Chapter 2 - THE STATEMENT FROM TOMORROW
For almost ten seconds after Luca spoke, nobody in the study moved. Vanessa stood beside the door with one hand resting against the frame. David Collins stared at the camera on Luca’s desk as though it had betrayed him.
Anna could hear the clock on the mantel.
One tick.
Another.
Another.
Then Vanessa laughed.
It sounded wrong.
Too light.
Too quick.
“A statement dated tomorrow?”
Luca watched her.
“Yes.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Evelyn Shaw did not sound amused.”
Vanessa folded her arms.
“Then your journalist is lying.”
“She is not my journalist.”
“Whatever she is.”
Luca picked up his phone.
“She read me the first paragraph.”
Vanessa’s expression shifted.
Anna saw it.
This time there was no misunderstanding.
Fear.
Luca continued.
“Would you like to hear it?”
Vanessa’s eyes sharpened.
“No.”
“I think everyone should.”
“Luca.”
He opened the notes application on his phone.
“‘On Friday evening, October sixteenth, after a private argument concerning our prenuptial agreement, Luca Moretti became violent.’”
David’s mouth fell open.
Anna felt cold move through her chest.
Luca looked up.
“Friday evening is tomorrow.”
Vanessa said nothing.
He continued.
“‘He struck me twice, grabbed my wrist, and threatened to destroy my reputation if I tried to leave the estate.’”
Anna looked at the fake bruises on the camera screen.
Cheek.
Wrist.
Collarbone.
Every mark suddenly had a purpose.
Luca put down the phone.
“Remarkably specific for an event that has not occurred.”
Vanessa’s face hardened.
“You don’t know where that came from.”
“I know it has your signature.”
“Signatures can be copied.”
“Perhaps.”
“They can.”
Luca nodded.
“Then you will not object to Daniel taking your laptop and phone for forensic review.”
Vanessa stared at him.
“You are not touching my phone.”
There it was.
The first clean fracture.
Not anger at being falsely accused.
Not confusion.
Protection.
Luca’s voice stayed level.
“Why?”
“Because I am entitled to privacy.”
“In my house?”
“In our house.”
“Not yet.”
Vanessa’s cheeks flushed.
“You are unbelievable.”
“And tomorrow, according to your statement, I am violent.”
She looked at Anna.
“This is because of her.”
Anna stiffened.
Luca stepped between them without appearing to.
“No,” he said. “This is because somebody wrote tomorrow’s accusation today.”
Vanessa grabbed her clutch from the side table.
“I’m leaving.”
Daniel shifted in front of the door.
She stared at him.
“Move.”
Daniel looked at Luca.
Luca considered her for several seconds.
Then he nodded.
“Let her go.”
Vanessa blinked.
She had expected resistance.
So had Anna.
Vanessa straightened.
“Fine.”
Luca’s voice stopped her before she reached the hall.
“Your driver will take you to your father’s house.”
“I can arrange my own car.”
“No.”
She turned.
“You just said I could leave.”
“You can.”
He met her eyes.
“But after discovering a fabricated assault allegation dated in the future, I am not allowing you to wander around Chicago and later claim I detained you, threatened you, or followed you.”
Vanessa’s mouth tightened.
“Daniel will record the time you leave. Mrs. Carter will witness it. The gate cameras will show you departing without injury.”
Vanessa stared at him.
It was the first time Anna understood why Luca had survived whatever world had made men lower their voices around him.
He did not merely react.
He closed doors before other people reached them. Vanessa looked at Anna one last time.
“You’ll regret this.”
Luca’s voice sharpened.
“Vanessa.”
She stopped.
“Do not threaten my employee again.”
Something dangerous passed between them.
Then Vanessa turned and walked out. The study door closed behind her.
David exhaled.
“I’d really like to go home.”
Luca looked at him.
“You will.”
David stood.
“Thank you.”
“When Daniel has copied your devices and my attorney has your statement.”
David sat again.
Anna almost smiled despite herself.
Luca noticed.
For the first time all evening, some of the tension left his face.
Only for a second.
Then his gaze went to her sling.
“You should be in bed.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re employed.”
Anna blinked.
“What?”
