Chapter 5 - THE MISSING BRACELET
I couldn't breathe.
"That's impossible," I whispered, backing away until my shoulders hit the bedroom wall. "My mother told me she broke her hip falling down a flight of stairs ten years ago! She never said she was in a car crash!"
Luca’s eyes were dark, calculating. He wasn't yelling, which made him infinitely more terrifying.
"The crash that killed my wife," Luca said slowly, "happened when the brakes on her town car were severed. The driver died on impact. Caroline died on the way to the hospital. Your mother was in the passenger seat. She survived with a shattered hip."
He held up the forged letter. "And now, I find a letter planted in my daughter’s room, framing me for the murder. A letter written in your mother’s handwriting."
Abigail jumped off the bed and stood between me and her father.
"Daddy, stop!" she pleaded. "Miss Emily didn't do anything! She saved me tonight!"
Luca looked at his daughter, the rigid tension in his jaw softening just a fraction. He lowered the letter.
"I know she did, Abby," he sighed, rubbing his temples. "But her mother has questions to answer."
He looked back at me. "Where is Sarah Sullivan now?"
"She lives in a small apartment on the South Side," I said, my hands trembling. "I pay her rent. Mr. Moretti, I swear to you, I didn't know."
Luca stared at me for a long moment. He was a man who made his living reading lies. Finally, he nodded.
"I believe you," he said. "But someone paid your mother to forge this letter. And I intend to find out who."
Suddenly, Luca’s cell phone buzzed in his pocket.
He pulled it out, answering it sharply. "Marco. What is it?"
Through the quiet room, I could hear Marco's frantic voice through the receiver.
"Boss. We have a problem. Vanessa didn't just leave. She took something from the master safe."
Luca’s face hardened. "What did she take?"
"The Bellini real estate deeds," Marco said. "And Boss... the guards at the gate said she wasn't crying when she left. She was laughing."
Luca hung up the phone.
"She was planning this," Luca realized, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "The engagement. The abuse. The forged letter. She wanted me to kick her out tonight."
"But why?" I asked.
"Because," Luca said, pulling on his suit jacket, "the Bellini family doesn't want to merge with me. They want to bankrupt me. They needed access to my safe, and they needed me distracted by a family crisis."
He turned to Abigail. "Sweetheart, I have to go to the downtown office. I need to lock down our accounts before Vanessa’s father drains them."
Abigail ran to him, hugging his waist. "Daddy, be careful."
"Always," he promised, kissing the top of her head.
He looked at me. "Emily. You stay here with her. Lock the doors. Marco will have six men posted outside the hallway. Do not let anyone in."
"I won't," I promised.
Luca left, the heavy door clicking shut behind him.
I engaged the deadbolt, my heart pounding against my ribs. I looked at Abigail. The poor girl looked exhausted, still wearing the tight blue bridesmaid dress.
"Let's get you into your pajamas, sweetheart," I said gently.
She nodded, walking over to her vanity mirror. As she reached back to unzip the dress, she froze.
Her hands frantically patted her pockets. Then she dropped to her knees, searching the carpet.
"Miss Emily!" she gasped, panic rising in her voice.
"What is it?" I rushed over, helping her search the floor.
Abigail looked up at me, her eyes wide with absolute terror.
"The bracelet," she whispered. "My mother's silver bracelet. It's gone."
My blood ran cold.
"Are you sure?" I asked, checking the pockets of the blue dress. They were empty.
"I had it when Daddy came in," Abigail cried. "I put it in my pocket when I hugged him!"
I stood up, my mind racing. Nobody else had been in the room. Just me, Abigail, and Luca.
Wait.
I remembered Vanessa’s parting words in the dining room.
Tell him what you've been hiding in your bedroom!
Vanessa had known about the bracelet. She had known about the hidden compartment in the pressed flower book. She had already stolen the paper with the numbers.
"Abigail," I said quickly. "Did Vanessa hug you? Before dinner? When she was in here?"
Abigail's eyes widened. "Yes. When she measured me. She pulled me close and whispered that I was a disappointment."
My stomach dropped.
Vanessa hadn't just been abusing Abigail to break her spirit.
She had used the physical contact to pickpocket the thirteen-year-old girl.
"She has it," I whispered. "Vanessa has the bracelet and the numbers."
Before Abigail could process this, the lights in the bedroom flickered.
Then, the entire mansion plunged into total darkness.
May you like
The power had been cut.
And from the hallway outside, I heard the sound of Marco's men shouting, followed by the terrifying, unmistakable sound of silenced gunfire.
