The Mafia Boss’s Fiancée Had Me FIRED for Pulling His Chair Away—But When His Security Team Discovered a Hidden Transmitter Beneath It, a MYSTERIOUS MAN’S VOICE Suddenly Came Through the Speaker, Exposing a Betrayal That Could Destroy the Entire Moretti Empire…

Matteo took me to a small security office behind the kitchen. It had no windows, only a desk, two monitors, and a locked cabinet. A woman in a dark suit stood near the door. She introduced herself as Elena Russo, the estate's security supervisor.

“Sit down, Grace,” she said.

I sat.

“Tell me exactly what you saw. Start from when Miss Bellini entered the dining room.”

I repeated the sequence slowly. Vanessa had carried in the chair from the sitting room. She had told me to replace Luca's usual leather chair. After I finished, she sent me to fetch candles. When I returned, she was crouched beside the seat. Her hand had disappeared beneath it.

“Did she have anything in her hand?” Elena asked.

“I couldn't see. She stood quickly when she noticed me.”

“Did she say anything?”

“She said there was a loose thread.”

Elena wrote it down.

Matteo entered carrying a tablet. “The signal ended at the north gate. A vehicle left six minutes before we locked down the room.”

“Can you identify it?” Elena asked.

“Not yet. The plate was partially obscured.”

I stared at the monitors. “The man who said the package was ready—was he outside?”

Matteo turned toward me. “Why?”

“I heard another voice before that. He said Luca was still inside. Then the second man said they had the package. But the first voice also mentioned the west entrance.”

Elena leaned forward. “What did the first voice sound like?”

“Older. Calm. Like someone giving instructions.”

Matteo and Elena exchanged a look.

“Do you recognize it?” I asked.

“Not yet,” Elena said.

The door opened. Luca stepped inside, having removed his jacket. His white shirt sleeves were rolled to his forearms. He looked less like the man from the engagement photographs and more like someone who had just discovered a leak in a wall he thought was solid.

“Grace,” he said. “I owe you an apology.”

I blinked. “Sir?”

“You warned me in front of thirty guests. I let you stand there while my fiancée called you names.”

“You didn't know what was happening.”

“I knew you were frightened. I should have listened sooner.”

He pulled a chair opposite mine. “You said you worked with audio equipment before.”

“At a downtown hotel. I set up conference rooms and helped event technicians. I wasn't an engineer, but I know what a wireless transmitter looks like.”

“Could you identify the model?”

“I might, if I saw it again.”

Matteo showed me a photograph of the device. I leaned closer. The casing was familiar, but the small label on its underside was more important.

“That's not a normal event microphone,” I said. “It's designed to send a signal to a separate receiver. The green light means it's connected. Red can mean the connection is being interrupted or the device is switching modes, depending on the model.”

“Could it record?” Luca asked.

“Possibly. I would need the exact model number to be certain.”

Elena zoomed in on the photograph. “The number is partially covered.”

I remembered something else. “There was a little strip of clear tape over the label. I noticed it when I turned the chair.”

Matteo frowned. “Why would anyone cover the label?”

“To make it harder to identify,” I said.

Luca looked at Elena. “Find the manufacturer. Preserve the device. And pull every camera angle covering the dining room and service corridor.”

Then he turned back to me. “You mentioned your mother depends on your income.”

I felt embarrassed. “It's not your problem, sir.”

“If someone tried to use you to get to me, it became my problem.”

“I don't think anyone used me.”

“Perhaps not deliberately. But Vanessa knows your name. She knows you work here. If she believes you exposed her, she may decide to make you a convenient explanation.”

I swallowed. “What does that mean?”

“It means you won't be walking home alone tonight. A driver will take you to your mother's house if you want to go there.”

“I don't want to bring trouble to her.”

“Then we will make sure the trouble doesn't reach her.”

As I reached the door, he spoke again.

“Grace?”

“Yes?”

“Don't tell Vanessa anything about what we find.”