“That sentence usually means the opposite of fine.”
She looked down.
“I don’t like causing trouble.”
“You didn’t.”
“I walked into a private room.”
“And discovered my fiancée manufacturing evidence that I assaulted her.”
Anna swallowed.
“When you say it like that, it sounds worse.”
“It is worse.”
He came around the desk and crouched slightly so he could see her without forcing her to lift her head.
“Anna.”
She met his eyes.
“You did nothing wrong.”
The words landed somewhere she had not expected. She had spent four hours telling herself the opposite. If she had knocked more quietly.
If she had turned around.
If she had minded her own business. If she had not seen the makeup. If she had not made Vanessa angry.
Luca seemed to read at least part of that argument in her face.
“She hurt you because you saw something she wanted hidden,” he said. “That belongs to her. Not you.”
Anna nodded once.
She could not trust her voice.
Daniel returned ten minutes later.
“Car is ready. Mrs. Carter is downstairs.”
“Cameras?”
“Recording.”
“Good.”
Daniel looked at David.
“Security room.”
The photographer stood.
This time he did not complain. After he left, Anna pushed herself carefully from the chair. Luca moved automatically as though to help her.
She stepped back.
Not because she was afraid of him. Because needing help made her uncomfortable.
He noticed that too.
“I can walk.”
“I know.”
She paused.
“Thank you for paying me tonight.”
His expression became almost irritated.
“Anna.”
“Yes?”
“You were injured while working in my home because someone I brought into it put her hands on you.”
His jaw tightened.
“You should not be thanking me for paying you.”
She looked toward the floor.
“My landlord doesn’t accept principles.”
The corner of Luca’s mouth moved.
“No. I imagine he prefers money.”
“That has been my experience.”
“Mrs. Carter said your mother has medical appointments.”
Anna looked up quickly.
She did not like people knowing personal things. Luca seemed to understand the reaction.
“She mentioned it months ago when you asked for a Tuesday morning off. I remember details.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It is.”
The answer surprised a laugh out of her.
Pain tugged at her shoulder.
She winced.
Luca’s brief amusement vanished.
“Bed.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And Anna?”
She waited.
“If anyone contacts you about tonight, you tell Daniel.”
“Anyone?”
“Anyone.”
She nodded.
At the door, she stopped.
“Mr. Moretti?”
“Yes?”
“Are you still getting married Saturday?”
The question escaped before she could stop it.
She wanted to disappear.
Luca looked toward the engagement photograph on the bookshelf.
Vanessa smiling beside him.
His expression became unreadable.
“I don’t know what happens Saturday.”
Anna left.
That answer followed her upstairs.
Her staff room was small but comfortable, tucked at the end of the west corridor. Someone had already placed a glass of water and fresh medication on her nightstand.
Anna changed slowly.
Removing her uniform with one useful arm took nearly fifteen minutes. She had just managed to pull on an oversized T-shirt when her phone vibrated. She expected a message from her mother.
Instead, the screen showed an unknown number.
ANNA MITCHELL?
She stared.
A second message arrived.
YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED OUT OF THE BRIDAL SUITE.
Her pulse jumped.
She immediately remembered Luca’s instruction.
Anyone contacts you, tell Daniel.
Before she could reach the door, a third message appeared. YOUR MOTHER’S APPOINTMENT IS TUESDAY AT 10:30.
Anna stopped breathing.
Her mother’s appointment was at Lakeshore Cardiology.
Very few people knew.
Anna.
Her mother.
The clinic.
Mrs. Carter because of the shift schedule. And whoever had access to information Anna did not understand.
The next message arrived.
DON’T MAKE HER WEEK MORE DIFFICULT THAN IT NEEDS TO BE.
Anna’s hands began to shake.
She did not call Daniel.
She called her mother.
The phone rang twice.
“Sweetheart?”
Anna nearly collapsed with relief.
“Mom. Are you okay?”
A pause.
“I’m watching a terrible cooking show and arguing with your aunt by text. So yes.”
“Is your door locked?”
“Anna?”
“Please check.”
Her mother did.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I’m just—”
Another message appeared.
GOOD GIRL. CALL HER.
