Chapter 2
The heavy oak doors creaked open. The sound echoed through the vast dining room. Forty guests sat frozen in their velvet chairs. Nobody dared to breathe. Vanessa grabbed the edge of the mahogany table. Her knuckles turned pure white. She stared at the threshold like a woman seeing a ghost. “No,” she whispered. Her voice was barely a hiss. “This cannot be happening.” Luca Moretti did not move. His dark eyes remained fixed on the entrance. The man who controlled half of Chicago stood like a statue. His jaw tightened. A muscle twitched near his temple. “Who’s there?” he demanded. The words cut through the silence like a razor blade. A figure stepped out of the shadows of the grand hallway. Tall. Wearing a dark wool coat. Wet from the Chicago drizzle. Her dark hair fell loosely over her shoulders. She looked tired. But her eyes burned with absolute fury. It was Sofia. Luca’s younger sister. The woman who had vanished eight months ago. Teresa let out a ragged breath. She dropped her coat onto the floor. “You came back,” the old woman whispered. Sofia’s eyes drifted toward her mother. A soft, sad smile touched her lips. “I promised you, Mom,” Sofia said. Her voice carried across the room. “I told you I wouldn’t leave you alone with her.” Vanessa took a sharp step forward. “Security!” she shrieked. “Get this trespasser out of this house right now!” Not a single guard moved. The bodyguards standing by the arched windows stared at Luca. Waiting for his command. Luca held up one hand. His gaze never left his sister. “Quiet, Vanessa,” he said softly. The tone was deadly. Vanessa swallowed hard. She tried to force a laugh. “Luca, darling, she’s unwell. You know she’s been spreading lies—” “Shut up.” The two words dropped like lead weights. Vanessa closed her mouth. She retreated a step. I stood beside Teresa, my heart hammering against my ribs. Sofia walked slowly toward the table. Her boots clicked against the polished marble floor. Every step felt like a drumbeat of doom. She stopped ten feet away from Vanessa. The two women stared at each other. The hatred between them was thick enough to cut with a knife. “You look well, Vanessa,” Sofia said coldly. “Expensive dress. Expensive ring. All bought with stolen blood.” Vanessa’s chest rose and fell rapidly. “You’re out of your mind. Luca, she’s delusional.” Sofia ignored her. She turned her head to look at her brother. “You didn’t want to see me, Luca. That’s what she told you, right?” Luca stepped around the table. He closed the distance between them. His face was completely devoid of emotion. A terrifying mask. “Vanessa told me you wanted nothing to do with this family,” Luca said. Sofia let out a harsh, humorless laugh. “Of course she did.” She reached into her deep coat pocket. She pulled out a small, heavy object. And dropped it onto the crystal fruit bowl in the center of the table.Clink. It was a gold pocket watch. Engraved with initials.C. M. Catherine Moretti. Luca froze. His eyes dilated. He reached out with a trembling hand and picked up the watch. “Where did you get this?” he whispered. His voice cracked slightly. “It was buried with her,” Sofia answered. The room erupted into quiet gasps. Guests murmured among themselves. Vanessa’s knees buckled slightly. She caught herself on the back of a chair. “That’s impossible,” Vanessa gasped. “The crypt hasn’t been opened in three years.” Sofia turned her piercing gaze back to Vanessa. “How do you know the crypt hasn’t been opened, Vanessa?” Silence fell instantly. Heavy. Suffocating. Vanessa’s face lost every trace of color. “I… I heard the family talking about it,” she stammered. “Nobody talks about the crypt,” Luca said. He slowly raised his head. His eyes locked onto his fiancée. “Nobody in this house discusses Catherine’s resting place. Ever.” Vanessa’s lips parted. No words came out. She looked around the room like a trapped animal. Forty pairs of wealthy, influential eyes watched her every move. The engagement party had turned into an execution. “Luca,” Vanessa pleaded, her voice trembling. “You’re listening to a bitter sister and a confused old woman. Look at me. I love you.” Luca stepped closer to her. He didn’t look like a grieving fiancé. He looked like an executioner. “You said you never met Catherine,” Luca said. “You told me you moved to Chicago two years after she died.” Vanessa nodded frantically. “Yes! That’s true! It is!” Sofia stepped forward, placing a hand on her brother’s arm. “She lied, Luca,” Sofia whispered. “She was there the night Catherine died.” And then, Sofia pointed a finger straight at Vanessa’s face. “And she didn’t just watch. She helped push her.” Vanessa screamed. A shrill, panicked sound that pierced the high ceiling. She lunged toward the double doors. “Stop her!” Luca roared. Before Vanessa could take two steps, two massive security guards stepped out of the shadows. They grabbed her arms. Pinning her instantly. Vanessa thrashed like a wild animal. “Let me go!” she shrieked. “You can’t do this! I’m going to be your wife!” Luca walked over to her. He stopped inches away from her face. His breathing was heavy. “The wedding is canceled, Vanessa,” he whispered. He turned to the lead guard. “Lock her in the basement holding room.” “No! Luca! Please!” Vanessa screamed as they dragged her away. Her red dress dragged across the marble floor. The heavy doors slammed shut behind her. Silence returned to the dining room. A thick, heavy silence. Luca stood alone in the center of the room. He looked at the pocket watch in his hand. Then he looked at his mother. Teresa was crying softly, holding my hand. Luca walked over to us. He knelt down in front of his 78-year-old mother. “I’m sorry, Mom,” he choked out. Teresa stroked his dark hair. “You brought her home, sweetheart,” she whispered. “That’s all that matters.” Luca stood up and looked at me. His eyes were bloodshot. “Hannah,” he said. “Yes, Mr. Moretti?” I replied, my voice shaking. “You stayed with her when everyone else wanted her silenced.” He pulled a thick black leather wallet from his jacket. He didn't take out cash. He took out a heavy brass master key card and a black platinum card. “You are no longer a maid, Hannah,” he said firmly. “You are the head of this household now. And tomorrow, we dig up the truth.” He turned and walked toward the hallway where Vanessa had disappeared. CLIFFHANGER: As Luca walked down the dark corridor toward the basement, the mansion's master security monitor suddenly flickered, displaying a live camera feed from inside Catherine's sealed crypt—and someone was standing inside it.
