Chapter 2 - What He Pulled From The Velvet Clutch
Luca did not blink.
He didn’t raise his voice.
But the silence in the dining room became suffocating as his thumb pressed the golden clasp of Vanessa’s red clutch.
“Luca, please,” Vanessa whispered. Her voice broke. “Don’t do this in front of everyone.”
“I asked you a question,” Luca said. “Why are you afraid?”
She didn’t answer.
She just stared at the bag like it was a live explosive.
Click.
The clasp opened.
Thirty-two wealthy, powerful guests leaned forward just a fraction of an inch. I stayed perfectly still, my hands folded over my white apron. My heart hammered against my ribs. I expected him to pull out a small velvet ring box. I expected him to find the real diamond.
Luca reached inside.
His hand emerged.
There was no ring box.
Instead, he held a small, crumpled piece of yellow paper.
A receipt.
Vanessa closed her eyes. A single tear escaped, ruining her perfect makeup.
Luca unfolded the yellow paper. He read it in silence. His jaw tightened, a hard muscle flexing beneath his skin.
“A pawn ticket,” Luca said.
The room inhaled collectively.
Vanessa’s hands trembled. “I can explain.”
“You pawned your engagement ring.” Luca’s voice was devoid of all emotion, which somehow made it terrifying.
“Not for money!” she blurted out. “I didn’t do it for money, Luca. You have to believe me.”
“Then why?”
“To pay them.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed. “Them?”
Vanessa swallowed hard. She looked around the room, suddenly hyper-aware of the audience. “I was being blackmailed. Someone found out about Chicago. About what happened before I met you. They demanded two hundred thousand dollars in cash. I didn’t have it. I couldn’t ask you. So I... I pawned the ring to get the cash to pay them off. I was going to buy it back next week.”
A murmur swept through the dining room.
Blackmail.
A secret past.
It explained the panic. It explained the fake silver ring.
Answer one.
But as I looked at the yellow paper in Luca’s hand, a cold dread began to pool in my stomach.
Because I recognized that color.
I recognized the thick, black font printed at the top of the receipt.
There were hundreds of pawn shops in Chicago. But only one used that specific shade of canary-yellow paper with the bold, gothic lettering.
My mother’s shop.
Luca stared at Vanessa. “Who were you paying?”
“I don’t know,” she sobbed. “It was anonymous. Drops in mailboxes. Please, Luca.”
Luca looked down at the ticket again.
Then he looked at me.
“Emma.”
“Yes, sir.”
He held the yellow paper out toward me. “You said your mother works in a pawn shop.”
My mouth went dry. “Yes, sir.”
“Come read this signature.”
I walked forward. My legs felt like lead.
I took the ticket from his hand.
Item: 4-Carat Emerald-Cut Diamond Ring, Platinum Setting.
Payout: $200,000.
Authorized by:
I stopped breathing.
There, written in blue ink, was a signature I had seen on grocery lists, permission slips, and birthday cards my entire life.
It was my mother’s name.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
The date stamped at the top of the ticket was from three days ago.
Tuesday.
The same day Vanessa claimed she took the ring to Barlowe Jewelers.
“Well?” Luca asked quietly. “Do you recognize the shop?”
“It’s my mother’s shop, sir.”
Vanessa’s head snapped up. She looked at me, then at Luca. The fear in her eyes instantly vanished, replaced by a vicious, calculating light.
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“Her mother?” Vanessa gasped, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at me. “Luca, don’t you see? The maid is the one blackmailing me!”
TITLE: The Child Who Drew The Truth
