Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN IN THE CREAM COAT
Luca did not speak for several seconds.
The study seemed to grow colder around us. A fire crackled in the marble fireplace, but I could still feel my fingers trembling.
“Tell me everything you heard,” he said.
I tried.
I explained how I had entered the guest room with towels and found Vanessa standing beside a man I had never seen before. A folder lay open on the bed. Photographs covered the quilt: Luca outside restaurants, Luca entering his office, Luca meeting business associates, and Luca beside a woman in a cream-colored coat.
The woman was Elena Moretti, Luca's former wife.
Vanessa had not noticed me at first. She was speaking too quickly, her attention fixed on the investigator.
“She needs to believe you never stopped seeing Elena,” I repeated. “She said Elena would never stay quiet if she thought you'd made a fool of her.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“Did she say anything about the wedding?”
“She said the accusation had to happen before the engagement announcement was finished. She wanted everyone to hear it.”
“Everyone?”
“All the guests. The business partners. Your family.”
He looked toward the photograph again.
“Did you hear anything else?”
I hesitated.
The investigator had opened another envelope. Vanessa had removed a document and tapped it with one red fingernail.
“She said the photographs were only the beginning. She told him to make sure Elena brought the old papers.”
“What old papers?”
“I don't know. I couldn't see them.”
Luca picked up his phone.
“Daniel, find out where Elena is tonight. Discreetly. And get the original files from every camera in the house. No one is to access or delete them.”
He ended the call.
Then he turned back to me.
“Why did you take the photograph?”
I glanced at my hands.
“I thought you should know.”
“You could have given it to security.”
“I didn't know who I could trust.”
His expression changed slightly.
“That's a serious thing to say in my house.”
“I know.”
“Do you think my staff is involved?”
“I don't know, sir. But Vanessa told the investigator that someone inside the mansion had been giving her information.”
Luca's gaze sharpened.
“Who?”
“She didn't say a name.”
He stood and walked toward the window. Below us, the last guests were leaving. The engagement dinner had ended with champagne, laughter, and promises of a wedding in six weeks.
Now the entire celebration looked like a stage set built around a lie.
“Olivia,” he said, still facing the glass, “did Vanessa tell you not to speak?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly did she say?”
I swallowed.
“She said if I told you, she would make sure I never worked in this city again.”
Luca turned.
“And you were still willing to tell me?”
“I didn't know what else to do.”
He studied my face, then picked up the phone again.
“Mrs. Carter?”
The head housekeeper answered almost immediately.
“Sir?”
“Olivia is not to return to her usual duties until the doctor clears her. Arrange a paid leave. She will have access to her room and meals. No one is to question her without my permission.”
I looked up.
“Mr. Moretti, I can't afford to be on leave.”
“You will be paid.”
“But—”
“That's not a negotiation.”
He ended the call.
I wanted to thank him, but the words felt too small.
“Go rest,” he said. “Tomorrow we'll speak again.”
I turned toward the door.
“Olivia.”
I looked back.
“If anyone contacts you about what happened today, you call Daniel. Not Vanessa. Not Mrs. Carter. Daniel.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And one more thing.”
He glanced at the bruise beneath my eye.
“You don't have to protect the person who hurt you.”
I left the study with those words following me down the corridor.
In my small staff bedroom, I washed the makeup from my face and stared at the swelling in the mirror. The bruise looked worse without concealer. I touched the edge of it and winced.
My phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
A message appeared.
You should have kept your mouth shut.
A second message arrived before I could move.
You don't know what she's capable of.
Then a photograph appeared.
May you like
It showed my younger brother, Ethan, standing outside the community college where he attended evening classes.
My blood went cold.
