Chapter 3 - THE RED CROSS
I stared at the back of the photograph, my pulse hammering against my ribs. Time is up.
The grand dining room behind me felt miles away. I looked at Marion, who was gently pouring a fresh glass of water for Luca, her own hands shaking slightly. She had endured the humiliation of the dinner party with absolute grace, but this—this violent red cross over her granddaughter’s face—would break her.
I slipped the photograph into my apron pocket and left the velvet clutch on the hallway table. I hurried through the swinging doors into the massive, stainless-steel kitchen. The catering staff was aggressively scrubbing pots, whispering frantically about the drama that had just unfolded. I ignored them, pushing through the back exit and hurrying down the long, carpeted corridor that led to the live-in staff quarters.
Marion and Lily shared a modest, two-room suite at the end of the hall. I opened the door quietly.
The small living area was warmly lit by a single floor lamp. Sitting cross-legged on the faded rug was eight-year-old Lily. She was wearing her favorite yellow pajamas, humming softly to herself as she pressed a blue crayon into a coloring book.
“Nora!” Lily smiled, looking up. She was the light of the staff wing, a sweet, observant child who had lost her parents in a car accident when she was a baby. Marion was her entire world.
“Hey, bug,” I forced a smile, keeping my voice steady. “Shouldn't you be asleep? It’s past ten.”
“Grandma said I could stay up until the big party was over,” Lily said matter-of-factly. She went back to coloring. “She said she had a surprise to tell me tonight. Is the party done?”
“It’s done,” I said softly. I walked over and knelt beside her. “Lily, did anyone come visit you today? While your grandma was busy setting up the dining room?”
Lily didn’t look up from her drawing. “Just the lady in the red dress.”
A cold chill washed over my arms. “Camille was here? In your room?”
“Uh-huh,” Lily nodded, switching to a green crayon. “She came in right after school. She smelled like heavy flowers. She told me Grandma was moving away to a big castle and leaving me behind.”
My stomach churned with disgust. Camille hadn't just been manipulating the men in the main house; she had been actively tormenting an orphaned child.
“That’s a lie, Lily,” I said fiercely, touching the girl’s shoulder. “Your grandma would never leave you. Ever.”
“I know,” Lily said easily. Children always possess a profound ability to spot the truth. “I told the lady she was lying. But she didn't get mad. She just smiled and gave me a present.”
The door behind me creaked open. Marion walked into the room, looking utterly exhausted. The white apron had been removed, leaving her in a simple, gray wool dress.
“Nora?” Marion asked, surprised to see me. “Is everything all right in the kitchen?”
I stood up and pulled the photograph from my pocket. I handed it to her, my eyes locked on her weathered face. “Camille dropped this in the hallway, Marion. You need to look at it.”
Marion took the photograph. As her eyes registered the red cross drawn over her granddaughter’s face, all the color drained from her cheeks. She gasped, a ragged, terrified sound, and pressed her hand over her mouth to muffle a sob.
“Grandma?” Lily looked up, her crayon pausing.
“I’m fine, sweetheart,” Marion choked out, instantly masking her terror with a brave, watery smile. “Nora and I just need to talk in the hallway for one second, okay? Keep coloring your turtle.”
Marion grabbed my wrist and pulled me out into the corridor, shutting the door firmly behind us.
She leaned against the wall, hyperventilating, clutching the photograph to her chest.
“Marion, what is going on?” I whispered urgently. “Why is Camille threatening Lily? Why did you marry Antonio in secret?”
Marion closed her eyes, tears leaking from the corners. “I didn’t want to marry him in secret, Nora. Antonio wanted a grand wedding. But Camille came to me two weeks ago. She told me if I didn't marry him immediately, without a pre-nup, she would take Lily away from me.”
“How could she possibly do that?” I asked, bewildered. “She has no legal right to Lily.”
“She bought the debt,” Marion wept quietly. “My son, David—Lily’s father—he had terrible gambling debts before he died. He borrowed from awful, dangerous people. I’ve been paying them off slowly for eight years. But Camille found out. She used her family’s money to buy the debt outright. She told me if I didn't do exactly what she said, she would call in the debt, bankrupt me, and have child services take Lily because I couldn't provide a stable home.”
The sheer cruelty of the blackmail took my breath away. Camille had orchestrated the entire secret marriage by holding a child’s future hostage, just so she could publicly humiliate Marion and steal the company for Luca.
“We have to tell Antonio,” I said, grabbing her shoulders. “He has the money, Marion. He can pay off the debt tomorrow. He can protect you.”
“No!” Marion panicked, shaking her head. “If Antonio pays it, Camille warned me she would go to the police. She said she has proof that my son was involved in an embezzlement scheme at the shipping yards before he died. She said she’ll ruin my son’s memory and drag the Moretti name into the mud.”
Before I could argue, the door to the bedroom opened.
Lily stood in the doorway, holding something heavy in her small, eight-year-old hands.
“Grandma,” Lily said innocently. “You left your surprise on my bed. But it’s really heavy.”
Marion and I looked down.
Lily wasn't holding a toy. She was holding a massive, solid gold, antique pocket watch. It was engraved with the Moretti family crest—a rearing stallion surrounded by olive branches.
Marion gasped, stepping backward as if the watch were covered in poison.
“Lily, where did you get that?” I asked, my voice trembling.
“The lady in the red dress gave it to me,” Lily explained, holding it out to us. “She said it was a treasure hunt. She hid it under my pillow and told me to give it to Grandma tonight.”
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I stared at the heavy gold object. I had seen that watch only once, years ago, when Antonio had shown it to Luca. It was the original founder’s watch, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it was kept locked inside the biometric safe in Antonio’s master suite.
Camille hadn't just planted a gift. She had planted stolen property in a maid’s bedroom.
