Chapter 4 - THE ROOM WITH NO LOCK|
I couldn't look away from the photograph.
The man standing beside my father's wrecked car was older than he had appeared outside my apartment, but his face was unmistakable.
"Who is he?"
Luca studied me.
"His name is Vincent Calder."
"Why was he there?"
"Because he ordered the accident."
My knees weakened.
I gripped the back of the chair.
"No."
"Emma—"
"No. My father died because his brakes failed. That's what the police told us."
"The police were paid to close the investigation."
I shook my head.
I wanted to believe Luca was lying.
I wanted to believe that my father's death had been an ordinary tragedy.
But the photograph was real.
And the expression on Luca's face suggested he had known the truth for a long time.
"Why didn't you tell me at the hospital?"
"Because I didn't know who you were until I saw your surname."
"Then why bring me here?"
"Because Calder knows you're Michael Shaw's daughter."
I looked toward the door.
"I want to leave."
"You can't."
I turned sharply.
"Excuse me?"
"Not until we know what Calder wants."
"You don't get to decide where I live."
Luca's jaw tightened.
"Someone tried to kill you."
"And now I'm trapped in a house full of armed men!"
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he walked toward the door.
"Mrs. Bennett will show you your room."
I followed him into the corridor.
The east wing was quieter than the rest of the mansion.
A large bedroom overlooked the gardens.
There was a private bathroom, a sitting area, and a wardrobe filled with clothes.
I looked at the room.
"How long am I supposed to stay?"
"Until the threat is gone."
"That could take months."
"Then months."
He turned to leave.
I noticed something unusual.
The bedroom door had no visible lock.
"Why doesn't this room have a lock?"
Luca stopped.
"Because you shouldn't need one."
I looked at him.
"Everyone else here has a gun."
"Not everyone."
"You do."
He glanced down at the weapon beneath his jacket.
"Yes."
"Then how am I supposed to feel safe?"
He considered the question.
Finally, he removed the pistol and placed it on the console table outside the bedroom.
"You won't see that in here."
It was a small gesture.
But it was the first time someone in the mansion had acknowledged that I was frightened.
That evening, Mrs. Bennett brought dinner.
She placed the tray on the table.
"Mr. Russo has instructed the kitchen to prepare whatever you like."
"I don't want to cause trouble."
She gave me a strange look.
"Trouble seems to follow that man wherever he goes."
I almost smiled.
"Does he always behave like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like he owns every room he enters."
Mrs. Bennett looked toward the door.
"He learned very young that people take things from you when you show them weakness."
She paused.
"His mother was a gentle woman. After she died, he became someone very different."
I looked down at my food.
"How did she die?"
Mrs. Bennett's expression changed.
"An accident."
The same word everyone had used about my father.
Later that night, I walked into the library searching for a book.
A photograph on the fireplace caught my attention.
It showed Luca as a child, standing beside a smiling woman.
The woman wore a silver necklace.
I recognized it.
It was identical to the necklace my father had kept in a small wooden box.
Before I could examine it more closely, a voice came from behind me.
"Where did you get that necklace?"
I turned.
Luca stood in the doorway.
His face had gone completely pale.
"From my father," I whispered.
He approached the photograph.
Then he looked at me.
"Emma, your father didn't just work for my family."
May you like
He took a breath.
"He was the last person my mother spoke to before she died."
