Chapter 3 - The Broken Handle
By seven o'clock that evening, the estate was bathed in ambient golden light.
Dozens of high-society guests arrived in sleek Italian sports cars and limousines. Violins echoed from the glass conservatory, where champagne flowed from crystalline fountains.
Vanessa Carlisle moved among the guests like a queen, wearing a diamond necklace that cost more than a suburban home.
Claire stood near the service entrance of the dining wing, holding a fresh tray of crystal wine glasses. Her bandage was concealed beneath a clean white cotton glove.
She watched Adrian.
He stood near the fireplace, holding a crystal glass of scotch. He wasn't paying attention to the politicians laughing at his jokes, nor was he watching his beautiful fiancée across the room.
His eyes were locked on the far corner of the room, near the grand piano.
A tall, thin man in a charcoal suit stood there.
Julian Vance.
Claire felt a cold shiver run down her spine at the sight of him. Julian Vance was a high-ranking lieutenant from the rival Falcone crime syndicate—a man known for extortion, illegal weapons trafficking, and extreme violence.
What was a Falcone lieutenant doing at Adrian Moretti’s private rehearsal dinner?
Claire adjusted her position, stepping behind a heavy velvet drape near the serving station so she could observe them through the reflection in the tall French windows.
Julian approached Adrian, leaning in to whisper something in his ear.
Adrian didn't flinch, but his grip on his scotch glass tightened until his knuckles turned white. He said a single sentence in response, his jaw clenching hard.
Julian smiled—an ugly, sharp smile—bowed his head mockingly, and walked toward the terrace doors.
Claire’s instincts screamed at her.
Something was wrong.
She set her tray down on the sideboard and slipped quietly out the service door, following the shadowy terrace path toward the gardens. The October wind was freezing, biting through her thin gray cotton dress, but she ignored it, keeping her footsteps silent on the damp grass.
She found Julian standing near the stone balustrade overlooking Lake Ashford.
He wasn't alone.
Dominic, Adrian’s trusted head of security, was standing beside him.
Claire crouched behind a dense boxwood hedge, holding her breath, every sensor in her trained mind taking in the scene.
“Is everything ready for tonight?” Julian asked, his voice low and raspy.
“The camera in the west corridor is already looped,” Dominic replied flatly. “The guards on the lower dock have been reassigned. When your men come in by boat at midnight, nobody will see them.”
Julian chuckled. “And the ledger?”
“It’s still in Moretti’s wall safe behind the painting in his study,” Dominic said. “I have the combination. We take the ledger, eliminate Adrian, and make it look like an internal hit by his own lieutenants. The Falcone family takes over the shipping docks by morning.”
Julian clapped Dominic on the shoulder. “What about the Carlisle girl? The bride?”
Dominic shrugged coldly. “Collateral damage. Shoot her if she gets in the way.”
Claire felt her heart hammer violently against her ribs.
A coup.
Dominic wasn't just Adrian’s chief of security; he was a traitor working with the Falcones to execute Adrian Moretti and slaughter everyone in the mansion tonight.
And the cut handle on her coffee tray this morning...
Claire’s eyes narrowed in realization.
Dominic had cut the tray handle. He wanted to create chaos, distract the staff, and test the security reaction times in the west corridor before tonight's raid.
She backed away slowly from the hedge, stepping carefully onto the grass to avoid snapping any twigs.
She had come to this house to destroy Adrian Moretti with legal evidence.
She had spent months hating him for the empire he ran.
But if Julian Vance and the Falcones took over Lake Ashford tonight, every servant in the house—including Mrs. Holloway—would be slaughtered to leave no witnesses.
Claire turned and slipped back into the dark corridor of the mansion.
May you like
She had four hours before midnight.
She needed to steal the ledger before Dominic did—and she had to decide whether to let Adrian Moretti die, or save the man she had come to destroy.
