Chapter 2 - The Butler's Secret
The mansion became a fortress within seconds.
Steel shutters dropped over the lower windows.
The gates locked.
Security teams swept every corridor.
Hannah sat inside the safe room with Ellie curled against her side.
Rosie was tucked beneath the girl's chin.
“Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“Is Mr. Moretti going to die?”
Hannah stroked her daughter's hair.
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“I don't.”
Ellie thought about that.
“Then why did you say no?”
“Because sometimes children need hope.”
Ellie looked at her.
“Is hope medicine?”
Hannah smiled sadly.
“Sometimes.”
Outside, Adrian stood in the security command center.
Six monitors showed different sections of the property.
Vincent Bellini was nowhere.
That frightened Adrian more than the attack itself.
“Find him,” he ordered.
A guard shook his head.
“We've checked his quarters.”
“His car?”
“Still here.”
“Phone?”
“On the kitchen counter.”
Adrian stared at the monitors.
“Then he's still inside.”
Samuel approached.
“You shouldn't be standing.”
Adrian ignored him.
“Tell me about the toxin.”
“We're running tests.”
“How long?”
“An hour.”
“I don't have an hour.”
Samuel lowered his voice.
“You almost died.”
Adrian looked at him.
“And someone intended to make sure I did.”
The doctor sighed.
“You've been poisoned before.”
“Not like this.”
“Because this time someone knew about your allergy.”
Adrian went still.
He had been allergic to shellfish since childhood.
Only a handful of people knew.
His late wife had known.
Vincent knew.
Samuel knew.
Three senior members of his organization knew.
And two of those men were dead.
That left Vincent.
Adrian looked at the monitor.
“Bring me the kitchen staff.”
Minutes later, four employees stood in a line.
The chef.
Two assistants.
A dishwasher.
All terrified.
“Who handled the wine?”
The chef swallowed.
“Vincent requested it.”
“When?”
“About twenty minutes before Mr. Moretti drank it.”
“Did he touch the bottle?”
“Yes.”
“Did anyone else?”
“No.”
Adrian nodded.
“Leave.”
The chef hesitated.
“Sir?”
“Leave.”
Once they were gone, Adrian turned to his head of security.
“Search Vincent's room again.”
The guard nodded.
Five minutes later, he returned carrying a black leather case.
Adrian opened it.
Inside were passports.
Three phones.
A handgun.
And photographs.
Adrian picked up the first photograph.
It showed his wife.
Elena.
His fingers tightened.
The second photograph showed Lily.
His daughter.
The third showed Hannah.
The fourth showed Ellie.
Adrian's expression became unreadable.
“Where did these come from?”
“We don't know.”
Adrian turned the photograph over.
There was a date.
Three months earlier.
Someone had been watching Hannah long before she came to work at the estate.
Samuel stared at the photographs.
“This isn't about you.”
Adrian's eyes remained on Ellie's picture.
“No.”
He slowly realized the truth.
“It may be about her.”
Meanwhile, inside the safe room, Ellie began drawing.
Hannah glanced down.
“What are you drawing?”
“A house.”
“It looks like Mr. Moretti's house.”
Ellie shook her head.
“No.”
She pointed to a tiny black rectangle on the page.
“This is the secret door.”
Hannah's blood ran cold.
“What secret door?”
Ellie pointed toward the wall.
“The one the man used.”
Hannah stared at her daughter.
“What man?”
Ellie looked confused.
“The man in the hallway.”
“When?”
“Before I found Mr. Moretti.”
Hannah's heart began pounding.
“Ellie, what did he look like?”
“He was wearing a black coat.”
“Did you see his face?”
Ellie shook her head.
“He had a hat.”
“Anything else?”
She thought.
“He smelled like lemons.”
Hannah froze.
Lemons.
Vincent always smelled faintly of lemon soap.
But there was another detail.
Ellie had drawn something in the man's hand.
A silver cane.
Hannah remembered Vincent carrying one.
She immediately called security.
Before she could speak, the safe room door unlocked.
Adrian stepped inside.
“Where is Vincent?”
Hannah pointed at Ellie.
“She saw someone.”
Adrian crouched in front of the child.
“What did you see?”
Ellie held up her drawing.
Adrian stared.
Then his eyes stopped on the cane.
“Vincent.”
Hannah nodded.
“He smelled like lemons.”
Adrian stood.
“Where is he?”
A guard's voice came through the speaker.
“Sir, we found Bellini.”
Adrian turned.
“Where?”
“Under the chapel.”
Silence.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
The Moretti family chapel had been sealed since Elena's funeral.
No one had entered it in three years.
Adrian walked toward the door.
Samuel grabbed his arm.
“You're not going alone.”
Adrian looked at him.
“I won't be.”
Six armed guards followed.
But before Adrian left, Ellie spoke.
“Mr. Moretti?”
He turned.
“Don't trust him.”
Adrian stared at her.
“Why?”
Ellie hugged Rosie.
“Because bad people lie.”
For the first time in twenty years, Adrian Moretti smiled.
May you like
It lasted less than a second.
Then he disappeared down the corridor.
