Chapter 1 - The Stain That Told the Truth
THE MAFIA BOSS SAW HIS FIANCÉE HUMILIATE THE WAITRESS—BUT ONE DROP OF RED WAX ON HER UNIFORM MADE HIM REALIZE SOMEONE AT HIS TABLE WAS LYING
Madeline Cross poured the entire glass of red wine down the front of the waitress’s white shirt.
The restaurant went silent.
Not gradually.
Instantly.
Wine ran from Emily Carter’s collar to her black apron, dripping onto the polished hardwood floor of Bellucci’s, one of Boston’s most private restaurants.
Emily stood frozen beside the table.
Her fingers tightened around the empty serving tray.
Madeline smiled.
“You should be more careful.”
Emily looked at the overturned wineglass still sitting beside Madeline’s hand.
They both knew Emily hadn’t spilled it.
So did the man sitting across from them.
Dominic Russo slowly lifted his eyes.
He was thirty-nine, dressed in a charcoal suit without a tie, one hand resting beside an untouched glass of bourbon.
People in Boston called him many things.
Investor.
Importer.
Businessman.
But nobody inside Bellucci’s believed those were the reasons men lowered their voices when Dominic Russo entered a room.
Madeline reached for her napkin.
“She bumped the table.”
Emily swallowed.
“I’m sorry, ma’am.”
Dominic’s gaze shifted to her.
Then stopped.
Not on the wine.
On Emily’s left sleeve.
There was something there that didn’t belong.
A tiny drop of dark red wax.
Dominic’s expression barely changed.
But Madeline saw where he was looking.
May you like
And for the first time that evening—
she stopped smiling.
