Chapter 6 – THE TICKET TO SWITZERLAND

The safe room went dead silent.

“Vanessa,” Luca said, his voice cold enough to freeze water. “If you hurt my sister, there won’t be a corner of this earth where you can hide.”

Vanessa laughed. It was a sharp, hysterical sound.

“I’m already hiding, Luca. And I have the ultimate leverage. Isabella’s life for my freedom.”

“What do you want?”

“I want the offshore accounts transferred to my name. Ten million dollars. And a clear path to the private airstrip.”

“You’ll never make it out of the country.”

“Watch me.”

The line went dead.

Luca slammed his fist against the steel wall.

“Marco!” Luca roared into his radio. “Prep the chopper. We’re going to Lake Geneva.”

I stood up, clutching the envelope Evelyn had given me.

“Mr. Moretti, wait,” I said.

Luca turned to me, his eyes blazing with adrenaline. “Emma, stay here. Keep Sophie safe.”

“Look at this first,” I insisted, pulling the documents out of the envelope.

I scanned the autopsy report Evelyn had hidden for years.

“It says Grace died of a specific neurotoxin,” I read aloud. “Aconite. Wolfsbane.”

David nodded grimly. “It mimics a heart attack. Difficult to trace unless you’re specifically looking for it.”

“But look at the timestamp,” I pointed to the bottom of the page. “Grace died at 11:42 PM.”

Luca frowned. “Yes. I was there.”

“But the security photo you found tonight… the one showing Vanessa outside Grace’s apartment?” I pulled the photo from my pocket. “The timestamp on the photo is 11:45 PM.”

Luca stared at the photo.

Answer one: Vanessa couldn’t have administered the poison if she was standing outside the building when Grace died.

Open two: If Vanessa didn’t administer the poison, who did?

“She had an accomplice inside the room,” David realized, his face turning pale.

“Harrison,” Luca said immediately. “The doctor was in the room when she died.”

Luca grabbed his radio. “Marco. Go to the basement. Interrogate Dr. Harrison. Find out exactly how he gave her the poison.”

“Boss,” Marco’s voice crackled over the radio. “Harrison is dead. Found him hanging in his cell five minutes ago. Looks like a suicide.”

The air left the room.

Harrison hadn’t committed suicide. He was silenced.

“Vanessa didn’t kill Harrison,” Luca said softly. “She was already gone.”

Which meant the true mastermind was still inside the house.

I looked at David.

David looked at Evelyn.

Evelyn was staring at her purse.

She slowly opened it and pulled out a first-class airline ticket.

One way. Chicago to Switzerland. Departing tomorrow morning.

Evelyn looked up at Luca. Tears were streaming down her face, but her eyes were entirely cold.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” Evelyn whispered.

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