Chapter 3 - THE DRAWING
Vanessa lunged for the paper.
But I was closer.
Despite the agonizing pain in my back, I stepped in front of Leo and snatched the drawing from his small hands.
Vanessa stopped inches from me, her chest heaving, her eyes wild with a sudden, desperate panic.
“Give that to me, Claire,” she ordered, her voice trembling. “He’s just a child with a nightmare.”
I looked down at the crayon drawing.
It wasn't a nightmare.
Leo had drawn a tall man wearing a distinctive heavy winter coat—one with fur around the collar.
The man was holding a silver rosary.
But what made my blood run cold was the detail Leo had added to the man's face.
A jagged purple line down the left cheek. A deep scar.
I knew that scar.
Every employee in the Moretti household had been warned about the man with that scar.
Victor Rossi.
Luca’s oldest, deadliest rival.
Vanessa wasn't just plotting to steal Luca's fortune. She had brought his sworn enemy inside the house.
“Claire,” Vanessa whispered, her tone shifting from angry to dangerously calm. “If you show that to Luca, you will never see your mother again. Victor knows exactly which clinic she’s in.”
My breath caught.
That was the answer to how Vanessa had controlled her panic downstairs.
She already had leverage on me.
But it opened a massive, terrifying question: How long had Victor Rossi been tracking my family, and why did Vanessa have my mother’s Moretti bracelet in her pocket?
“Give me the paper,” Vanessa said, holding out her hand.
I looked down at Leo.
The little boy was trembling, hiding behind my apron, his small fingers gripping the fabric.
He didn't trust Vanessa.
He never had.
“No,” I said quietly.
Vanessa’s eyes darkened. She raised her hand to slap me.
“Is there a problem here?”
Luca’s voice was like ice.
He stood in the doorway, his tuxedo jacket removed, his dark eyes fixed on Vanessa’s raised hand.
Vanessa dropped her arm instantly.
The beautiful, radiant smile snapped back onto her face like a plastic mask.
“Darling!” she laughed, though it sounded brittle. “Claire was just having an anxiety attack about her injury. I was trying to calm her down.”
Luca stepped into the room.
He didn't look at his fiancée.
He looked at Leo hiding behind my legs.
“Leo,” Luca said gently. “Go to your room. Daniel is in the hallway.”
The little boy let go of my apron and scurried out the door without looking back.
Luca slowly turned his attention to Vanessa.
“I asked you to entertain the guests, Vanessa. Why are you in the housekeeper's bedroom?”
Vanessa smoothed her red silk dress. “I was just leaving.”
She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Don't be long, my love.”
She walked out, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor.
Once the door clicked shut, Luca looked at me.
“What is she holding over you?” he asked quietly.
I swallowed hard. “She knows where my mother is.”
Luca’s jaw tightened. “Daniel picked your mother up ten minutes ago. She is safe. Now, tell me what you are holding behind your back.”
I slowly brought my trembling hand forward and showed him the crayon drawing.
Luca stared at the scarred face.
His expression didn't change, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
“Leo drew this,” I whispered. “He saw this man in Vanessa’s room.”
Luca gently took the paper from me.
He stared at the rosary in the drawn man's hand.
“Answer one question for me, Claire,” Luca said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “Did Vanessa take something from your bag?”
I nodded. “My mother’s silver bracelet.”
Luca closed his eyes.
When he opened them, the darkness in his gaze made my heart pound.
“Claire. That bracelet wasn't a gift to your mother.”
May you like
He stepped closer.
“It’s a tracking beacon. And Victor Rossi is already inside the estate.”
