Chapter 1: The Locked Ballroom
The locks clicked into place around the Moretti mansion.
No one moved.
The senators, judges, business owners, and elegantly dressed wives who had applauded Vanessa only moments earlier now stood frozen beneath the chandeliers.
Alessandro turned toward his head of security.
“Marco, search Miss Cole’s suite.”
Vanessa’s hand tightened around his arm.
“You cannot be serious.”
Alessandro removed her fingers from his sleeve one at a time.
“I have never been more serious.”
Marco Costa was a broad-shouldered man in his early forties who had protected the Moretti family for nearly twenty years. He gave two guards a silent signal, and they disappeared through the ballroom doors.
Vanessa looked at me.
The hatred in her eyes made my skin turn cold.
“This woman planted it,” she said. “She has access to every room in this house.”
“I never touched the box,” I replied.
“You admitted finding it.”
“I admitted putting it back.”
Emma clung to my skirt.
Her fever had returned. I could feel the heat of her forehead through the fabric.
Alessandro noticed.
He removed his tuxedo jacket and placed it gently around her shoulders.
Vanessa’s expression changed.
It was subtle, but I saw it.
The false pregnancy had been exposed, yet what truly enraged her was Alessandro showing kindness to my daughter.
Ten minutes later, Marco returned.
His expression was controlled.
Too controlled.
“There is no maternity belly in Miss Cole’s suite.”
Vanessa released a broken laugh.
“Of course there isn’t.”
Marco continued.
“We searched the closet, the dressing room, the bathroom, the adjoining guest suite, and the service corridor.”
Alessandro’s eyes narrowed.
“Was anything unusual found?”
“A medical folder.”
Vanessa immediately reached for it.
Marco handed it to Alessandro instead.
Inside were ultrasound photographs, blood test results, and a letter signed by Dr. Samuel Hargrove, one of the most respected private physicians in New York.
The letter confirmed that Vanessa Cole was fourteen weeks pregnant.
The child’s father was listed as Alessandro Moretti.
The ballroom began whispering again.
Vanessa wiped a tear from her cheek.
“There. Are you satisfied?”
Alessandro studied the documents without speaking.
I looked down at Emma.
She was staring toward the eastern h
allway.
“What is it?” I whispered.
She pointed past the security guards.
“The flower box isn’t in the lady’s room anymore.”
My heart stopped.
“Where is it?”
Emma’s small face tightened as she tried to remember.
“The man took it.”
Alessandro lowered the medical folder.
“What man?”
Emma looked directly at Marco Costa.
Then she raised her finger.
“The man with the gold lion on his hand.”
May you like
Marco slowly placed his right hand behind his back.
But not before everyone saw the gold lion ring on his finger.
