Chapter 3 - A Brother at Breakfast
Luca Moretti arrived at breakfast smiling, his expensive coat wet from the rain. He kissed my hand as though we were old friends. Adrian watched without touching his coffee.
"I hear we have a security problem," Luca said.
"Who told you?" Adrian asked.
Luca's smile faltered for a fraction of a second. "People talk."
I kept pouring coffee, determined not to shake. Luca wore one silver wolf cuff link. The other cuff was bare.
Adrian noticed it too.
After breakfast he asked me to walk with him in the greenhouse. He told me Luca had spent years resenting the family business, yet had recently insisted on returning to help. "I want to believe my brother," Adrian admitted. "Wanting isn't evidence."
I surprised myself by answering, "Then don't accuse him until you know."
For the first time, Adrian smiled at me without the armor he wore for everyone else.
That afternoon I found an envelope tucked into a gardening book. Inside was a photograph of Adrian's car taken from a distance, with Sunday's date written on the back. I brought it straight to Gabriel.
Gabriel frowned. "Who else has seen this?"
"Nobody."
"Good," he said too quickly. "Keep it that way."
As I turned to leave, his phone lit up. The message preview contained only three words: SHE FOUND IT.
May you like
I pretended not to notice.
But when I reached the staircase, I realized Gabriel was following me.
