Chapter 6 - The Coat In The Hallway
The silence in the study was suffocating.
“If it wasn’t the Romanos,” Marcus said slowly, gripping his rifle, “then who wrote the ransom note?”
Adrian stared at the black leather ledger in his hand. “Someone who wants us to think the Romanos have him. Someone trying to buy time.”
June rocked back and forth on the sofa, clutching her empty hands. “My sweet boy. He’s so small. He’s afraid of the dark.”
I couldn’t stand seeing her like this. I walked over to pour her a fresh cup of tea, trying to keep my own panic in check.
“Who else knew Leo existed?” Adrian asked June gently.
“No one,” she swore, looking up at him. “Only me. And… and Celeste.”
Adrian’s eyes darkened. “Bring her up from the basement. Now.”
Ten minutes later, Marcus dragged Celeste into the room. Her expensive emerald gown was dirtied, and her makeup was smeared in dark streaks.
“I didn’t do it!” she screamed the moment she saw Adrian. “I swear on my life, I don’t know where the boy is! I told the Romanos about the housekeeper, but I didn’t take the child!”
“Then who did?” Adrian roared, slamming the ledger onto the desk.
“I don’t know!” Celeste sobbed, falling into a chair. “But there was another man. At the pawn shop. When I bought the watch.”
Adrian grabbed her by the shoulders. “What man?”
“He was watching me,” she whimpered. “Tall. Gray hair. He wore a heavy wool trench coat. He paid the pawn broker double what I offered just to get the security footage of me buying it.”
Adrian let go of her, stepping back. “Gray hair. Trench coat.”
He looked at Marcus.
Marcus shook his head. “Nobody matching that description on the guest list, boss.”
I stood near the door, my mind racing. I remembered the engagement dinner. I remembered taking the coats as the guests arrived.
“Mr. Falcone,” I said quietly.
Adrian turned to me.
“There was a man,” I said, swallowing hard. “He didn’t have an invitation. He said he was an uncle from your mother’s side. He wore a heavy gray trench coat.”
Adrian froze. “My mother didn’t have any brothers. Where is his coat?”
“I hung it in the overflow closet in the east wing.”
“Show me.”
We practically ran through the mansion, leaving June and Celeste under guard in the study. The east wing was cold and quiet, far from the main event rooms.
I opened the heavy mahogany doors of the overflow closet. The smell of cedar and damp wool hit us instantly.
I pushed past the rows of expensive furs and silk wraps until I found it.
A heavy, dark gray wool trench coat.
Adrian grabbed the coat by the lapels and tore it off the hanger. He dug his hands into the pockets, frantically searching for anything. Keys. A wallet. A receipt.
His hand stopped in the left breast pocket.
He pulled out a silver money clip.
It was engraved with a single letter: V.
Adrian stared at the clip, his face going completely pale. He looked like he had seen a ghost.
“No,” he whispered, backing away from the coat. “It’s impossible. He’s dead.”
“Who?” I asked, terrified by the look in his eyes.
“Victor,” Adrian said, his voice trembling. “Dominic’s father-in-law.”
I stared at him. “You said Dominic didn’t have a wife.”
“He didn’t,” Adrian said, his eyes hollow. “He had a fiancé. Elena. She died in a crossfire eight years ago. We thought she was collateral damage.”
Adrian looked at the money clip again.
“Victor blamed Dominic for her death,” Adrian explained. “He vanished after the funeral. We thought he died in Mexico.”
He turned to Marcus, who had just caught up to us in the hallway.
“It’s Victor,” Adrian said. “He’s alive. And he knows Leo is his grandson.”
Marcus’s eyes widened. “If Victor has the boy… he won’t hold him for ransom. He’ll take him out of the country.”
“Where would he go?” I asked.
Adrian looked down at the money clip. He turned it over.
There was a fresh sticker on the back. A barcode from a baggage claim.
O’Hare International Airport. Flight 412 to Geneva.
Adrian checked his watch. “The flight leaves in exactly fifty minutes.”
He bolted down the hallway. “Get the cars! We’re going to the airport!”
I followed them as far as the foyer, watching the tactical team gear up.
But as I stood near the front door, I noticed something on the floor near the umbrella stand.
It was a small, brass button.
I recognized it immediately. It was the button from June’s worn blue dress.
I bent down and picked it up.
Why was June’s button over here by the front door? She hadn’t been anywhere near the entrance. She had come through the staff kitchen.
A horrible thought struck me.
I turned and ran back toward the study, pushing past the guards.
“June!” I yelled, bursting through the doors.
The guards were knocked out on the floor.
May you like
The study was empty.
And the black leather ledger was gone.
