Chapter 1 – THE BROKEN WATCH ON THE STAIRCASE
The silence in the dining room was absolute.
Thirty-eight guests stared at Luca Moretti.
None of them dared to speak.
Vanessa’s hand tightened on the back of her chair until her knuckles turned white. She looked at the man sitting beside her father—the man who had claimed he wasn’t at the mansion on the night Daniel fell.
Let’s call him Victor. He was Vanessa’s “distant cousin,” a man who always seemed to be lurking in the shadows of the estate.
“Luca, this is ridiculous,” Vanessa forced a laugh, her voice shrill. “Your mother is confused. She’s mixing up her dreams with reality.”
Luca didn’t look at his fiancée.
His dark eyes remained fixed on Victor.
“I asked you a question,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous register. “Were you here the night my son broke his arm?”
Victor swallowed hard. He tugged at the collar of his expensive tuxedo.
“Mr. Moretti, I assure you, I was in New York that evening. The old woman is… well, she’s not in her right mind.”
Teresa flinched. Her trembling hand squeezed mine so hard it hurt.
“He was here,” Teresa whispered, tears spilling over her wrinkled cheeks. “He was wearing a black coat. And he was angry.”
“Enough!” Vanessa snapped, stepping toward Teresa. “Hannah, take her to her room right now. I won’t have my engagement dinner ruined by these delusions.”
I didn’t move.
My heart was hammering in my chest. I thought of my mother, the overdue electricity bill, the groceries I needed to buy. I knew that defying Vanessa meant losing my job.
But then I looked down at Teresa. I saw the pure, unadulterated fear in her eyes.
And I remembered what Daniel had given me two days ago.
“Hannah?” Vanessa’s voice was venomous. “Are you deaf?”
“He’s lying, Mr. Moretti,” I said.
My voice shook, but the words echoed through the cavernous room.
Vanessa froze. “What did you just say?”
I reached into the pocket of my black serving apron. My fingers brushed against the cold metal object I had kept hidden for forty-eight hours.
“Daniel didn’t want to come downstairs today,” I told Luca, my voice gaining strength. “But before I left his room, he asked me to hold onto something. He said he was afraid Vanessa would search his drawers and find it.”
Luca stepped closer to me. The mafia boss aura radiating from him was terrifying, but his eyes were entirely focused on the truth.
“What did he give you, Hannah?”
I pulled my hand out of my pocket and opened my palm.
Resting in the center of my hand was a heavy, silver pocket watch. The glass face was shattered, and the chain was broken.
But that wasn’t the most important part.
The back of the watch was engraved with three initials: V. A. M.
Victor Anthony Marino.
Victor gasped, his face draining of all color.
“Daniel found this hooked onto the banister on the top of the stairs,” I explained softly. “The chain snapped when… when whoever was chasing him grabbed his shirt.”
Luca reached out and took the broken watch from my hand. He stared at the engraved initials for a long, agonizing moment.
When he finally looked up, his eyes were completely empty of mercy.
“You were in New York, Victor?” Luca asked softly.
Victor took a step backward, bumping into the dining table. Glasses rattled.
“Luca, please, I can explain—”
Two of Luca’s security guards stepped out from the shadows of the hallway, blocking the main exit.
“You chased my fourteen-year-old son down the stairs,” Luca said, taking a slow step forward. “You chased him until he fell. And then you left him there with a broken arm.”
“I didn’t push him!” Victor yelled in panic, raising his hands. “I swear to God, Luca, I didn’t touch him! He slipped because he was running too fast!”
Luca’s jaw tightened. “Why was he running from you?”
Victor’s eyes darted frantically toward Vanessa.
Vanessa’s face was a mask of sheer terror. She shook her head, a silent, desperate warning.
But Victor was a coward.
“I was trying to get the folder back!” Victor shouted, pointing a shaking finger at Vanessa. “She told me to get the folder before the boy showed it to you!”
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