Chapter 4 – THE MAN IN THE WHITE TUXEDO

I backed away slowly, pressing Leo against the hallway wall.

The man in the white tuxedo descended the stairs with measured, silent steps. I recognized him from the dinner table. He was Dominic Rossi, a powerful real estate developer and, more importantly, Vanessa’s older brother.

“Where is Mr. Moretti?” I demanded, my voice shaking despite my best efforts to sound brave.

Dominic didn’t answer. He carefully wiped the barrel of his gun with a silk handkerchief, his eyes fixed on the silver pocket watch in Leo’s small hand.

“My sister is a fool,” Dominic sighed, shaking his head. “She let a maid unravel six months of careful planning in ten minutes. But Marco was an even bigger fool. He actually thought I would let a hired thug take over the Moretti empire.”

Answer One: Dominic shot Marco. He was the true mastermind behind the takeover.

“You used them both,” I said, inching toward the back stairwell.

“Vanessa is greedy, and Marco was arrogant,” Dominic replied casually. “But I just need one thing, Claire. Hand me the boy’s watch, and I’ll let you walk out of this house with your life. You can go back to your deaf father and your little sister. You can pay for her surgery.”

My blood ran cold.

How did he know about Sophie’s surgery?

“How do you know about my sister?” I whispered.

Dominic smiled. It was a terrifying, hollow expression. “Did you really think your employment here was an accident? We needed someone isolated, someone desperate for money, who wouldn’t ask questions. You were vetted, Claire. We just didn’t realize you spoke sign language.”

The reversal made me dizzy. My entire presence in this house, the job that was supposed to save my family, was a calculated setup. I was nothing but a pawn on their chessboard.

But they had made one fatal miscalculation. They assumed I was weak.

“You’re not getting this watch,” I said, my grip on Leo tightening.

Dominic raised his gun, aiming directly at my chest. “I wasn’t asking.”

I didn’t wait for him to pull the trigger.

Using my foot, I kicked the heavy wooden side table next to me, sending an antique porcelain vase crashing onto the hardwood floor. The sudden, shattering noise made Dominic flinch backward just an inch.

In that split second, I grabbed Leo and threw us both through the heavy velvet curtains covering the old dumbwaiter shaft.

“Hold on to me!” I whispered fiercely to Leo.

I pulled the manual release lever. The wooden box plummeted downward in the dark shaft, dropping us violently to the first floor just as two bullets tore through the wood above our heads.

The dumbwaiter hit the bottom with a bone-jarring thud. We spilled out into the mansion’s main kitchen.

The room was empty, lit only by the emergency lights.

Leo was crying silently, tears tracking through the dust on his cheeks. He held the silver watch up to me.

“He wants the secret,” Leo whispered. “Grandma hid it in here before the car crashed.”

Open Two: What was on the microchip that was worth killing the entire Moretti family for?

I took the watch, opening the compartment. I pulled out the microchip. I didn’t know what it held, but I knew it was the only leverage we had.

“We have to find your grandmother,” I told Leo.

We crept through the dark corridors, heading toward the main foyer. The mansion felt like a tomb. The guests were locked in the drawing-room, their panicked voices muffled behind heavy doors.

As we reached the grand foyer, my heart soared.

Sitting at the base of the stairs was Mrs. Moretti in her wheelchair. She was safe.

“Mrs. Moretti!” I called out softly in a hushed whisper, running toward her.

She turned her head. But she didn’t look relieved. Her eyes were wide with sheer terror.

Her hands flew up, frantically signing two words.

Behind you.

I spun around just as a cold, heavy metal barrel pressed against the back of my neck.

“Clever girl,” Dominic’s voice whispered in my ear. “But the game is over.”

Then, a sudden, blinding flash of light illuminated the foyer.

The massive front doors of the mansion were blown violently off their hinges, crashing onto the marble floor.

TITLE: The Ledger In The Fire

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