“STOP WAVING YOUR HANDS AT THE TABLE! YOU’RE MAKING MY GUESTS THINK THIS IS A CIRCUS!” THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE HUMILIATED HIS 25-YEAR-OLD MAID FOR SIGNING TO HIS MOTHER’S DEAF BEST FRIEND—BUT WHEN THE WOMAN SIGNED, “YOUR SON DOESN’T KNOW WHAT SHE’S BEEN TOLD,” LUCA MORETTI TURNED TOWARD HIS FIANCÉE.
Chapter 2 – THE BROCHURE IN THE SILK PURSE
“Left out of what?” Luca’s voice dropped an octave, the kind of quiet that usually preceded a storm in the Moretti family.
He didn’t look at Vanessa. His d…
THE SHATTERED CHAMPAGNE PLEDGE ON THE MARBLE FLOOR
Chapter 2 – The Silver Locket in the Spotlight
The silence in the grand ballroom of the Vance estate was absolute.
Three hundred of Chicago’s most powerful elites stood completely paralyzed in their…
“Three hours before Chicago’s most exclusive private gala, my husband stood in our bedroom and told me he was taking his mistress instead of me. “I want a divorce, Evelyn. Be gone by morning.” What he didn’t know was that before midnight, I would walk into the same ballroom beside the one man he had spent fifteen years making sure he never owed a favor.
Chapter 2 – The Woman In Midnight Silk
The garment bag fell away, pooling at my feet in a circle of black canvas.
Inside hung a gown that Dominic Vale could never have afforded, even on his best fin…
“MOM’S AGREED TO SELL THE HOUSE,” MY SISTER ANNOUNCED, RAISING HER CHAMPAGNE GLASS. “AFTER EVERYTHING I’VE DONE FOR HER, SHE WANTS ME TO HANDLE THE MONEY.”
Chapter 2 – WHAT DAD KNEW
“Because,” my sister Melissa said, her voice trembling slightly, “if you read it, you’ll know why I need to sell the house before Friday.”
I looked down at the envelope in …
“SHE DOESN’T BELONG AT THIS TABLE. SHE USED TO RUN A CHEAP MOTEL,” VANESSA SAID, PULLING THE CHAIR AWAY FROM THE WOMAN IN NAVY. BUT THE WOMAN LOOKED STRAIGHT AT LUCA MORETTI AND SAID, “YOUR FATHER CAME TO ROOM 12 ONE NIGHT AND ASKED ME TO PROTECT YOUR FIANCÉE. HAS SHE NEVER TOLD YOU WHY?”
Chapter 2 – THE PHOTOGRAPH IN THE MOTEL REGISTER
The silence in the dining room was so absolute I could hear the rain tapping against the long crystal windows.
Luca didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t…
“DON’T CALL HER YOUR DAUGHTER IN FRONT OF MY GUESTS. SHE’S EMBARRASSED ENOUGH BY YOU ALREADY,” THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE TOLD MY 63-YEAR-OLD FATHER—THEN ORDERED HIM TO LEAVE THE DINING ROOM. BUT WHEN MY DAD QUIETLY SAID, “I’M SORRY I NEVER BECAME THE KIND OF MAN YOU COULD BE PROUD OF,” LUCA PUT DOWN HIS GLASS AND ASKED, “WHO MADE HIM BELIEVE THAT?”
Chapter 2 – THE ENVELOPE IN THE CARPENTER’S POCKET
Luca didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t have to. The terrifying stillness of his posture commanded the entire room.
“Answer me, Vanessa,” Luca said,…
MY DAUGHTER TURNED SEVEN TODAY.s I COULDN’T AFFORD A BIRTHDAY CAKE, SO I SAVED HER ONE SLICE FROM THE MAFIA BOSS’S ENGAGEMENT DINNER. HIS FIANCÉE OPENED MY LUNCHBOX IN FRONT OF THIRTY GUESTS AND CALLED ME A THIEF—BUT WHEN LUCA SAW SEVEN LITTLE CANDLES WRAPPED IN A NAPKIN, HE SLOWLY PUT DOWN HIS GLASS.
Chapter 2 – The Missing Envelopes
The dining room went dead silent.
Vanessa’s face turned completely white. She looked at the thirty powerful guests sitting around the table, but nobody offered her …
“SHE CAN BARELY SET A DINNER TABLE. YOU REALLY THINK SHE KNOWS SIGN LANGUAGE?” THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE HUMILIATED HIS 25-YEAR-OLD HOUSEMAID IN FRONT OF FORTY DINNER GUESTS—BUT WHEN THE MAID ANSWERED A DEAF MAN WITH HER HANDS, LUCA MORETTI DISCOVERED WHY HIS DAUGHTER’S GRANDFATHER HAD STOPPED COMING TO SEE HER.
Chapter 2 – THE MEN IN THE DARK SUITS
The forty guests seated around the banquet table were perfectly still, but the silence wasn’t peaceful. It was the terrifying, breathless quiet that follows a ma…
THE MAFIA BOSS WATCHED HIS FIANCÉE PUSH MY NINE-YEAR-OLD SON’S WALKER AWAY FROM HIM DURING HIS ENGAGEMENT DINNER—THEN SHE SAID, “HE NEEDS TO SHOW OUR GUESTS WHAT HE CAN DO.” BUT WHEN MY LITTLE BOY WHISPERED, “MOMMY, I’M SCARED TO FALL AGAIN,” LUCA STOOD UP AND ASKED, “WHO TOLD YOU HE HAD TO WALK TONIGHT?”
Chapter 2 – THE ENGAGEMENT RING
The crystal chandeliers above the dining table suddenly felt blinding.
Twenty-eight guests sat in suffocating silence, their expensive wine glasses untouched, their e…
THE MAFIA BOSS’S FIANCÉE MADE ME REMOVE MY $39 WEDDING RING IN FRONT OF THIRTY DINNER GUESTS. “A MAN WHO LOVES HIS WIFE WOULDN’T GIVE HER SOMETHING THIS CHEAP,” SHE SAID. BUT WHEN MY HUSBAND WALKED INTO THE MANSION STILL WEARING HIS GREASE-STAINED MECHANIC’S SHIRT, LUCA NOTICED WHAT HE WAS CARRYING—AND STOOD UP.
Chapter 2 – THE EMPTY APARTMENT
The silence in the dining room was suffocating.
Vanessa’s face lost all its color, the expensive diamond necklace at her throat suddenly looking like a noose.
Luca M…