Chapter 2 - The Ghost in the Foundation
The heavy deadbolt clicked into place with the finality of a prison cell door.
Panic erupted across the table.
Socialites dropped their crystal flutes. Two women screamed. Men in ten-thousand-dollar tuxedos stood up, shouting for their security guards.
Luca didn't flinch.
He didn't run to the doors.
He simply reached inside his jacket, pulled a sleek matte-black Sig Sauer from his shoulder holster, and placed it flat on the dining table.
The room went instantly silent again.
“Sit down,” Luca said quietly.
No one hesitated. Thirty-six wealthy guests dropped back into their chairs like scolded school children.
Luca turned his gaze back to Vanessa.
Her expensive makeup was beginning to run with sweat. She pressed her back against the mahogany sideboard, her hands shaking behind her.
“Who locked those doors, Vanessa?” Luca asked, his voice steady, low, and terrifying.
“I—I don't know!” she stammered, tears welling in her eyes. “Marco was supposed to meet us here after the auction preview. He said he had the original trust documents!”
I stepped backward, intending to fade into the corner near the service entrance, but Luca’s eyes snapped directly onto me.
“Emma.”
“Yes, Mr. Moretti?”
“You examined that invoice.”
“I did, sir.”
“You noticed the resolution. You noticed the department code.” He walked toward me, each step echoing against the marble tiles. “You aren't just a maid, are you?”
I swallowed, refusing to look down.
“Before I came here, I spent six years auditing forensic billing records for Northshore Medical. When an invoice is fabricated, the metadata always leaves a footprint.”
Luca studied my face for two endless seconds. A strange, sharp glint appeared in his gray eyes.
“Daniel,” Luca called without breaking eye contact with me.
“Yes, Boss?”
“Hand Emma your tablet.”
Daniel hurried over, practically shoving the heavy encrypted tablet into my hands.
“The transaction log,” Luca ordered. “Trace the terminal that generated that invoice.”
My fingers took over before my anxiety could paralyze me. I navigated past the basic user interface, pulling up the raw server logs.
My heart hammered against my ribs, but my fingers were steady.
“The request didn't come from an outside vendor,” I said, reading the IP sequence. “It originated from inside this house.”
Vanessa let out a choked gasp.
“Which room?” Luca asked, stepping closer. He was so close I could smell the cedarwood and crisp gun oil on his coat.
“The third-floor library,” I answered, looking up into his dark eyes. “And it wasn't accessed twenty minutes ago. The transfer authorization was uploaded yesterday afternoon at three-fifteen.”
Luca's jaw clenched until the muscle ticked.
“Yesterday at three-fifteen, I was in New York. The only person with access to the third floor was Vanessa.”
“It’s a lie!” Vanessa shrieked. “The maid is setting me up! She wants money! She’s trying to ruin our wedding!”
Luca didn't even look at her.
“My mother died twenty years ago in Sicily. A car bomb tore her limousine apart. Her body was never recovered, but her death certificate was signed by the Italian consulate.”
He picked up his firearm from the table and racked the slide with a clean, metallic snap.
“If someone used her code yesterday, either my mother is alive, or someone stole the original cipher key from my family’s private safe.”
He turned to his lead bodyguard, Matteo, who was standing by the service corridor.
“Take the guests down to the wine cellar under armed guard. Nobody leaves the perimeter.”
Matteo nodded. “Yes, Don Luca.”
“And Vanessa?” Daniel asked timidly.
Luca looked at his sobbing fiancée with eyes colder than a winter grave.
“Take her to the holding room in the basement. Strip her of all devices.”
Vanessa screamed as two massive guards took her by the arms and dragged her through the side service door.
Within minutes, the dining room was completely empty, save for Luca, Daniel, and me.
Luca turned back to me.
“Emma Reed.”
“Yes, Mr. Moretti?”
“You’re coming with me to the library.”
“Sir, I’m just an employee—”
“You’re the only person in this room who caught a forgery that my entire accounting department missed,” Luca said coldly. “Which means right now, you’re either my best asset, or you’re an accomplice waiting to be interrogated.”
May you like
He extended his hand toward the back staircase.
“Move.”
