Chapter 4 - The Poisoned Cup
The next three days passed in a tense, nerve-wracking blur. I lived in constant fear, jumping at every loud noise and double-checking over my shoulder every time I walked down a hallway. Celeste was keeping a close eye on me. She lingered in the penthouse far more often now, her presence a constant, suffocating shadow over the household.
I knew I needed physical evidence before going to Dante. Words were cheap in his world, but cold hard proof was undeniable.
My opportunity came on a bitter Tuesday afternoon. Dante was away at a legal deposition with his attorneys, and Celeste had locked herself in the private study, ostensibly making calls for her charity foundation.
Valentina was resting in her sunroom, sitting in her favorite armchair wrapped in a thick wool blanket. I brought her a fresh tray of green tea and homemade ginger biscuits.
“Thank you, my dear,” Valentina said, giving me a warm, gentle smile as I set the tray down on the small table beside her. “You look paler every day, Serena. Are you sleeping at all?”
“I’m trying, Mrs. Moretti,” I said softly, adjusting the blanket around her legs. “Just... worried about my family.”
“You are a good daughter, and a good sister,” Valentina said, reaching up to gently pat my cheek. “Dante is working on something to help your mother, you know. He spoke to a specialist at Rush University Hospital yesterday.”
My head snapped up in surprise. “He... he did?”
“He doesn’t talk about the good things he does,” Valentina murmured, a soft, proud smile touching her lips. “He prefers people to think he is entirely made of stone. But he has a big heart, Serena. He just guards it very carefully because so many people have tried to bleed him dry.”
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. The thought of Dante silently helping my mother while a snake was coil around his neck crushed my heart.
“I’m going to take a short nap now,” Valentina said, her eyelids fluttering shut with fatigue. “Leave the tea, child. I’ll drink it when I wake.”
“Yes, ma’am. Rest well.”
I stepped out of the sunroom, leaving the glass doors slightly parted so I could check on her.
As I walked down the hall toward the kitchen, I caught sight of Celeste exiting Dante’s private office. She was holding a small silver vial between her manicured fingers. She didn't see me standing in the shadow of the decorative archway.
She slipped quickly into the butler’s pantry adjacent to the sunroom.
My heart began to hammer frantically against my ribs. I crept forward, keeping my back pressed against the papered wall, and peeked around the frame of the pantry door.
Celeste was standing over Valentina’s tea service tray—the tray I had just brought out moments ago. With steady, practiced hands, she unscrewed the silver vial and tipped three small drops of a clear, odorless liquid into Valentina’s teacup. She stirred it gently with a silver spoon, wiped the metal clean with a napkin, and carefully recapped the vial, hiding it inside her expensive leather handbag.
A wave of pure horror swept over me. She wasn't just waiting for Valentina to suffer a natural heart failure—she was actively poisoning her.
Celeste turned around to leave the pantry. I ducked back behind the wall just in time, holding my breath as the sharp click of her heels faded down the corridor toward the main living room.
I didn't hesitate. I dashed into the pantry, grabbed the small silver tea pitcher and the poisoned cup, and dumped the liquid straight down the drain of the utility sink, rinsing it thoroughly with hot water.
My hands were shaking violently. This was attempt at murder. If I hadn't seen her, Valentina would be dead within hours, and with her heart condition, no doctor would have questioned it.
I poured a fresh cup of untainted tea from the backup pot on the kitchen counter and placed it back on Valentina’s tray, my mind spinning into high gear. I couldn't wait any longer. I couldn't hunt for ledgers or wait for Dante to come back from his meeting hours from now. I had to secure proof right now.
I slipped back toward Dante’s private study. The door was unlocked.
My heart was in my throat as I stepped inside the grand room. Heavy mahogany furniture, lined bookshelves, and the faint scent of Dante’s cologne filled the air. I walked straight to his massive executive desk.
I began opening drawers frantically, searching for anything—a ledger, a flash drive, a hidden document. In the bottom desk drawer, tucked beneath a stack of land deeds, I found a black leather binder marked with a red seal.
I opened it. Inside were detailed transaction logs showing massive illegal offshore transfers out of Moretti Logistics—transfers signed using Dante’s forged signature,routing directly into an offshore account owned by a holding company called Beaufort Holdings.
Beaufort was Celeste’s mother’s maiden name.
“Searching for something, Serena?” a smooth, malicious voice called out from the open doorway.
I froze. My blood ran completely cold.
I turned slowly. Celeste was standing in the doorway, blocking the exit. But she wasn't alone. Standing right behind her was one of Dante’s high-ranking security officers—a man named Viktor, whom Dante trusted implicitly.
Viktor had a silenced pistol resting low in his right hand.
“I knew you were a pesky little rat,” Celeste said, stepping into the room and closing the heavy oak door behind her with a sickening click. “You just couldn't keep your eyes down and do your job, could you?”
“You’re stealing from him,” I said, my voice surprisingly steady despite the violent trembling in my legs. I held the binder tightly against my chest. “You’re framing him for federal crimes, and you just tried to poison his mother.”
Celeste laughed—a sharp, cold sound that echoed off the high ceiling. “Dante is a dinosaur. His family has ruled this city for fifty years, but he’s soft. He spends millions on hospitals and charities while his enemies grow stronger. My family is partnering with people who actually know how to run Chicago.”
She stepped closer, her eyes flashing with pure malice. “And as for Valentina... the old bat was in my way. Once she’s gone and Dante is locked in a federal penitentiary for the next thirty years, I take control of the family estate as his heartbroken betrothed.”
“He will kill you when he finds out,” I spat.
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“He won’t find out,” Celeste smiled cruelly. She turned to Viktor. “Make it look like a robbery gone wrong. Take the maid down to the wine cellar. When Dante gets back, we tell him she was caught stealing from his private safe and attacked us.”
Viktor stepped forward, raising the heavy pistol toward my head. “Don’t make a noise, girl. Walk.”
