Chapter 6 - The Confession Nobody Believed|
Chef Rosa Martinez had worked in the Moretti kitchen for eleven years.
She had prepared meals for ambassadors, governors, Hollywood celebrities, and men whose names never appeared in newspapers.
But to Ethan, she was simply Rosa.
The woman who made pancakes shaped like dinosaurs.
The woman who remembered his favorite cookies.
The woman who stayed late whenever he was sick.
Now she lay unconscious inside a private medical room while Dominic's security team examined a handwritten confession allegedly found beside her.
Gabriel read it aloud.
“I accepted payment to contaminate Ethan Moretti's birthday cake. I acted alone.”
I stared at him.
“That's impossible.”
Gabriel looked up.
“Why?”
“Because Rosa loves Ethan.”
“Love doesn't prove innocence.”
“Neither does a piece of paper.”
Dominic stood near the window.
For several moments, he said nothing.
Then he asked:
“Where was she found?”
“Inside the service garage. Someone apparently struck her before leaving the note.”
“Was she carrying a bag?”
“Yes.”
“What was inside?”
“Her apron, wallet, keys, and a photograph of her granddaughter.”
Dominic turned.
“That's all?”
Gabriel nodded.
Dominic looked toward me.
“Mara, does Rosa normally leave through the north garage?”
“No. She parks near the employee entrance.”
“Then why was she there?”
I thought about it.
Rosa had mentioned something during breakfast preparation.
A delivery.
An unexpected delivery that the kitchen hadn't ordered.
“She told me someone had requested special ingredients for Ethan's cake,” I said slowly.
Gabriel frowned.
“Who?”
“She didn't say.”
Dominic immediately called the kitchen.
Within minutes, Gabriel discovered that Rosa had received a message ordering her to inspect an emergency delivery at the north garage.
The message had been sent from Dominic's private office.
Except Dominic had never written it.
Someone had impersonated him.
Later that morning, Rosa regained consciousness.
Dominic questioned her himself.
“Did you write that confession?”
She shook her head weakly.
“No, Mr. Moretti.”
“Did you touch anything unusual in Ethan's cake?”
“No.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I would die before hurting that little boy.”
Dominic studied her.
Then leaned forward.
“Rosa, tell me what you remember.”
She hesitated.
“A man came into the kitchen wearing one of our spare chef jackets. He said he was from the event company.”
“His name?”
“He introduced himself as Owen.”
Dominic went completely still.
“Owen what?”
“I don't know.”
Rosa swallowed painfully.
“But he had a silver cufflink shaped like a star.”
Gabriel looked toward Dominic.
Dominic whispered a name.
“Owen Mercer.”
I had heard that name before.
He was Celeste Moretti's personal assistant.
The man who handled her appointments, contracts, and charity events.
Rosa caught Dominic's sleeve.
“Mr. Moretti, there's something else.”
“What?”
“The man asked whether Ethan would eat the cake first.”
May you like
Dominic's face darkened.
“And when I told him yes, he smiled.”
