Chapter 3 - THE BROKEN CLASP
The brass handle twisted left, then right.
Violently.
Sofia gasped, scrambling backward on the leather sofa, her small hands clutching my arm.
“Rachel,” she whimpered.
I stood up, pushing her behind me. I scanned the library for anything I could use to defend us. A heavy brass fire poker rested near the hearth. I grabbed it, the metal cold and heavy in my grip.
“Who is it?” I called out, my voice surprisingly steady.
“It’s Gabriel. Open the door.”
I exhaled, my shoulders dropping a fraction of an inch. But I didn’t unlock it immediately.
“Did you come alone?” I asked.
A pause. Then, softer: “Yes, Rachel. It’s just me.”
I slid the deadbolt back. Gabriel pushed the door open and stepped inside, quickly shutting and locking it behind him.
He looked exhausted. The polished, terrifying Mafia boss from the dining room was gone, replaced by a father who looked like his world was collapsing.
He saw the fire poker in my hand.
“You’re protecting her,” he noted. It wasn’t a question.
“Always,” I said, lowering the brass rod.
He nodded slowly, a profound respect flickering in his dark eyes. Then, he looked at his daughter.
“Sofia.”
She peeked out from behind my legs. She was still holding the piece of silver.
“Show him,” I urged gently.
Sofia held out her hand. The broken clasp gleamed under the lamplight.
Gabriel’s breath hitched. He took a step forward, his hand trembling as he carefully picked up the piece of metal.
He stared at it for a long, agonizing moment.
“Do you know what this is?” I asked softly.
“It’s the clasp to Elena’s favorite necklace,” he said, his voice completely hollow. “The one she wore every day. A vintage piece her grandmother gave her.”
He turned the clasp over. He saw the violent scratches. He saw the strand of blonde hair.
His eyes squeezed shut.
“She didn’t fall,” he whispered. “Someone pulled her.”
“Celeste was looking for it,” I said. “Sofia said she saw Celeste searching the stairs after... after it happened.”
Gabriel’s eyes snapped open. The dangerous, calculated look was back.
“Celeste didn’t pull it from her neck,” he said, his voice low.
I blinked. “What? But Sofia saw her—”
“Look at the scratches, Rachel. Look at the force it took to break this silver. Celeste is a small woman. She doesn’t have the strength to tear this off someone’s neck during a struggle on a staircase.”
He was right.
“Then why was she looking for it?” I asked.
Gabriel looked at the clasp, rubbing his thumb over the twisted metal.
“Because whoever did this, realized they lost the clasp. And they sent Celeste to find it before the police arrived.”
My stomach dropped.
Celeste was an accomplice. A cleaner.
But who was the killer?
“Daddy,” Sofia spoke up. Her voice was much steadier now. “I have something else.”
Gabriel and I both looked at her.
She walked over to the large globe in the corner of the library. She reached under the wooden base and pulled out a small, folded piece of thick paper.
She walked back and handed it to Gabriel.
“Mommy hid this in my room the day before she went away,” Sofia said. “She told me not to show anyone unless she didn’t come back.”
Gabriel unfolded the paper.
It was an old, faded Polaroid photograph.
I stepped closer to look.
It showed three people standing on a dock, laughing.
One was a younger Elena, her blonde hair blowing in the wind.
Beside her was Celeste, looking happy, her arm slung casually over Elena’s shoulder.
My mind reeled. They weren’t just acquaintances. They were close.
But it was the third person in the photo that made the blood drain from Gabriel’s face.
It was a man. Tall, broad-shouldered, with a distinct scar over his left eyebrow. He was holding Elena’s hand.
Not in a friendly way. Intimately.
“My God,” Gabriel breathed.
“Who is that?” I asked.
Gabriel looked up, his eyes filled with a terrifying mix of betrayal and pure rage.
“That is Marcus,” he said softly. “My underboss. My best friend.”
He turned to the library door.
May you like
“And he is sitting in my dining room right now.”
Before Gabriel could take a step toward the door, a massive explosion shook the house, shattering the library windows and throwing all three of us to the floor.
