Chapter 9 – THE WATCH TICKING IN THE SHADOWS

The next morning, the estate felt like paradise.

I woke up in the master suite, the morning sun streaming through the massive windows. Luca was already awake, bringing in a tray of coffee and pastries.

“Good morning, fiancée,” he smiled, kissing my forehead.

I laughed, sitting up and admiring the ring on my finger. “I could get used to this.”

But the peace was shattered an hour later.

I was walking down the main hallway toward Sophie’s room when I noticed something strange sitting on a small console table near the front door.

It was a silver watch.

I frowned, picking it up.

It wasn’t Grace’s Cartier watch. It was a heavy, men’s chronograph. The glass face was cracked, and the hands were frozen at exactly 11:42.

The exact time of Grace’s death.

A chill ran down my spine.

I took the watch directly to Luca’s study.

“Luca,” I said, walking in. “Did you leave this in the hallway?”

Luca took the watch. His brow furrowed in confusion, then realization dawned, turning his expression to stone.

“This is Harrison’s watch,” Luca whispered. “The doctor’s.”

“But Harrison is dead,” I said. “He committed suicide in the basement.”

“No,” Luca corrected grimly. “He was murdered. Someone staged it to look like suicide. And whoever did it just placed his watch in our hallway.”

Answer one: The mastermind behind the conspiracy wasn’t just Vanessa and Evelyn. There was someone else.

Open two: How did they get inside the secure estate to leave the watch?

Marco burst into the study, his face pale.

“Boss. We have a breach.”

Luca stood up sharply. “Where?”

“The security feeds from last night. Someone wiped the hard drives between 2:00 AM and 3:00 AM. And…” Marco hesitated.

“And what?”

“David is gone. His bed wasn’t slept in, and his car is missing from the garage.”

I gasped. “David? You think David left the watch?”

Luca’s eyes narrowed. “David spent five years tracking the offshore accounts. He knew every detail of Vanessa’s plan. Maybe he knew too much.”

Luca grabbed his coat. “Marco, track David’s car GPS. We’re finding him right now.”

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