Chapter 2 - THE SILVER LOCKET
The silence in the dining room was so absolute it felt like the air had been sucked out of the room.
Luca didn’t raise his voice.
He didn’t have to.
His eyes were locked on Sophia, and the cold, terrifying stillness in his posture made every powerful guest at the table lean backward in their chairs.
“Elena,” Luca said, his voice a low, vibrating rumble that made my chest tight. “My wife’s name. Engraved on the glass you just tried to hand me.”
Sophia’s face drained of color.
The polished, arrogant woman who had humiliated me two minutes ago was gone. In her place was someone who suddenly realized she was standing on the edge of a very high cliff.
“Luca, I have no idea how that got there,” she stammered, her hands trembling. “It must be a sick joke. One of the staff—”
“Do not blame my staff,” Luca interrupted.
He placed the glass gently onto the table. The soft clink of the crystal sounded like a gunshot.
“My brother’s handwriting on the reservation card,” Luca continued, stepping slowly toward her. “My dead wife’s name on the glass. And you were the one who switched our drinks, Sophia. Why?”
Sophia looked frantically around the room, begging for an ally.
Nobody met her eyes. In this world, when Luca Moretti cornered someone, you didn’t get in the way unless you wanted to bleed with them.
“She’s lying!” Sophia shrieked, pointing a manicured finger at me. “The maid is lying! She probably planted it herself to ruin our night!”
Luca finally turned his head to look at me.
His dark eyes searched my face. He was looking for fear. He was looking for the lie.
I didn’t look away. My heart was pounding so hard I thought my ribs might crack, but I stood my ground.
“Mia,” Luca said quietly. “What else did you see?”
I took a deep breath.
“When she switched the glasses, sir,” I said, keeping my voice steady, “she didn’t just move them. She opened a small silver locket around her neck. She emptied something from it into the glass you were supposed to drink from.”
The entire room gasped.
Sophia’s hand instantly flew to her chest, clutching the heavy silver locket resting against her collarbone.
It was a defensive reflex. And it was all the confirmation Luca needed.
Before Sophia could take a step back, Luca closed the distance between them. He didn’t strike her. He simply reached out, his large hand wrapping around the silver chain, and ripped it from her neck with a violent snap.
Sophia cried out, stumbling backward into her chair.
Luca held the broken locket in his palm. He popped the latch with his thumb.
It was empty, but a fine white residue dusted the inside of the silver casing.
“Marcus,” Luca commanded, not taking his eyes off the locket.
The massive head of security stepped forward instantly from the shadows of the doorway.
“Clear the room,” Luca ordered. “Every guest leaves immediately. Nobody speaks of this. If it reaches the press, I will know who talked, and I will ruin them.”
Thirty elite guests stood up in silent unison, abandoning their expensive meals, and hurried out the double doors like frightened children.
Within sixty seconds, the grand dining room was empty, save for me, Luca, Sophia, and Marcus.
“Take the glass to the lab,” Luca told Marcus, handing him the champagne. “Find out what she tried to give me.”
“Luca, please,” Sophia sobbed, mascara running down her pale cheeks. “I didn’t want to do it! They made me! They said if I didn’t drug you tonight, they would ruin the wedding!”
Luca stared at her with absolute disgust.
“Who?” Luca demanded.
“I don’t know his name!” Sophia cried. “He contacted me a month ago. He knew things, Luca. He knew about Elena. He knew about the crash.”
Luca went entirely rigid.
Three years ago, his wife Elena had died in a fiery car crash on the coastal highway. His younger brother, Matteo, had been the last person to see her alive, and he had disappeared the very same night, leading everyone to believe Matteo was responsible.
“What about the crash?” Luca whispered, the danger in his voice escalating.
Sophia looked at the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Check her purse,” Luca barked to Marcus.
Marcus grabbed Sophia’s designer clutch from the table and dumped the contents onto the polished mahogany.
Lipstick. A compact mirror. A set of keys.
And a piece of folded, brightly colored construction paper.
Luca reached out and picked it up. He unfolded it slowly.
I stood a few feet away, watching the most feared man in the city completely shatter.
His breath caught. His hand began to shake violently.
It was a child’s drawing. Stick figures drawn in bright red and blue crayon. It showed a tall man holding hands with a little boy.
But it was the clumsy, block letters written at the bottom that made Luca drop to his knees on the dining room floor.
To Daddy. From Leo.
My hands flew to my mouth.
Leo was the name of Luca’s son. The two-year-old boy who had allegedly burned in the car crash alongside his mother three years ago.
“He’s alive,” Luca choked out, a raw, agonizing sound tearing from his throat. “My son is alive.”
He slowly looked up at Sophia, his eyes turning from a grieving father into a merciless predator.
“Where is my boy?”
Before Sophia could answer, Marcus’s radio crackled to life.
“Boss,” a frantic guard yelled over the static. “We have a breach at the perimeter! Someone just crashed a truck through the south gates!”
Luca didn’t hesitate. He stood up, drawing a heavy black pistol from his jacket.
“Lock her in the cellar,” Luca ordered Marcus.
May you like
Then he looked at me.
“Mia. Come with me.”
