Chapter 7 - THE POISONED PAWN
The words on the screen blurred as terror ripped through me all over again.
A slow-acting poison.
I dropped the phone on the carpet, struggling to pull air into my lungs.
Luca picked it up instantly. His eyes scanned the text, his jaw locking so tight I thought his teeth might shatter.
“She’s lying,” Adrian said immediately, stepping toward me. “Emily, she’s bluffing to draw you out. Nurse Helen said the hospital room was empty.”
“But what if she got to him before he was moved?” I sobbed, my hands gripping my apron. “What if Helen didn't see? I can't risk it. I have to go to the loading dock. I’ll tell her whatever she wants.”
“No,” Margaret commanded gently, walking over and placing her warm hands on my cheeks. “Listen to me, child. Vanessa Bellini has never stepped foot in a public hospital in her life. She is terrified of germs and poor people. She did not poison your brother. She is fishing.”
“How can you be sure?” I cried.
“Because,” Luca said, a dark realization washing over his face, “Victor doesn't know the ledger he took is a fake yet. If he did, he would have called me himself, threatening war. Vanessa is acting alone.”
Adrian looked at his brother. “Why would she do that?”
“Because she’s greedy, and she’s terrified of her father,” Luca deduced rapidly. “Victor took the fake ledger and locked it away. Vanessa realizes that if her father takes full control of our estate, she gets nothing but an allowance. She wants the real ledger to blackmail Victor.”
I blinked, the panic slowly giving way to confusion. “So… she’s trying to double-cross her own father?”
“Vanessa only cares about one person in this world: Vanessa,” Luca said in disgust. “She doesn't know we don't have a real ledger. She thinks I gave Victor a fake, and kept the real one here. She wants it for herself.”
Margaret’s eyes narrowed, a brilliant, dangerous spark igniting in them.
“Then we give her exactly what she wants,” the matriarch said softly.
Luca turned to his mother. “Ma, what are you thinking?”
“Vanessa is coming to the loading dock,” Margaret said, pointing to the antique globe housing the biometric scanner. “She has the other half of the family crest around her neck. This is our only chance to get it without fighting through Victor’s private army.”
Adrian checked the magazine of his weapon. “We ambush her at the dock.”
“No,” I said suddenly, my voice surprising even myself.
The three Morettis stopped and looked at me.
“If you ambush her, her guards will start shooting,” I said, my heart pounding as a desperate plan formed in my mind. “She expects me. A terrified, helpless maid. If she sees me alone, she’ll drop her guard.”
Luca shook his head immediately. “Absolutely not. I’m not putting you in the crossfire, Emily. You’ve done enough.”
“Luca, she wants the ledger,” I insisted, stepping toward him. I picked up a thick, leather-bound cookbook from the nearby shelf. It looked remarkably similar to the fake ledger Luca had given Victor. “I walk out there. I show her the book. When she reaches for it, you and Adrian take her guards. I’ll get the necklace.”
Margaret smiled, a deep look of respect crossing her face. “The girl has a spine of steel, Luca. Let her do it.”
Luca hesitated, looking deeply into my eyes. He saw that I wasn't backing down.
“Three minutes,” Luca said softly. “You give us three minutes to position ourselves on the catwalks above the dock. If anything goes wrong, you drop to the ground. Understand?”
I nodded.
Three minutes later, I pushed open the heavy steel doors leading to the mansion’s rear loading dock.
The night air was freezing. Fog rolled in thick off Lake Michigan, swirling around the concrete pillars.
A sleek black town car was idling in the shadows.
As I stepped into the dim yellow light of the security lamps, the back door opened.
Vanessa stepped out.
She was still wearing her diamond-encrusted evening gown, looking entirely out of place in the grimy loading bay. The heavy diamond necklace—the other half of the Moretti crest—sparkled menacingly at her throat.
Two massive armed guards stepped out behind her, their hands resting on their holstered weapons.
“Well, well,” Vanessa sneered, stepping forward, her heels clicking against the concrete. “Look who decided to play hero. Where is the ledger, Emily?”
I held up the leather-bound cookbook, keeping it pressed tightly against my chest so she couldn't see the title in the dark.
“I have it,” I said, trying to make my voice shake. It wasn't hard. “But first, you have to call your people at the hospital. You have to give Leo the antidote.”
Vanessa threw her head back and laughed. It was a cold, cruel sound that echoed off the brick walls.
“Oh, you stupid little peasant,” she mocked, walking closer. “There is no poison. My father’s men left before they even found your brother’s room. I just needed you desperate enough to steal the real ledger from Luca.”
A surge of pure rage washed over my fear. Margaret was right. Vanessa had lied.
“Hand it over,” Vanessa demanded, snapping her fingers. “Before I have my men shoot you and take it off your corpse.”
I took a deep breath.
“No.”
Vanessa’s eyes widened in shock. “Excuse me?”
I looked straight up into the dark rafters above the loading dock.
“Take them.”
Before Vanessa could even turn around, two dark shadows dropped silently from the catwalks.
Adrian landed behind the guard on the left, disarming him with a brutal strike to the throat.
Luca landed behind the guard on the right, driving him face-first into the hood of the town car with a sickening crunch.
In less than three seconds, both of Vanessa’s elite guards were unconscious on the concrete.
Vanessa shrieked, spinning around to run back into the car.
But I was already moving.
I rushed forward and grabbed her by the shoulder, spinning her back around.
“Don't touch me!” she screamed, raising her hand to slap me.
I ducked under her swing, reached up, and grabbed the heavy diamond necklace resting against her collarbone.
With one sharp, violent yank, I snapped the clasp.
The necklace came free in my hands, a few loose diamonds scattering across the concrete like rain.
Vanessa gasped, clutching her bare throat.
Luca stepped forward from the shadows, his face illuminated by the yellow security light. He looked like the devil himself.
“The wedding is definitely off, Vanessa,” Luca said coldly.
I looked down at the heavy pendant in my hand. Beneath the cluster of diamonds, the golden metal was shaped into a jagged semi-circle.
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It perfectly matched the cufflink.
We had the Master Key.
