THE MAN IN THE GIFT ROOM

I stared at the photograph in Luca’s trembling hand.

It was me.

I looked about eighteen. My hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, and I was standing in front of a rundown diner holding a tray of coffees. I wasn't posing. The picture had been taken from across the street. Secretly.

The silence in the study was deafening.

“Why…” I stammered, my heart beating so fast I felt dizzy. “Why was a picture of me inside that child’s coat?”

Luca didn't answer right away. He flipped the photograph over.

There was a date stamped on the back in faded blue ink.

October 14th. Ten years ago.

The exact day Luca’s sister, Mia, supposedly drowned.

Answer one. The child in the coat wasn't Vanessa’s. The child was connected to Mia.

Open two. Why had someone been taking secret photos of me ten years ago? And how was I connected to a mafia family I didn't even know existed?

“Hannah,” Luca said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “Where were you on October 14th, ten years ago?”

I swallowed hard, trying to force my brain to work through the panic.

“I… I was eighteen. I had just aged out of the foster system. I was working double shifts at a diner on 47th Street to pay for a motel room.”

“Did anything happen that day? Anything unusual?”

I squeezed my eyes shut, digging into the past.

“It was raining,” I whispered. “It was pouring. A woman came into the diner. She was soaked to the bone. She was terrified.”

Luca stepped closer. “What did she look like?”

“Dark hair. Pale skin. She looked like she was running from someone. She had a baby wrapped inside her coat. A newborn.”

Luca’s breath hitched. He grabbed the edge of the mahogany desk to steady himself.

“Did she say anything to you?” he demanded, his voice thick with emotion.

“She asked for a cup of hot water to warm the baby’s bottle. I gave it to her. She sat in my section for two hours, just watching the door. When my shift ended, she grabbed my arm.”

I opened my eyes and looked at Luca.

“She slipped a silver bracelet into my pocket and told me to keep it hidden. She said if a man with a scarred hand came looking for her, I had to tell the police she went east. Then she ran out the back door.”

Luca stared at me. “And did you? Did you tell the police?”

“I never got the chance,” I said, my voice shaking. “Ten minutes later, a man walked into the diner. He had a jagged scar on the back of his hand.”

Dominic.

“He didn't ask me anything. He just looked at me, bought a cup of coffee, and left.”

Luca closed his eyes. The pieces were locking together in his mind, painting a horrifying picture.

Mia hadn't drowned. She had run away to protect her baby. From Dominic. And Dominic had tracked her to my diner.

“The bracelet,” Luca whispered. “Where is it?”

“I sold it,” I cried, the guilt suddenly overwhelming me. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Moretti. I was starving. I sold it to a pawn shop a week later to pay for groceries.”

Luca didn't look angry. He looked devastated.

“Vanessa bought it,” he realized, his voice hollow. “She must have tracked it down. She knew Mia was alive. She’s known this whole time.”

Before I could process that revelation, Daniel’s radio crackled loudly on his shoulder.

“Daniel,” a guard’s voice hissed through the static. “We’ve got a situation in the East Hallway.”

“Go ahead,” Daniel said.

“Miss Bellini just fired the entire night staff. She told them to pack their bags and leave the property immediately. She’s moving the wedding up. She told the caterers to be ready by tomorrow night.”

Luca’s head snapped up.

Tomorrow night. She was accelerating the timeline. She was panicking.

“She knows I’m looking into the gift room,” Luca said coldly.

Daniel looked at his boss. “What do you want me to do?”

“Let the staff leave. It clears the board. But put eyes on Vanessa. Do not let her out of your sight.”

“Yes, Boss.” Daniel hurried out of the room.

I tried to stand up, my ankle screaming in protest. “I should go too. If she finds me up here—”

“You are not leaving this room,” Luca commanded.

He walked over to me and pressed his hands gently against my shoulders, forcing me back down into the chair.

“You are the only person who can identify that child. You are the only person who saw Dominic. You are the target now, Hannah.”

My blood ran cold.

“But she thinks I only saw the necklace,” I reasoned, desperation leaking into my voice.

“She shoved a heavy cart at you,” Luca reminded me brutally. “Vanessa doesn't leave loose ends.”

He turned toward the window, looking out over the dark, rain-swept estate.

“I need to check the safe again. The real necklace might not be what they were after. There’s something else.”

“What?” I asked.

“A ledger. My father’s ledger. It holds the account numbers to the entire family trust. If Vanessa gets her hands on it before we’re married, she can empty the accounts and disappear with Dominic.”

He turned to leave the study.

“Lock the door behind me,” Luca ordered. “Do not open it for anyone but me.”

He stepped out, pulling the heavy door shut. I immediately reached over and turned the brass deadbolt.

Click.

I was alone.

I leaned back in the chair, my heart pounding in my throat. I reached into my apron pocket to grab a tissue to wipe my eyes.

My fingers didn't find a tissue.

They brushed against something hard. Something heavy and metallic.

I frowned. I pulled it out.

It was a solid gold pocket watch.

I gasped, dropping it on the desk as if it burned me. I had never seen it before in my life. It hadn't been in my pocket ten minutes ago.

How did it get there?