Anna went cold.
Someone knew what she was doing.
Someone was watching.
She looked toward the window.
The curtains were partly open.
Beyond the glass lay the dark west garden and, farther away, the estate wall. She crossed the room and pulled the curtains shut.
“Mom, I have to go.”
“Anna, you sound frightened.”
“I’m okay. Lock the door and don’t let anyone in unless you know them.”
“Should I call the police?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Anna—”
“I’ll call you in ten minutes.”
She ended the call and ran into the hallway. Daniel was already coming toward her. One look at her face and he accelerated.
“What happened?”
Anna held out the phone.
He read the messages.
His expression changed immediately.
“Where were you when these came in?”
“Here.”
“Did you look out the window?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see anything?”
“No.”
Daniel reached for his radio.
“Lock the west grounds. Nobody leaves.”
The mansion shifted in seconds.
Doors closed.
Men appeared in hallways.
Outside, security lights flooded the garden. Anna stood against the wall, suddenly aware that her mother lived twenty-three minutes away in a modest apartment with one deadbolt and no security team.
“Daniel.”
He looked at her.
“My mother.”
“I’m sending two men now.”
“No.”
“They will not approach unless needed. They’ll watch the building.”
Anna pressed her good hand over her mouth. Luca appeared at the end of the corridor. He had removed his jacket and rolled his sleeves to his forearms.
“What happened?”
Daniel handed him the phone.
Luca read the messages.
The change in him was immediate.
Not louder.
Colder.
“Trace it.”
“Already starting.”
Luca looked at Anna.
“Your mother is being watched.”
“Daniel said.”
“She’ll be safe.”
“You can’t promise that.”
His eyes held hers.
“No.”
The honesty steadied her more than reassurance would have.
“I can promise I will take it seriously.”
Anna nodded.
Luca looked toward the closed curtains.
“How would they know about the appointment?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Vanessa?”
Anna thought.
“She heard me ask Mrs. Carter for Tuesday morning off last week.”
“Did you say why?”
“I said my mother had a cardiology appointment.”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
“Time?”
“I might have.”
Daniel’s phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
Then looked at Luca.
“We traced the text.”
Anna held her breath.
Daniel’s expression was grim.
“Burner phone. Activated today. But the tower ping is useful.”
“Where?”
“Less than half a mile from the estate.”
Luca looked toward the windows.
Someone was close.
Very close.
Daniel continued.
“And there’s more. The same number contacted another phone twelve minutes before Anna got the first message.”
“Whose?”
Daniel turned the screen toward Luca.
“The number belongs to Melissa Grant.”
Vanessa’s makeup artist.
Anna stared.
Luca said nothing.
Daniel continued.
“We pulled the gate logs. Melissa left at five-twelve.”
“Then she came back,” Luca said.
“Or never went far.”
A security radio crackled in Daniel’s hand.
A guard’s voice came through.
“Movement near the west service road.”
Daniel grabbed the radio.
“Description?”
“Black sedan. Lights off. Just pulled away.”
“Stop it.”
“We’re moving.”
Anna’s heart pounded.
From somewhere beyond the mansion walls came the sudden roar of engines. Then, three seconds later, a sharp metallic crash.
Everyone froze.
Daniel’s radio exploded with voices.
“Vehicle hit the south gate!”
“Driver running!”
“Second person in the passenger seat!”
Luca moved toward the stairs.
Daniel blocked him.
“Boss.”
Luca stopped.
The radio crackled again.
“We have the driver.”
A pause.
“Passenger escaped on foot.”
Daniel lifted the radio.
“Identify the driver.”
Static.
Then the guard answered.
“It’s a woman.”
Anna knew before the name came.
Maybe all of them did.
“Melissa Grant.”
Luca’s eyes went to Anna.
But the guard was not finished.
“Boss, we found something in the back seat.”
“What?”
“A second set of photographs.”
Daniel frowned.
“Of Vanessa?”
“No.”
The radio crackled.
“They’re photographs of Anna.”
Anna’s knees nearly gave way.
Luca caught her good arm before she hit the wall.
May you like
The guard continued.
“Taken through the windows of her mother’s apartment.”
