Chapter 4 – THE PHOTOGRAPH IN THE SHADOWS

The silence in the bedroom was suffocating, broken only by the sound of Marco’s jagged breathing.

“Give me that photograph, you little brat,” Marco sneered, though fear leaked through his bravado.

I glanced down at the picture in Isabella’s hand.

It was a security still. It showed Marco standing in the estate’s kitchen late at night, handing a small glass vial to Vanessa Bellini. The timestamp was two days before Caroline died.

“You helped her,” I whispered, horrified. “You helped murder your own sister-in-law?”

“Caroline was weak!” Marco spat, keeping the gun trained on us. “She was turning Luca soft. He was talking about going legitimate. You can’t go legitimate in this city without getting slaughtered by the Commission. I did what had to be done to save the family business.”

He cocked the hammer of his pistol.

“Now. Give me the photo and the box.”

“No.”

The voice came from the hallway.

Marco spun around, raising his gun, but he was too slow.

Luca stepped into the doorway, moving with terrifying speed. He didn’t draw a weapon. He simply grabbed Marco’s wrist, twisting his arm backward with a sickening crack.

Marco screamed, dropping the pistol onto the carpet.

Luca slammed his brother into the heavy oak doorframe, pinning him by the throat.

“You poisoned my wife?” Luca roared, a sound of pure, unhinged violence that made the windows rattle.

“Luca, listen to me!” Marco choked out, his face turning purple. “Carlo Bellini gave us an ultimatum! Marry Vanessa, or the Bellini family wipes us off the map! I was trying to save you!”

Luca didn’t yell again. He leaned in, his dark eyes devoid of any warmth.

“You destroyed my family,” Luca whispered.

He struck Marco once across the jaw. Marco collapsed, unconscious before he hit the floor.

Luca stood breathing heavily, staring down at his brother’s body. Then, he turned to us. His eyes softened the moment they landed on Isabella.

“Are you hurt, baby?” he asked, rushing over and dropping to his knees.

Isabella threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. “I knew you would come, Daddy.”

Luca held her tight, kissing the top of her unevenly cut hair.

He looked up at me.

“Do you have it?” he asked.

I held up the music box, the vial of pills, and the letter.

“It’s all here,” I said, my voice shaking. “Caroline knew everything. Vanessa poisoned her, and Marco supplied it.”

Luca gently took the letter from my hand. He read his late wife’s final words, his jaw tightening as a single tear escaped his eye.

“Mr. Moretti,” I said quietly. “If Carlo Bellini knows we have this proof, he won’t wait. He’ll attack the estate tonight.”

Luca folded the letter and slipped it into his jacket.

“Let him come,” Luca said coldly.

He stood up, pulling out his cell phone. He dialed a number.

“Secure the perimeter,” Luca ordered his head of security. “Nobody gets in. Nobody gets out.”

He hung up and looked at me.

“Claire, pack a bag for Isabella. I’m getting you both out of the city.”

“I’m not leaving my mother,” I said firmly, standing my ground. “She’s in a care facility downtown. If the Bellinis are looking for leverage, they’ll go after her.”

Luca stared at me, seeing the fierce, unyielding terror in my eyes.

“You’re right,” he said. “We’ll send a team to get her.”

Suddenly, his phone vibrated.

He looked at the screen. The color drained from his face.

“What is it?” I asked, panic rising in my throat.

Luca slowly turned the screen toward me.

It was a text message from an unknown number.

Attached was a live video feed of my mother, sleeping in her hospital bed.

And standing right beside her, holding a syringe, was Vanessa.

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