Chapter 7 - THE DIAMOND NECKLACE THAT APPEARED IN MY BAG|
I should have known Vanessa Moretti wouldn't surrender quietly.
Women like her didn't apologize when they were caught doing something cruel.
They simply found a new way to make someone else suffer.
And after Luca began questioning her father's business dealings, I became the easiest person to blame.
Two days after our meeting with Sofia Russo, the mansion was crawling with attorneys, accountants, and security personnel.
Evelyn had ordered an independent audit of several family businesses.
Luca had restricted access to his private office and changed the passwords on his financial accounts.
Vanessa had moved into the guest suite on the second floor.
And I had begun to wonder whether I should leave the job I had loved for five years.
But I couldn't abandon the investigation.
My grandfather had trusted me with something important.
And Anthony Russo had already lost too much because other people were afraid to speak.
That afternoon, I was organizing documents in the library when Vanessa appeared in the doorway.
She wore a pale blue designer dress and carried a porcelain cup of tea.
Her expression was almost friendly.
"Claire, may I speak with you?"
I stood.
"Of course, Mrs. Moretti."
She smiled.
"You're very loyal to Luca, aren't you?"
"He's been a fair employer to me."
"That's not what I asked."
I didn't answer.
Vanessa stepped closer.
"Do you honestly believe he'll protect you when this becomes dangerous?"
"I believe the truth matters."
"How charming."
She set her cup on the desk.
"Your grandfather probably believed the same thing."
My heart began pounding.
"What do you know about my grandfather?"
Vanessa's smile faded.
"Enough to know he should have minded his own business."
I stared at her.
Then I took a step toward the door.
"Excuse me, ma'am."
She caught my sleeve.
"Listen carefully, Claire."
"You have no idea what my father is capable of."
"And if you keep digging, you may not be around to regret it."
Before I could answer, Luca entered the library.
Vanessa immediately released my arm.
"Darling," she said brightly.
"I was just telling Claire how much we appreciate her hard work."
Luca looked from her face to mine.
"Claire, are you all right?"
"Yes, sir."
But my voice betrayed me.
Vanessa laughed.
"Honestly, Luca, must everyone in this house behave as though we're living in a crime movie?"
She walked out before he could respond.
An hour later, two Chicago police officers arrived at the mansion.
I was helping one of the younger housemaids, Maya, prepare the dining room when Marco came looking for me.
His expression made my stomach tighten.
"Claire, the officers need to speak with you."
"About what?"
"Mrs. Moretti has reported a theft."
I followed him into the entrance hall.
Vanessa stood beside the officers, holding an empty black jewelry case.
Her face wore an expression of perfectly rehearsed distress.
"My diamond necklace is missing," she announced.
"The wedding gift from my father."
I looked at the case.
It was the same necklace she'd thrown onto the library sofa after her argument with Luca.
I hadn't touched it.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," I said.
"Perhaps someone moved it."
Vanessa turned toward me.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
One officer asked whether anyone had accessed the guest suite.
Vanessa immediately mentioned that the household staff sometimes cleaned upstairs.
Then she looked directly at me.
"Claire was working near my room this morning."
I felt the accusation before she spoke it.
"Are you saying I stole your necklace?"
Vanessa tilted her head.
"I'm simply asking the police to find it."
Luca entered from the adjoining hallway.
"What's happening?"
Vanessa rushed toward him.
"My necklace is gone, darling."
"And unfortunately, Claire was the last person I saw near my belongings."
Luca's expression darkened.
"Claire didn't steal anything."
The officer raised a hand.
"Mr. Moretti, we need to establish the facts."
I agreed to let the officers examine my work bag.
I had nothing to hide.
It contained a wallet, an old paperback novel, my apartment keys, and the scarf my grandfather had given me for Christmas.
But when an officer unzipped the inside pocket, something glittered beneath the fabric.
My breath stopped.
He pulled out a diamond necklace.
For one moment, I genuinely thought I was dreaming.
Then Vanessa covered her mouth.
"Oh, Claire."
Her voice trembled with false disappointment.
"How could you?"
"No!" I cried.
"I've never seen that necklace inside my bag!"
Luca stepped forward.
"This is a setup."
The officer looked at him.
"Sir, please let us do our job."
Vanessa began crying.
"My father gave me that necklace on my wedding day."
"It's worth three hundred thousand dollars."
"I trusted her!"
The officers asked me to accompany them for questioning.
I looked at Luca, terrified.
He was already calling Evelyn.
"Claire," he said, "don't answer questions without a lawyer."
"But I didn't do anything."
"I know."
As the officers escorted me toward the door, Vanessa leaned close enough that only I could hear her.
"You should have thrown away that watch."
I stopped walking.
Suddenly, I understood.
The necklace hadn't disappeared because someone wanted money.
It had disappeared because Vanessa wanted to destroy my credibility.
If everyone believed I was a thief, perhaps they would stop believing the evidence I'd brought from my grandfather's shop.
At the entrance, I turned toward Luca.
"Please don't let her take Grandpa's watch."
He looked at me with a terrible sadness in his eyes.
"I won't."
Then I was led outside.
And for the first time in my life, I climbed into the back of a police car.
Through the window, I saw Vanessa standing beside Luca beneath the mansion's enormous front doors.
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She had stopped crying.
She was smiling.
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