Chapter 4 - THE POISONED IV
The heavy gold signet ring gleamed dully under the porch lights.
Luca stared at it. His breathing slowed until he seemed completely still, like a predator analyzing a fatal trap.
“Poisoned,” Luca repeated, the word sounding foreign on his tongue.
For twenty years, the medical examiner’s report had stated Caroline Moretti died of acute heart failure. A tragic, sudden complication of a long illness.
Evelyn’s hands trembled as she held out the ring.
“She was weak,” Evelyn whispered. “But she fought him. She tore the ring from his finger right before her heart stopped.”
Luca reached out and took the gold band. He turned it over in his palm.
Engraved on the inside, barely visible beneath decades of tarnish, were two initials:
D. S.
Dominic Silva.
Luca’s most trusted advisor. The man who had poured his champagne twenty minutes ago. The man sitting in the drawing room, laughing with the wedding guests.
My stomach twisted violently.
“Mr. Moretti,” I whispered, stepping forward. I was just the housekeeper, but the sheer horror of what was unfolding made me speak. “Dominic has been running the foundation’s accounts with Vanessa for the past six months.”
Luca slowly turned his head to look at me.
“What did you say?”
I swallowed hard, terrified of the man standing in front of me.
“Vanessa didn't stop the food deliveries on her own, sir. I overheard them arguing in the study last week. Dominic told her the ‘slush fund’ needed more cash before the wedding.”
Luca’s eyes darkened to absolute pitch.
Dominic hadn't just poisoned his mother. He had spent two decades manipulating the son, stealing the money Caroline had meant for starving children, and partnering with the family that blackmailed her.
“He’s been playing me,” Luca breathed. “For twenty years.”
He looked at Evelyn.
“Why didn't you go to the police?”
Evelyn let out a bitter, exhausted sigh. “The police? Luca, Dominic owned the precinct. When I tried to tell the attending doctor about the poisoned IV, they threatened to take my son. They forced me to sign a non-disclosure agreement and fired me the next morning.”
She looked at the ground.
“I’ve lived in fear every single day. The only reason I came tonight is because my granddaughter asked why the man whose mother fed the hungry would let her starve.”
Luca closed his eyes. The pain of that statement hit him harder than a bullet.
When he opened them, the grief was gone. Only the boss remained.
“Maria,” Luca said, his voice a low, terrifying rumble.
“Yes, sir.”
“Take Evelyn to the guest house. Lock the door. Do not let anyone inside, regardless of who asks.”
“Yes, sir.”
He slipped the heavy gold signet ring into his pocket.
“Where are you going?” Evelyn asked, her voice shaking.
Luca didn't look back as he walked toward the heavy oak doors of the mansion.
“I have guests to entertain.”
I grabbed Evelyn’s hand. We hurried down the stone pathway toward the small, secluded guest house near the gardens. I locked the heavy deadbolt behind us and pulled the curtains shut.
Inside the mansion, the drawing room was warm and filled with laughter.
Luca walked in. He didn't carry a weapon. He didn't shout.
He walked directly to the crystal bar cart and poured himself a glass of scotch.
Dominic Silva stood near the fireplace. He was sixty-two, with silver hair and an impeccably tailored suit. He smiled when he saw Luca.
“There’s the groom,” Dominic announced warmly, raising his glass. “Did you sort out the issue with the caterers, my boy?”
The room fell silent as guests turned to smile at Luca.
Luca took a slow sip of his scotch.
“I did,” Luca said smoothly. “In fact, Vanessa decided to go home early. She wasn't feeling well.”
A murmur of confusion rippled through the guests.
Dominic’s smile faltered slightly. “Home early? But the toast—”
“We won't be needing a toast,” Luca interrupted. He set his glass down on the cart.
He walked slowly across the expensive Persian rug until he was standing directly in front of the man who had murdered his mother.
“Dominic,” Luca said, his voice perfectly level. “You’ve been like a father to me since mine passed.”
Dominic relaxed, smiling again. “It has been my honor, Luca. Your father was a great man.”
“He was,” Luca agreed. “But he was careless. He didn't realize the snake was sleeping in his own house.”
Dominic frowned. “I’m not sure I understand.”
Luca reached into his pocket.
He didn't pull out a gun.
He pulled out the heavy gold signet ring and dropped it into Dominic’s champagne glass.
The heavy gold band hit the bottom with a sharp clink.
Dominic stared down at his glass.
The color instantly drained from his face. His hands began to tremble so violently that champagne sloshed over the rim.
“Where… where did you find this?” Dominic choked out.
“A nurse kept it for me,” Luca whispered, leaning in close so only Dominic could hear. “The one who watched my mother pull it off your finger while you poisoned her.”
Dominic took a step back, sheer terror flooding his eyes.
Before he could run, Luca moved with terrifying speed.
He grabbed Dominic by the throat and slammed him backward onto the massive oak dining table. Crystal glasses shattered. The towering engagement cake tipped and crashed to the floor.
Guests screamed in absolute horror, scrambling toward the exits.
“Twenty years!” Luca roared, his hands tightening around Dominic’s neck. “You murdered her, and then you sat at my table!”
Two of Dominic’s loyal guards pulled their weapons from their jackets, aiming at Luca.
“Let him go, Moretti!” one of the guards shouted.
Luca didn't flinch. He didn't release his grip.
But a sudden, deafening gunshot shattered the drawing-room window.
The guard aiming at Luca dropped his weapon, falling to the floor with a scream, clutching a shattered shoulder.
Everyone froze.
Standing in the doorway was a man I hadn't seen in three years.
He wore a worn leather jacket. He held a smoking shotgun.
It was Enzo Moretti.
Luca’s older brother. The man who had been presumed dead in a car explosion in Palermo five years ago.
Enzo racked the shotgun, the metallic clack echoing through the silent room.
May you like
He looked directly at Dominic, who was still pinned to the table.
“Hello, Dominic,” Enzo smiled coldly. “I hear we’re canceling the wedding.”
