Chapter 3 - THE ORIGAMI BIRD
The dining room erupted into chaos.
Guests screamed and scrambled beneath the table. Rosa clutched her chest, gasping for air.
I instantly threw my arms around Lily, pulling her small body behind mine, shielding her from the barrel of Carlo’s gun.
“Carlo, what the hell are you doing?” Vincent roared, stepping directly into the line of fire.
Carlo chuckled, a hollow, bitter sound. “You always were blind, Vincent. You build this massive empire, you run the streets, but you never see what’s happening in your own home.”
Vanessa was rubbing her wrist, breathing heavily. She moved to stand behind Carlo.
Vincent stared at them, the betrayal registering in his dark eyes. “You two. You’re working together.”
“Vanessa was just the supplier,” Carlo spat, glaring at the woman beside him. “She had the medical access to get the untraceable compounds. I promised her she could marry you, take Isabella’s place, and share the wealth. But the stupid woman couldn't just leave well enough alone. She had to burn the letters.”
“She was going to find out!” Vanessa shrieked. “Isabella left clues in those letters! I had to destroy them!”
“And now you’ve ruined everything,” Carlo snapped.
“Why, Carlo?” Vincent’s voice broke. “She was your sister-in-law. She loved you.”
“She didn't love me!” Carlo yelled, his face flushing red. “She was looking through the financial ledgers, Vincent. She found out I was siphoning money from the family business. She was going to tell you. I had to silence her.”
My heart pounded against my ribs. Lily was trembling violently against my legs.
“Let the girl and the maid go, Carlo,” Vincent said, his hands raised in a placating gesture. “Take the money. Take whatever you want.”
“I want the blue coat,” Carlo said, waving the gun at me. “Grace. You’re going to walk upstairs, very slowly, and bring me that coat. If you try to run, I shoot my dear brother.”
I looked at Vincent. He gave me a barely perceptible nod.
I gently detached myself from Lily. “I’ll get it,” I whispered.
“Grace, wait,” Lily squeaked.
The eight-year-old reached into the pocket of her pink cardigan. She pulled out a small, folded piece of paper. It was folded into the shape of a crane. An origami bird.
“Mommy taught me how to fold these,” Lily whispered, handing it to me. “She told me to give this one to the lady who came to protect me. Only when the bad man showed his face.”
Carlo’s eyes narrowed. “What is that? Give it to me!”
I stepped back, quickly unfolding the paper crane.
It wasn't just a piece of paper. It was a St. Jude Clinic pharmacy receipt.
But the name on the receipt for the toxic compounds wasn't Vanessa’s. And it wasn't Carlo’s.
I stared at the paper, the blood draining from my face.
“Answer One, Open Two,” Isabella had written in the margins.
I looked up from the receipt, past Carlo, past Vanessa, and locked eyes with the one person who had been sitting quietly through this entire ordeal.
“It wasn't Carlo who bought the poison,” I said, my voice echoing in the grand room.
Vincent turned.
May you like
Sitting at the head of the table, Rosa Moretti slowly reached into her purse and pulled out a matching silver handgun.
“No,” the seventy-nine-year-old matriarch said coldly. “It was me.”
