Chapter 2 - THE STOLEN RING
The silence in the ballroom was deafening. Seventy of Chicago’s most elite and dangerous guests stood frozen, their champagne flutes suspended in mid-air.
Luca Moretti did not yell. He did not draw a weapon. He simply walked toward Vanessa, his footsteps echoing against the polished marble floor.
Vanessa scrambled backward, her heels catching on the hem of her champagne-colored gown. “Luca, listen to me. The boy is disturbed. He’s making things up because he misses his mother!”
Luca ignored her. He stopped inches from her, his broad shoulders blocking her escape. He reached out and seized her left hand.
“Take it off,” he commanded. His voice was a low, terrifying rumble that vibrated through the floorboards.
Vanessa’s eyes widened in panic. “Luca, please—”
“Take off the ring.”
With trembling fingers, Vanessa slid the enormous diamond off her finger. It had been Elena’s engagement ring. Luca had given it to Vanessa a month ago, believing it was time to move on, to give Daniel a mother figure. Now, the sight of it made his tattooed jaw clench with rage.
He didn’t look at the diamond. Instead, he flipped the heavy platinum band over and stared at the inside.
I held Daniel closer to my side. I could feel his small heart hammering against his ribs. He gripped my apron, his knuckles white.
“When I buried my wife,” Luca said, the words slicing through the heavy air, “I buried her with a replica of this ring. The original—this one—was kept in a vault. Only I had the combination. And yet, when I opened the vault last month to propose to you, it was sitting right where I left it.”
Vanessa swallowed hard. “Yes! You gave it to me!”
“Look at the engraving,” Luca whispered, holding the band up to her face.
Vanessa squinted. I leaned forward slightly, unable to stop myself. Even from a distance, I could see that the smooth platinum inside the band was scratched.
“Elena’s ring had our wedding date engraved inside,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a dangerous hush. “This one doesn’t. This one has a set of numbers. GPS coordinates.”
Vanessa’s face drained of all color. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about. The jeweler must have made a mistake when you had it cleaned.”
“You didn’t just steal her life, Vanessa,” Luca said. “You swapped the rings before the funeral. You knew she wasn’t in that casket.”
The ballroom erupted into chaos. Several of Luca’s lieutenants moved toward the exits, blocking the doors. No one was leaving.
Daniel tugged on my hand. He looked up at me, his dark eyes urgent, and signed, Check her purse.
I hesitated. I was just Emily Carter, a maid who polished silver and washed linens. But my brother’s medical bills were paid by this family, and this little boy had become my entire world. I let go of Daniel and walked to the small table where Vanessa’s designer clutch still sat next to the silver key.
“Don’t touch my things, you peasant!” Vanessa shrieked, lunging toward me.
Luca’s hand clamped around her arm like a vice. “Search it, Emily.”
I opened the clutch. Inside, there was a tube of lipstick, a compact mirror, and a heavy, antique silver locket. It looked completely out of place next to the modern makeup. I pulled it out.
“Open it,” Luca ordered.
I pressed the small latch. The locket sprang open. Inside, there was a photograph folded in half. I unfolded it carefully. My breath hitched in my throat.
It was a picture of Vanessa. But she wasn’t alone. She was standing in front of an old, abandoned brick building, smiling. And standing next to her, with his arm wrapped intimately around her waist, was Marco.
Luca’s head of security.
I looked up, my eyes instantly scanning the crowd for Marco. He had been standing near the east wing hallway just moments ago, holding the brass key they had found.
He was gone.
“Mr. Moretti,” I whispered, my voice trembling as I handed him the photograph. “He’s not here.”
Luca looked at the picture. The betrayal on his face was absolute, followed instantly by a cold, calculating fury. The man who had been protecting his home, the man who had supposedly just "discovered" the hidden room, was sleeping with his fiancée.
“Lock her in the wine cellar,” Luca told two of his men, gesturing to Vanessa. “If she speaks, gag her.”
Vanessa thrashed as the men grabbed her. “If you kill me, you’ll never find them, Luca! You’ll never find your precious daughter!”
The doors slammed shut behind her, cutting off her screams.
Luca turned to me, his dark eyes locking onto mine. “Pack a bag for Daniel. We are leaving. Now.”
Before I could nod, Daniel grabbed my wrist. He reached into his own pocket and pulled out a small, crumpled piece of paper. He pressed it into my palm.
It was a drawing. A sketch of the exact brick building from the photograph in the locket. But Daniel had drawn something else. In the top window of the building, he had drawn a small, flickering candle.
May you like
And beneath it, in his careful handwriting, he had written: Marco went here yesterday. He took a shovel.
My blood ran cold.
