Chapter 2 - THE SILVER LIGHTER
The silence in the dining room was absolute.
Thirty wealthy guests sat completely paralyzed. The clinking of silverware, the soft jazz playing from the corner, the hushed murmurs of high society—all of it had vanished, sucked into the vacuum of Adrian’s confession.
She never intended for that ceremony to end with you as her husband.
I stood frozen, the silver serving tray pressing so hard into my stomach it ached.
Luca didn't yell. He didn't pull a weapon or flip the table. That wasn't who he was. Instead, he simply tilted his head, his dark eyes fixed on the man who had been his brother in everything but blood.
"Explain," Luca said. Just one word, quiet and heavy as stone.
Vanessa sprang forward, her red dress flashing under the chandelier. "Luca, he's lying! He's trying to ruin us because I rejected his advances! Allison put him up to this because she's mentally unstable!"
"Sit down, Vanessa," Luca commanded, not even looking at her.
She didn't move. She reached into her clutch, her fingers trembling. "I won't let these people destroy our—"
Before she could finish the sentence, Adrian slammed his hand onto the table.
"Show him, Vanessa. Show him what's in the bag."
Vanessa’s face went chalk white. She yanked her hand back from the silk purse as if it had caught fire.
Luca turned his gaze to the small, beaded clutch resting near Vanessa’s untouched champagne glass. He reached out and picked it up.
"Luca, please, that's private," she whispered, her voice finally losing its arrogant edge.
He unclasped it. He didn't pull out a gun, or poison, or a contract.
He pulled out a heavy, tarnished silver lighter. It was engraved with a single, looping crest. An eagle clutching a snake.
I heard a sharp intake of breath from the older men at the end of the table. Even as a housemaid, I knew what that crest meant. The Falcone family. The cartel that had ordered the hit on Luca's father ten years ago.
Luca traced his thumb over the eagle. "My father's lighter," he said softly. "The one taken from his coat the night he was killed. How did it get in your purse, Vanessa?"
Adrian looked at his hands. "Because she didn't just sleep with me, Luca. She’s been sleeping with the man who killed your father. And on Saturday, as your best man, I was supposed to leave the side door of the cathedral unlocked."
Luca’s eyes snapped to his friend.
"I couldn't do it," Adrian choked out, tears finally spilling over. "I swear to God, Luca, I tried to walk away. But she said if I didn't open that door..."
Adrian reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a crumpled, child's drawing. It was a crayon sketch of a house, a dog, and three stick figures. Written in clumsy letters at the top was: To Daddy, Love Leo.
May you like
Allison let out a shattered gasp. "Adrian... who is Leo?"
Adrian looked at his wife, his chest heaving. "He's five, Allie. And if I don't leave that cathedral door open on Saturday... Vanessa's friends are going to kill my son."
