Chapter 2 - THE SECOND EARRING
The ballroom was so quiet I could hear the rain lashing against the floor-to-ceiling windows. Luca stood frozen, holding the yellowed photograph. His dark eyes darted from the little girl in the picture to the woman standing in front of him. Vanessa's face had lost all its color. "Luca, please," she stammered, taking a step toward him. "That picture... it's just a coincidence. My mother used to visit your mother. They were friends." Luca didn't blink. "Friends?" His voice was dangerously low. "My mother died in a fire thirty-three years ago. The investigators said it was an accident. But they never found her jewelry box." He pointed at the glittering emerald on Vanessa's left ear. "And now you're wearing an earring that matches the one found in the ashes." "My mother gave them to me!" Vanessa cried, her voice echoing in the vast room. "She told me they were a family heirloom! I swear to you, Luca!" I stood tightly gripping the handles of Joe's wheelchair. My heart hammered against my ribs. If Vanessa's mother had stolen the jewelry, did she start the fire to cover her tracks? Joe shook his head slowly. "Your mother didn't give you those earrings, young lady." Vanessa snapped her head toward the old man, her eyes flashing with sudden, venomous panic. "Shut up! You don't know anything, you senile old fool!" "Vanessa!" Luca roared. The entire room flinched. Joe reached into his battered coat pocket. His trembling fingers pulled out a folded, soot-stained piece of paper. "I know your mother didn't give them to you," Joe said softly, "because your mother died in that house, too." A collective gasp rippled through the guests. Vanessa froze. "What are you talking about?" "The woman in that photograph," Joe pointed to the picture. "Her name was Maria. She was the housekeeper. She died trying to get to the nursery. I pulled her body out myself." My breath caught in my throat. Vanessa wasn't the daughter of a wealthy socialite. She was the housekeeper's daughter. But if her mother died in the fire, who raised her to become a mafia boss's fiancée? Vanessa's hands began to shake wildly. "You're lying! My father raised me! He told me my mother died in a car crash!" "Who is your father?" Luca asked, stepping closer to her. Vanessa backed away, her eyes darting around the room. "You know who he is! Carlo Bellini!" Luca's expression darkened. Carlo Bellini was his own underboss. The man who had trained him after his father died. "Carlo raised you," Luca said slowly, piecing it together. "But Carlo wasn't married to Maria." Before Vanessa could answer, her designer clutch slipped from her trembling hands. It hit the marble floor, spilling her lipstick, a compact mirror, and a heavy, silver pocket watch. The watch slid across the floor and stopped right at the wheels of Joe's chair. I looked down. The silver watch had a deep, jagged scratch across its lid. Joe stared at the watch. The color drained from his weathered face. "Where did you get that?" Joe whispered, his voice cracking with sudden terror. Vanessa sneered, trying to regain her composure. "It's my father's. He asked me to bring it to the jeweler tomorrow to get it polished for the wedding." Joe slowly looked up at Luca. "Anthony," the old man choked out. "The man who set the fire... I saw him running from the back door. I couldn't see his face. But when he shoved past me, he dropped a silver watch." Joe pointed a shaking finger at the floor. "It had that exact same jagged scratch on the lid."
