THE MAID, THE MAFIA BOSS, AND THE STOLEN HEIRLOOMS

Vanessa looked immaculate. She wore a tailored white silk suit, her hair perfectly styled for her wedding day. But her eyes were hollow, feral pits of desperation.

“You’re very predictable, Claire,” she said softly, keeping the barrel of the gun perfectly steady. “I knew you’d try to play the hero.”

I froze, my hands instinctively rising in the air. The heavy gold pocket watch weighed down my apron pocket like a stone.

“Where is he?” she demanded, standing up slowly. “Where is the boy?”

“I don’t know,” I lied, my voice shaking. “Marco got away.”

Vanessa smiled, a cold, empty expression. “Don’t lie to me. My men found Marco’s body in the alley. But the boy wasn’t with him. The truck was gone. And you didn’t show up for your morning shift.”

My stomach plummeted. Marco was dead. He had sacrificed himself to give me time to run.

“He’s safe,” I said, lifting my chin, refusing to let her see how terrified I was. “You’ll never find him.”

Vanessa stepped out from behind the desk. “I don’t need to find him immediately. I just need to get married at noon. Once the ring is on my finger, half of the Salvatore empire is legally mine. Then I’ll hunt the little bastard down and finish what I started two years ago.”

She raised the gun, aiming it squarely at my head.

“Goodbye, Claire.”

“Vanessa, wait!” I shouted, desperation making my voice crack. “I have Antonio’s watch!”

Vanessa’s finger froze on the trigger. Her eyes widened slightly.

“What did you say?”

I slowly reached into my apron pocket and pulled out the heavy gold pocket watch. I held it up by its chain, the gold gleaming in the dim morning light.

“Bill the groundskeeper found it the night Antonio died,” I said quickly, seeing the doubt warring with panic in her eyes. “There’s a memory card hidden inside. Antonio recorded all his meetings. Even the one where you paid the driver to crash his car.”

Vanessa’s face drained of color. “Give it to me.”

“No,” I said, stepping back toward the door. “If you shoot me, the gunshot will echo, even with a silencer. Luca’s guards are stationed at the end of the hall. They’ll rush in, they’ll find me dead, and they’ll find the watch. You’ll never make it to the altar.”

She hesitated, her mind racing, calculating the odds. She was a survivor, a predator backed into a corner.

“Hand it over, and I let you walk out of this house,” Vanessa negotiated, lowering the gun an inch.

“You’re lying. You’ll shoot me the second I hand it over.”

Before she could respond, the heavy oak door behind me swung open.

I stumbled forward as it hit my shoulder.

Luca stood in the doorway.

He was dressed in a sharp black tuxedo, ready for his wedding. His dark eyes swept the room, taking in Vanessa holding a gun, and me holding his dead brother’s gold watch.

The silence in the room was absolute.

“Luca,” Vanessa gasped, quickly lowering the gun behind her back, though she couldn’t hide it completely. “Luca, listen to me. This maid—Claire—she broke in. She was trying to steal from your desk. I caught her.”

Luca stepped into the room, closing the door firmly behind him. He didn’t look at Vanessa. He looked at the watch dangling from my hand.

“Where did you get that?” Luca asked, his voice deathly quiet.

“June gave it to me,” I said, my voice trembling. I held it out to him. “Her husband found it the night Antonio died.”

Luca walked toward me. He didn’t seem to care that Vanessa was armed. He took the heavy gold watch from my trembling hand. His fingers traced the intricate engraving on the back.

“He never took this off,” Luca whispered, a profound grief shadowing his face.

“Luca, she’s lying!” Vanessa shrilled, stepping forward, the gun still awkwardly held behind her back. “She’s trying to ruin our wedding! She’s jealous of us!”

Luca slowly turned his head to look at her. “Put the gun on the desk, Vanessa.”

“Luca, please—”

“Put the gun on the desk,” he repeated, his voice vibrating with a terrifying, contained rage.

Vanessa trembled, but the authority in his voice was absolute. Slowly, she placed the weapon on the polished mahogany desk.

Luca looked back down at the watch. “Antonio had a fail-safe mechanism on this piece. A hidden compartment.”

“There’s a memory card inside,” I said. “Antonio recorded his meetings. Vanessa paid the driver to crash the car, Luca. She killed your brother to clear the path to the empire. And she tried to kill Leo.”

Luca’s head snapped up. “Leo?”

“He’s alive,” I breathed, tears finally spilling over my eyelashes. “Marco pulled him from the wreck. Vanessa has been paying Marco to keep him hidden in a basement for two years. But last night, she sent hitmen to silence them both. Marco is dead. But Leo is safe.”

Luca looked at Vanessa. The look in his eyes was not anger; it was an absolute, chilling void.

“Open the watch,” Vanessa suddenly spat, dropping her facade entirely. Her face twisted into an ugly, triumphant sneer. “Go ahead, Luca. Open it.”

Luca pressed a hidden release on the side of the watch. The gold backplate popped open.

He looked inside.

His face went completely blank.