Chapter 2 - THE BLUE FOLDER
~1,100 words
The dining room descended into a silence so absolute, I could hear the crystal chandelier chiming softly in the draft above us.
Twenty-four wealthy, powerful guests sat frozen in their high-backed chairs.
Nobody reached for their wine.
Nobody touched their silverware.
Every single pair of eyes was locked onto the little boy sitting beside his father, and the terrifyingly calm man kneeling next to him.
Luca Moretti didn’t blink.
He didn’t look at his guests.
He didn’t look at his fiancée, who was now clutching her red silk gown so tightly her knuckles had turned completely white.
He only looked at Benjamin.
“Ben,” Luca repeated, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous whisper that sent a chill straight down my spine. “What lady?”
Benjamin’s small shoulders hitched.
He looked terrified, his wide eyes darting toward Vanessa.
“The lady with the clipboard,” he stammered, his voice cracking. “She came to the side door this afternoon when you were at your office.”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
The muscles in his neck strained against his crisp white collar.
He slowly stood up.
He didn’t yell. He didn’t raise his hands. But the sheer, suffocating weight of his presence made the air in the room feel instantly heavier.
He turned his head toward the head of the table.
“Marco.”
A tall, broad-shouldered man in a dark suit immediately stepped out of the shadows near the doorway. He was Luca’s second-in-command, a man who rarely spoke but missed absolutely nothing.
“Yes, Boss.”
“Clear the room,” Luca ordered.
A collective gasp rippled through the guests.
“Luca, please,” Vanessa laughed, a high, panicked sound that grated against the heavy silence. “You can’t ask our guests to leave. Dinner has barely been served. Benjamin is just confused—”
“Marco,” Luca said again, his voice like cracking ice. “Now.”
Marco didn’t hesitate.
He walked directly to the nearest guest, a city councilman, and pulled his chair out for him.
“The engagement party is over,” Marco announced, his tone leaving zero room for debate. “Coats are in the foyer. The valets will bring your cars around. Please exit quickly.”
For a moment, the room hesitated.
Then, realizing exactly who they were dealing with, twenty-four powerful people stood up in perfect unison.
They abandoned their roasted chicken, their expensive champagne, and their polite conversations. They filed out of the dining room in a hurried, nervous silence, keeping their eyes firmly glued to the floor.
Within three minutes, the massive dining room was entirely empty.
Except for Luca, Benjamin, Vanessa, and me.
I was still standing near the serving cart, my hands gripping the silver handle so hard my palms ached. I wanted to disappear. I wanted to slip through the swinging kitchen doors and hide.
But Benjamin was looking at me.
His small, tear-filled eyes were silently begging me not to leave him alone in the room with Vanessa.
So I stayed.
I risked my job, my mother’s rent, and my own safety, and I stayed.
Luca slowly turned his back to the empty table and faced Vanessa.
“Who came to my house today, Vanessa?”
Vanessa forced a smile, though her lips were trembling.
“Darling, you’re overreacting. It was just a consultant.”
“A consultant for what?”
“A preparatory academy,” she said quickly, smoothing her silk dress. “I was looking into premier boarding schools for next year. Benjamin is a bright boy, but he lacks discipline. I thought a structured environment—”
“You told my son he was being sent away on Saturday morning,” Luca interrupted, his voice dropping another terrifying octave.
“He misunderstood!”
“Did he?”
“Yes! Children exaggerate everything, Luca. You know this. The woman was simply doing an in-home assessment. Benjamin got upset because he doesn’t want to do his schoolwork.”
Luca stared at her.
Then he looked down at his son.
“Ben.”
The little boy wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve. “Yes, Daddy?”
“Did the lady say she was from a school?”
Benjamin shook his head.
“No, sir.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she was from a hospital.”
Vanessa’s face went completely bloodless.
“Benjamin, stop lying!” she snapped, taking a step toward him.
Luca immediately shifted his body, physically blocking Vanessa from getting anywhere near his son.
“Let him speak,” Luca warned.
Benjamin’s chin trembled. “She was wearing a white shirt, Daddy. Like a doctor. And she had a badge on her pocket. It had a picture of a silver tree on it.”
My heart violently slammed against my ribs.
I knew that logo.
I recognized the silver tree.
Before I could stop myself, the words fell out of my mouth.
“Silver Pines.”
All three of them turned to look at me.
Vanessa’s eyes flared with pure, unfiltered hatred. “Claire, shut your mouth and get out of this dining room right now.”
Luca ignored her. He looked directly at me.
“What is Silver Pines, Claire?”
My mouth went dry. My hands were shaking so badly I had to lock my knees to stay standing.
“It’s… it’s not a boarding school, sir,” I whispered, my voice echoing in the vast, empty room.
“Then what is it?”
“It’s a permanent psychiatric lockdown facility,” I breathed, tears pricking my eyes. “For severely disturbed adolescents. My cousin was sent there years ago. They… they don’t let the children come home, Mr. Moretti. Ever.”
Luca stopped breathing.
The absolute stillness of his body was more terrifying than any shouting match could ever be.
He slowly, methodically turned his head to look at Vanessa.
“You brought a psychiatric intake coordinator to my home?”
“She’s lying!” Vanessa screamed, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at me. “The maid is lying! She hates me because I told her to do her job properly this afternoon! Luca, you cannot possibly believe a servant over the woman you are going to marry!”
Luca didn’t raise his voice.
“Where is the intake paperwork, Vanessa?”
“There is no paperwork!”
“If an assessor came to my house to evaluate my son for a permanent psychiatric hold, there is a file. Where is it?”
“I told you, it doesn’t exist!” she cried, tears of desperation finally spilling down her cheeks. “You’re acting insane, Luca! Over a spoiled little boy who refuses to eat his dinner!”
Luca stared at her with eyes that were completely dead.
Then, Benjamin quietly tugged on the hem of his father’s suit jacket.
“Daddy?”
Luca looked down. “Yes, Ben?”
The little boy pointed a shaking finger toward the corner of the dining room.
“It’s in the piano.”
Vanessa gasped.
“I saw her put it in there when she heard your car pull into the driveway,” Benjamin whispered. “Under the seat.”
Luca didn’t say a word.
He turned and walked slowly across the Persian rug toward the massive grand piano sitting in the corner of the room.
Vanessa lunged forward to stop him, but Marco appeared from the hallway and firmly grabbed her arm, holding her in place.
Luca reached the piano bench.
He flipped the wooden lid open.
Sitting right on top of the sheet music was a thick, heavy blue folder.
The logo of a silver tree was printed on the front.
Luca picked it up. He opened it.
May you like
And as his eyes scanned the first page, his face drained of all color.
“Vanessa,” he whispered, the paper crumpling in his massive grip. “You had him declared medically incompetent?”
