trash, Mrs. Bellini. It was wrapped in a tissue, pushed to the very bottom of the bin.”
Luca slowly turned the watch over. He read the inscription aloud, his voice devoid of all warmth.
“To Dr. Aris Thorne. For services rendered. Silence is golden.”
Answer one: Vanessa hadn't just found a strict boarding school for Lily. She had made a dark, financial arrangement with a corrupt psychiatric doctor to lock the little girl away permanently.
“You paid her off,” Luca realized, the sheer horror of the betrayal sinking in. “You were going to lock my daughter in a psychiatric ward so you wouldn't have to deal with her once we were married.”
“She’s damaged, Luca!” Vanessa cried out, dropping the facade entirely. “Lily has nightmares! She wakes up screaming! She needs professional help that we can’t give her! I was doing it for us!”
“You were doing it for yourself,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a lethal register.
He gripped the silver watch tightly.
But as his thumb pressed against the intricate engraving on the side of the casing, I heard a sharp, metallic click.
A reversal suddenly changed the entire narrative of the evening.
The face of the pocket watch didn't swing open to reveal a clock. It wasn't a timepiece at all.
It was a locket.
The heavy silver cover popped open, revealing a hidden compartment inside.
Luca stared at the inside of the locket. The blood completely drained from his face, leaving him looking like a ghost. He swayed slightly, his broad shoulders suddenly sagging under an invisible weight.
“Daddy?” Lily whispered, tugging on his suit jacket. “Are you okay?”
Luca didn't answer. He couldn't.
Open two: If the watch belonged to Dr. Thorne, why was Vanessa trying to throw it away today? And what on earth was inside it that could make a mafia boss look terrified?
“Claire,” Luca whispered hoarsely, not looking away from the locket. “Take Lily to the kitchen. Now.”
“No!” Vanessa screamed, lunging forward. “Give that to me! You have no right to look at that!”
One of the security guards grabbed Vanessa by the arm, restraining her easily.
I immediately knelt down, wrapping my arms around Lily. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go get some of that chocolate dessert, okay?”
“I want to stay with my Dad,” Lily sniffled, clinging to my apron.
“I know, baby,” I whispered softly, lifting her into my arms despite the heavy silver tray still resting on the nearby table. “But your Dad needs to do some grown-up work right now. He’s going to come get you in five minutes. I promise.”
I carried Lily out through the swinging doors of the service pantry, my heart hammering against my ribs.
As the doors swung shut, I glanced back at the dining room.
Luca was holding up a small, folded photograph he had pulled from the inside of the silver watch.
May you like
He walked slowly toward Vanessa, his eyes burning with a fury I had never seen before.
“My wife died in a car accident four years ago,” Luca said, his voice echoing into the hallway before the doors completely closed. “So why, Vanessa, do you have a photograph of her standing next to Dr. Thorne, dated three months ago?”
