Chapter 4 - The Man at Sunday Dinner
“Shut down the estate.”
Carmine’s order changed everything.
Matteo immediately reached for his phone.
“No vehicles in or out. Nobody leaves without my authorization.”
I stood.
“I’m leaving.”
Carmine turned.
“No.”
My temper snapped.
“You don’t get to lock me here.”
“I’m protecting you.”
“Your protection is starting to look a lot like imprisonment.”
He stopped.
Then nodded.
“You’re right.”
That surprised me.
He picked up his phone.
“Matteo, prepare a car. Claire chooses where she goes.”
Matteo hesitated.
“Boss—”
“She chooses.”
I looked at Carmine.
“You’d let me walk out with that evidence?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s yours.”
“And if I go to the police?”
“Then I’ll give you every document we have.”
I studied him.
“You could lose everything.”
“Maybe.”
“Your family.”
“What Rocco and Salvatore built isn’t family.”
Before I could answer, the office lights died.
Matteo’s hand moved toward his jacket.
Carmine immediately pulled me behind the desk.
“Stay down.”
An alarm began screaming downstairs.
Matteo checked his phone.
“Security system’s offline.”
Carmine’s voice hardened.
“Salvatore.”
A crash sounded in the corridor.
Then shouting.
Carmine looked at me.
“Safe room. Now.”
We moved through a concealed door behind the bookcase.
Inside was a narrow concrete room with monitors and reinforced walls.
Matteo stayed outside.
Carmine locked the steel door.
“You have a panic button?”
“Yes.”
“Police?”
“Already alerted.”
I stared at him.
“You actually called them?”
“I told you. Your rights don’t disappear because of my last name.”
Footsteps sounded outside.
Then Salvatore’s voice came through the intercom.
“Carmine.”
Carmine activated the speaker.
“Uncle.”
“You’ve created unnecessary drama.”
“You murdered Anthony.”
Silence.
Then Salvatore sighed.
“Anthony was weak.”
Carmine’s face tightened.
“He wanted out.”
“He wanted to destroy everything your father built.”
“And Claire’s mother?”
“Collateral damage.”
My stomach turned.
Carmine’s hand curled into a fist.
Salvatore continued.
“Give me the girl and the card.”
Carmine looked at me.
Then pressed the intercom.
“No.”
“You would destroy this family for a maid?”
Carmine’s eyes stayed on mine.
“No.”
A pause.
“I’m going to save what’s left of it.”
Gunfire was not needed.
The threat in Salvatore’s silence was enough.
Then came another voice.
Rocco.
“Claire!”
I froze.
“Tell him what you did!” Rocco shouted.
Carmine frowned.
“What is he talking about?”
“I don’t know.”
Rocco laughed through the door.
“She knew about the necklace.”
“That’s a lie!”
“Ask her why she never took it off.”
“Because it was my mother’s!”
Rocco shouted, “She came here looking for us!”
Carmine watched me.
I felt suddenly sick.
“You believe him?”
“No.”
“You hesitated.”
“I was thinking.”
“About whether I lied.”
“About why he wants me to think you did.”
That silenced me.
Then Carmine did something unexpected.
He handed me his phone.
“What?”
“Call whoever you trust.”
“Why?”
“Because if we don’t leave this room, somebody needs to know what happened.”
My hands shook.
I called 911 again.
Then Carmine uploaded the contents of the card to three secure servers.
Salvatore heard the notification through his own compromised network.
His voice changed.
“What did you do?”
Carmine smiled without humor.
“Made you irrelevant.”
“You fool.”
“The evidence is out.”
“You’ve destroyed us.”
“No.”
Carmine looked at the photograph of Anthony on the monitor.
“You did that three years ago.”
Sirens became audible outside.
Salvatore started shouting orders.
Carmine remained perfectly still.
Five minutes later, Matteo’s voice came through the secure channel.
“Police have the west wing.”
Carmine unlocked the safe room.
I grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
He looked down at my hand.
“What?”
“What if it’s a trap?”
For the first time since the kitchen, his expression softened.
“You’re worried about me?”
“Don’t make it weird.”
A faint smile appeared.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
We stepped outside together.
Rocco was on his knees in the corridor, hands restrained behind him.
Salvatore stood against the wall between two officers.
He looked at me.
“You stupid little girl.”
Carmine moved between us.
Salvatore laughed.
“There he is. The knight protecting his maid.”
Carmine’s voice remained calm.
“Her name is Claire.”
Salvatore looked at him.
“You’ll regret this.”
Carmine shook his head.
“I regret not seeing you sooner.”
The officers took Salvatore away.
Rocco followed.
As he passed me, he whispered:
“This isn’t over.”
Carmine heard him.
“So you keep saying.”
Rocco looked back.
Carmine smiled.
May you like
“But this time, Claire has witnesses.”
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