Chapter 3 – The Photograph Behind the Glass

“What photograph?” Luca demanded, dropping to one knee beside his father.

Anthony took a ragged breath. The effort of speaking so much was draining him, but his eyes were burning with a fierce, protective fire.

“In my study,” Anthony wheezed. “Behind the… glass.”

I remembered immediately.

In Anthony’s private study, there was a massive mahogany desk. Behind it hung a framed photograph of Anthony and his late wife, Maria, standing in front of their first bakery in Little Italy forty years ago.

“I dust that frame every Tuesday,” I said, looking at Luca. “It’s bolted to the wall.”

“Behind it,” Anthony clarified, his voice growing stronger with anger. “A wall safe. Hidden.”

Camille lunged toward the front doors.

She didn’t make it two steps.

Marcus caught her by the arm, spinning her around and pinning her against the nearest marble pillar.

“Let go of me!” she shrieked.

Luca stood up. The pieces were finally clicking into place.

“Daniel wasn’t looking for ledgers,” Luca realized. “He was looking for the offshore accounts. The crypto keys.”

He walked slowly toward Camille.

“You didn’t embezzle from the corporate accounts. That would be too easy to trace. You wanted my father dead so you could access his private safe before the lawyers did the inventory.”

Camille glared at him, breathing heavily. “He’s a crippled old man. He didn’t need the money. My family lost everything because of yours, Luca! This was owed to us!”

I stared at her.

“Your family?” Luca asked coldly.

“My father was your father’s partner in the seventies!” Camille spat, all pretense of elegance gone. “He pushed my father out of the real estate business. Bankrupted him. My father died in a state-run nursing home while Anthony sat in this mansion.”

Anthony shook his head in disgust. “Your father… stole from the union. I fired him… to keep him out of prison.”

Camille screamed in frustration. “Liar!”

“So you played the long game,” Luca said quietly. “You targeted me. You dated me for three years. You pushed my father down the stairs to speed up the inheritance. And when he survived, you realized the wedding was taking too long. You wanted the crypto keys in the safe.”

He looked at me.

“Natalie. Yesterday morning. When Maya dropped off your keys, where did she go?”

My mind raced.

“I met her at the service entrance. But I had to run to the kitchen because a pot was boiling over. I told her to wait in the hall.”

“The hall right outside the study,” Luca confirmed.

I felt sick. “She told me she saw a man in a suit looking behind a picture frame. She thought it was you, Mr. Moretti. She just waved and walked away.”

“Daniel,” Luca said. “He panicked. He thought Maya realized what he was doing. He thought she told you, and that you would tell me.”

Luca turned to Marcus.

“Where is Daniel right now?”

Marcus touched his earpiece. His face went grim.

“Sir. The perimeter guards just reported a breach at the south gate. Five minutes ago.”

Luca’s eyes narrowed. “A breach?”

“A black SUV rammed the service exit. It’s on the property.”

Camille laughed hysterically. “He’s here! He knows you caught me! He’s coming to finish the job!”

Suddenly, the massive crystal chandeliers above us flickered.

Once. Twice.

Then, the entire mansion plunged into total, suffocating darkness.

Screams erupted from the guests. Glass shattered as people bumped into tables.

“Protect my father!” Luca roared over the panic.

I didn’t think. I just reacted.

I dropped to the floor and scrambled through the darkness toward Anthony’s wheelchair. I found the armrest and threw my body over his, shielding him in the pitch black.

“I’ve got you, Mr. Moretti,” I whispered fiercely.

“Brave girl,” Anthony murmured.

Heavy boots slammed against the marble floor.

Flashlights cut through the darkness. But they weren’t held by Marcus’s men.

Three men in tactical gear stormed the dining room, their weapons raised.

And leading them was Daniel Bennett.

He was holding a flashlight in one hand, and a heavy, dark wool coat in the other.

He threw the coat onto the floor.

It was Maya’s.

“Nobody moves!” Daniel shouted. “Or the girl in the trunk of my car dies right now!”

TITLE: The Coat On The Marble Floor

Share