Chapter 3 - The Woman in Emerald Green|
Every eye followed Lily's finger.
Standing beside the ballroom doors was Celeste Moretti.
Dominic's sister-in-law.
Forty-two years old, elegant, wealthy, and dressed in a shimmering emerald-green gown that probably cost more than my annual salary.
Her husband, Adrian Moretti, Dominic's older brother, had died seven years earlier.
Since then, Celeste had remained a respected member of the family, overseeing charitable foundations and attending every major Moretti celebration.
I had always found her intimidating.
But I had never imagined her dangerous.
Celeste looked down at Lily.
“Sweetheart, are you pointing at me?”
Lily pressed herself against my legs.
“I saw a green lady.”
Celeste glanced at her dress.
“Well, darling, half the women here are wearing green.”
Her laughter sounded perfectly natural.
Too natural.
Dominic walked toward her.
“Where were you fifteen minutes before the cake was served?”
Celeste's smile disappeared.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Dominic, surely you don't believe a toddler is accusing me of poisoning your son.”
“I asked where you were.”
She folded her arms.
“In the garden speaking with Judge Whitmore.”
Gabriel approached.
“I can verify that.”
Dominic turned.
“Personally?”
“One of our exterior cameras shows them together.”
Celeste lifted her chin.
“There. Are we finished?”
Dominic didn't answer.
Instead, he looked toward Lily.
“Sweetheart, did you see that lady inside the kitchen?”
Lily shook her head.
“No.”
Celeste smiled triumphantly.
Then Lily added something none of us expected.
“She was talking to the man through the little window.”
Gabriel immediately stepped forward.
“There is a service window between the kitchen and the east corridor.”
Celeste's face lost a little color.
Dominic noticed.
So did I.
“Check the cameras,” he ordered.
Gabriel spoke quietly into his radio.
Several tense minutes passed.
Then his earpiece crackled.
“Boss, we have a problem.”
“What problem?”
“The east-corridor cameras stopped recording twenty minutes before the cake was served.”
Dominic stared at him.
“Technical failure?”
“Someone disabled the feed from inside the security system.”
The ballroom erupted into frightened whispers.
Celeste stepped backward.
“This is ridiculous.”
Dominic turned toward the guards.
“Separate the guests. No one speaks to anyone until we've taken statements.”
Then he looked at Celeste.
“And you will remain here.”
Her expression hardened.
“You have no right to detain me.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“My son almost died.”
His voice dropped.
“Tonight, I don't care whose last name you carry.”
I looked down at Lily.
She was staring toward the kitchen again.
Her lower lip trembled.
“Mommy?”
“What is it?”
“The bad man saw me.”
My blood went cold.
“When?”
Lily whispered:
“Before I broke the cake.”
May you like
She squeezed my hand.
“And he smiled.”
