Chapter 4 - THE WEDDING PLANNER
I stared at the crayon drawing in Luca’s hand.
My breath caught in my throat.
“Mr. Moretti,” I whispered.
He turned toward me, his eyes dark with confusion. “What is this? This wasn't in my safe.”
I took a step closer, ignoring the throbbing pain in my shoulder.
“I’ve seen that drawing before.”
Luca’s posture stiffened. “Where?”
“This afternoon. When Vanessa pushed the seating board into me. Her wedding planner, Chloe, dropped her clipboard.”
I pointed at the drawing.
“That paper fell out of Chloe’s folder. I picked it up for her.”
Luca stared at me.
“Chloe is the only other person who has the master codes to this house for the wedding preparations.”
Daniel stepped into the doorway, his earpiece buzzing.
“Boss,” Daniel said, his voice tense. “I just pulled the security logs for your study. The safe was opened at four-fifteen this afternoon.”
Luca’s jaw clenched.
“That’s when Vanessa was in the ballroom with Julia and my aunt.”
“Yes, sir,” Daniel confirmed. “But the cameras show Chloe walking into this hallway at four-ten. And boss… she left carrying a thick leather folder.”
Teresa gripped my arm, trembling.
“The property deeds,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a dangerous register. “The bearer bonds from the real estate trust. They were in that safe.”
Vanessa hadn’t just orchestrated a cruel insult to get rid of Teresa.
She had created a distraction.
She had used the seating chart, the fight, and the threat of the federal government to keep everyone’s eyes on the ballroom while her accomplice robbed the master safe.
“Daniel,” Luca ordered. “Find Chloe. Lock down the gates. Nobody leaves this property.”
“Right away.”
Daniel turned to leave, but suddenly, his phone rang.
He answered it, listened for three seconds, and went completely pale.
“Boss,” Daniel said.
“What?”
“Chloe isn’t in the house. She drove out the east gate twenty minutes ago. But that’s not all.”
Daniel swallowed hard.
“I just ran a deep background check on her like you asked. Chloe isn’t a wedding planner from New York.”
Luca stepped forward. “Who is she?”
“Her real last name is Bellini.”
My stomach plummeted.
“She’s Vanessa’s younger sister,” Daniel said.
The entire engagement was a fraud. Vanessa and her sister were robbing him blind while his wealthy guests drank champagne in the next room.
Before Luca could speak, my apron pocket vibrated.
My cell phone was ringing.
I pulled it out.
The caller ID said Mom.
I answered it quickly. “Mom? Is everything okay? It’s late.”
But it wasn’t my mother’s voice on the line.
May you like
It was Vanessa’s.
“Hello, Julia,” she whispered smoothly. “Your mother has a lovely little apartment. Did you know she forgot to lock her back door tonight?”
