Chapter 6 - The Winter Harbor Gala
The Sterling estate glittered like a palace built to hide a prison.
Hundreds of white lights wrapped the bare trees. Valets hurried through the snow beneath heated awnings. Television crews gathered near the entrance while politicians stepped from black cars and smiled for cameras.
Aria watched from the back seat of Dante’s armored sedan.
She wore a midnight-blue gown Lucia had chosen. The dress covered her bruises without resembling armor. The neckline was soft. The sleeves were sheer. For the first time in years, Aria had selected her own shoes.
The brass key rested inside her clutch.
Dante sat beside her.
“You can still change your mind,” he said.
Aria watched her father welcome a United States senator near the entrance.
“If I don’t go inside, Elena remains trapped.”
“Nico’s team is watching the east wing.”
“That does not mean they can reach her.”
“No.”
Dante never offered false reassurance.
Strangely, she trusted him more because of it.
The sedan stopped.
Camera flashes erupted when Dante stepped out. Publicly, he was the chief executive of Rossi Maritime Holdings, a private company with ports, warehouses, and luxury developments across New England. Rumors followed him, but rumors were not convictions.
He extended his hand toward Aria.
She stared at it.
He waited.
After a moment, she placed her fingers in his.
Dante did not pull. He allowed her to decide how tightly to hold him.
Together, they walked into the house where Aria had learned to be afraid.
Victor met them beneath the grand staircase.
His smile was flawless.
“My daughter.”
Aria’s fingers tightened around Dante’s.
Victor noticed.
“Dante. I am pleased you reconsidered.”
“I reconsider nothing.”
The smile remained, but Victor’s eyes hardened.
Guests gathered around them. A photographer asked the newlyweds to stand together.
Dante placed his hand near Aria’s waist without touching her.
“May I?” he whispered.
She nodded.
His palm settled lightly against her back.
The photographer captured the moment.
To everyone else, they looked like a powerful couple.
Only Aria knew that Dante’s hand was positioned so she could step away at any moment.
Victor guided them toward the ballroom.
“Where is Elena?” Aria asked.
“Resting.”
“I want to see her.”
“After the speeches.”
Dante looked toward the second-floor balcony.
A young woman appeared between two guards.
Elena.
She wore a pale silver dress and smiled when a camera turned toward her. The moment the lens moved away, terror replaced the smile.
Aria took a step forward.
Caleb blocked her path.
“Little sisters should not interrupt important events.”
Dante moved between them.
Caleb’s right hand was bare. The absence of the signet ring seemed to bother him more than the accusation attached to it.
“Enjoying my grandfather’s property?” he asked.
Dante reached into his pocket and displayed the ring.
“I keep reminders of unfinished business.”
Caleb’s jaw tightened.
Victor tapped a champagne glass.
The room quieted.
He began speaking about service, sacrifice, and protecting vulnerable children. Applause followed every rehearsed pause.
Aria felt physically ill.
Then Elena looked toward her and touched two fingers to her necklace.
It was an old signal from childhood.
Mother’s room.
Aria turned to Dante.
“I need five minutes.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Dante—”
“You are walking into a house controlled by the people who injured you.”
“If Caleb sees you follow me, he’ll know.”
Dante scanned the ballroom.
“Lucia will go.”
Lucia appeared beside them wearing a red evening gown.
“I have been waiting years to snoop through this house.”
They slipped into a side corridor while Victor continued his speech.
Aria knew every camera angle. As a teenager, she had learned where to stand when she wanted to cry without appearing on security recordings.
They reached Catherine Sterling’s former sitting room.
The door was locked.
Aria removed the brass key.
It did not fit.
Lucia examined the frame. “Recently reinforced.”
Aria touched the necklace at her throat.
Elena had not meant the room.
She had meant their mother’s necklace.
A portrait of Catherine hung at the end of the corridor. In it, she wore a sapphire pendant shaped like a teardrop.
Aria approached the painting.
The pendant had been painted with unusual detail. Beneath it, almost invisible against the dark fabric, were three numbers.
3-1-7.
Aria pressed the lower edge of the frame.
It moved.
Behind the portrait was a narrow wall safe.
The brass key fit.
Inside rested a black flash drive, a sealed letter, and a second key card marked Commonwealth Trust.
Lucia released a slow breath. “Your mother was thorough.”
Footsteps sounded in the corridor.
Caleb’s voice followed.
“Aria?”
Lucia took the drive.
Aria closed the safe, but there was no time to replace the painting completely.
Caleb entered.
His gaze moved from Aria to the crooked portrait.
Then he locked the door behind him.
“You always were Mother’s favorite.”
Lucia stepped forward. “Open that door.”
Caleb ignored her.
He approached Aria slowly.
“You humiliated Father.”
Aria backed toward the wall.
“You stole something that belongs to this family.”
“It belonged to our mother.”
“Mother was weak.”
Aria’s fear turned hot.
“Mother tried to save us.”
“She tried to destroy us.”
Caleb reached for her arm.
Aria did not flinch.
She drove the heel of her palm into his nose.
Caleb staggered backward with a curse.
Lucia grabbed a brass lamp.
The door exploded inward.
Dante entered with Nico behind him.
Caleb recovered and pulled a knife from inside his jacket.
Dante crossed the distance before he could use it.
He caught Caleb’s wrist, slammed it against the wall, and forced the blade to the floor. His other hand closed around Caleb’s throat.
“Dante,” Aria said.
He did not appear to hear her.
Caleb’s face darkened.
“Dante.”
This time, Dante looked at her.
“Let him go.”
“He will touch you again.”
“No. He won’t.”
Something in her voice reached him.
Dante released Caleb.
Nico kicked the knife away and opened the door.
An alarm began ringing throughout the estate.
Victor’s speech stopped downstairs.
Lucia held up the flash drive. “We have what we came for.”
A voice sounded through Dante’s earpiece.
“East team to Rossi. Elena is moving.”
“Toward the exit?” Dante asked.
“No. Two guards are taking her to the underground garage.”
Aria ran.
They reached the balcony as Victor looked up from the ballroom.
His eyes met Aria’s.
He saw the brass key in her hand.
Then he saw the open door to Catherine’s corridor.
His public smile disappeared.
“Stop them,” he ordered.
The music cut off.
Every armed man in the ballroom turned toward Dante.
Dante placed himself in front of Aria.
Across the room, Nico’s team moved into position.
May you like
Hundreds of wealthy guests stood trapped between two families on the edge of war.
Then the lights went out.
