Chapter 2 - THE POISON IN THE ROOM
The silence in the dining room was so absolute, so suffocating, that I could hear the faint ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway.
Thirty wealthy guests sat completely paralyzed. The crystal glasses caught the dim light, but no one dared take a sip. No one dared breathe.
“Because Vanessa promised me you’d never find out what happened to Catherine.”
Michael’s words hung in the air like smoke from a fired gun.
Dominic didn’t yell. He didn’t flip the table or draw a weapon, though every man in that room knew what he was capable of. Instead, his dark eyes locked onto his younger brother, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop twenty degrees.
“Grace,” Dominic said. His voice was a low, terrifying rumble. “Take Emily upstairs.”
“No!” Emily cried out, her small hands gripping her father’s suit jacket. “I want to stay! I want to know about Mommy!”
I rushed forward, my heart hammering against my ribs, and wrapped my arms around the little girl. I expected Vanessa to seize the moment to gloat, to order the child away, but Vanessa looked as though the floor had just vanished beneath her designer heels. Her face was ashen, her crimson lips parted in sheer panic.
“Dominic, he’s lying,” Vanessa stammered, her voice shrill. “Michael has been drinking. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.”
“Clear the room,” Dominic ordered.
He didn’t raise his voice, but the command was absolute. Within sixty seconds, thirty of the most powerful people in the city abandoned their half-eaten dinners and practically fled toward the grand foyer. The heavy oak doors clicked shut, leaving only five of us in the cavernous room: Dominic, Michael, Vanessa, Emily, and me.
“Daddy, please,” Emily whimpered, refusing to let go of his sleeve.
Dominic knelt down, his terrifying demeanor softening for just a fraction of a second as he looked at his daughter. “Sweetheart, I need you to be brave. Stand with Grace. I promise you, no one is sending you away.”
Emily reluctantly stepped back, her small hand finding mine. I squeezed her fingers tight, silently vowing to protect this child with my life if I had to.
Dominic stood up and slowly walked toward Michael.
“What did you mean, Michael?” Dominic asked, the lethal calm returning. “What happened to my wife?”
Michael was trembling. A grown man, a feared associate of the Romano family, shaking like a leaf. “She didn’t die of heart failure, Dom. The doctors were wrong. Or… they were paid to be wrong.”
A cold dread washed over me. I had been there the night Catherine passed. I had held her hand. The doctors said her heart simply gave out after her long battle with illness.
“What are you saying?” Dominic whispered.
“She was given something,” Michael choked out, tears spilling down his cheeks. “A concentrated dose of digitalis. It mimicked a heart attack. Vanessa told me. She’s been holding it over my head for six months to get whatever she wanted.”
Answer One. Catherine was murdered. The realization hit me like a physical blow. Beside me, Emily gasped, burying her face against my apron.
Open Two. If Vanessa knew, did she do it? And why was Michael taking orders from her?
Vanessa lunged forward, her crimson dress swishing violently. “He’s insane! Dominic, he’s trying to ruin our wedding because he’s jealous! He’s always wanted what you have!”
“Shut up, Vanessa,” Dominic snapped, not even looking at her. He kept his eyes on his brother. “If you knew Catherine was murdered, why didn’t you come to me? Why let this woman blackmail you into signing away my daughter?”
Michael swallowed hard, his eyes darting frantically around the room until they landed on me.
“Because I know who gave Catherine the dose,” Michael said, his voice trembling.
The reversal was instant. The fear in his eyes wasn’t directed at Dominic anymore.
“It wasn’t Vanessa,” Michael continued, his voice rising in panic. “It wasn’t a rival family. I saw the person who did it, Dom. I saw them leaving Catherine’s bedroom with the vial.”
Dominic grabbed his brother by the collar, hauling him out of his chair. “Who? Give me a name!”
Michael pointed a shaking finger directly at me.
“It was Grace.”
The room spun. My knees buckled, and I would have fallen if Emily hadn’t been holding onto me.
“What?” I gasped. “No! Mr. Romano, I swear to you on my life—”
“I saw her!” Michael shouted, desperate now. He reached into his suit jacket. Dominic instantly pinned Michael’s arm, but Michael just pulled out a small, heavy object and slammed it onto the mahogany table.
It was a small amber glass vial.
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“I found this hidden in Grace’s quarters the morning after Catherine died,” Michael cried. “Vanessa found out I knew, and she threatened to tell you I was an accomplice if I didn’t help her get rid of Emily!”
Dominic slowly released his brother. He picked up the amber vial, the glass catching the light of the chandelier. Then, very slowly, the mafia boss turned his dark, unreadable eyes toward me.
