Chapter 2 - The Mafia Boss’s Warning
Clare made it through the hotel kitchen before she started crying.
Not the elegant tears of a bride in a movie.
Ugly, furious tears.
The kind that made breathing difficult.
She reached the service corridor and leaned against the wall.
Her wedding dress weighed twenty pounds.
Her shoes hurt.
Her cheek burned.
She pressed her fingers against it.
The mark was already swelling.
Footsteps approached.
She expected her father.
Or a bridesmaid.
Instead, Gabriel Moretti stopped several feet away.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
Clare looked at him.
“I've been better.”
He nodded.
“Fair.”
She wiped her face.
“You don't have to follow me.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because your husband may not let you leave safely.”
“He isn't my husband.”
Gabriel's expression softened slightly.
“Not anymore.”
Clare laughed despite herself.
“Do you always talk like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you're delivering bad news at a funeral.”
“No.”
He looked down at her shoes.
“I usually charge for it.”
She almost smiled.
Almost.
Then she remembered why he was there.
“You said my father asked your mother to protect me.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because your father believed your life was in danger.”
Clare frowned.
“My father died of a heart attack.”
Gabriel was quiet.
“That's what the report says.”
Her pulse quickened.
“What does the real report say?”
“That he was poisoned.”
She stared at him.
“My father was not poisoned.”
“Maybe.”
“What does maybe mean?”
Gabriel leaned against the opposite wall.
“Your father had traces of aconitine in his blood.”
Clare went still.
“What?”
“It can cause cardiac arrest.”
She shook her head.
“Who told you?”
“Your father's physician.”
“He was retired.”
“After your father died.”
Clare looked away.
Her father's death had always felt sudden.
He had complained of chest pain.
Collapsed.
The doctors called it natural.
Her mother had accepted it.
Clare had accepted it.
But now a stranger was telling her otherwise.
“Why would someone kill him?”
Gabriel said nothing.
Clare understood.
“The property.”
“Yes.”
She closed her eyes.
“How much is it worth?”
“More than you think.”
She looked at him.
“How much?”
“About four hundred million.”
Her mouth fell open.
“What?”
“The land beneath your father's warehouses has been rezoned.”
“Since when?”
“Six months ago.”
Clare stared.
Derek had been helping her review zoning changes.
He had encouraged her to delay selling.
To hold the land.
To consolidate everything.
He had known.
“How many people knew?”
“Your father.”
“Derek.”
“Yes.”
“Your mother?”
“No.”
“Then someone else.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Someone close.”
Clare's stomach twisted.
He reached into his jacket.
“Your father left something for you.”
He handed her an envelope.
Her name was written across the front.
Not Clare.
Clara.
The name only her father had used.
Her hands shook.
She opened it.
Inside was one line.
If Gabriel Moretti ever comes to you, trust him before you trust anyone in the Whitmore family.
Clare looked up.
“Why?”
“He knew Isabella was loyal.”
“To him?”
“To the agreement.”
“What happened between them?”
Gabriel's gaze moved toward the ballroom.
“Twenty-six years ago, my mother was being forced out of Boston by another family.”
“Which family?”
“D’Amico.”
Clare frowned.
“Never heard of them.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
“Are they still around?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“They aren't.”
She looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Gabriel didn't answer.
A hotel security guard approached.
“Ms. Bennett?”
“Yes?”
“The Whitmore family requested that you surrender the wedding ring.”
Clare stared at him.
“The ring?”
“Mr. Whitmore says it belongs to his family.”
Clare looked at her hand.
The diamond was enormous.
She began to remove it.
Gabriel said quietly, “Don't.”
She paused.
“Why?”
“That ring contains a tracking device.”
Her eyes widened.
“What?”
He took out a small device.
The screen showed a blinking red dot.
Her blood went cold.
“Your husband gave you that?”
“Yes.”
“For the wedding.”
Gabriel looked at the guard.
“Leave.”
The man froze.
“Sir?”
“Leave.”
The guard obeyed.
Clare stared at the ring.
“So he could track me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To know where you went.”
She swallowed.
“Why would he care after the wedding?”
Gabriel's expression sharpened.
“Because the wedding wasn't the end of his plan.”
“What was?”
He looked at the ring.
“Your father's safe deposit box.”
She stared.
“What?”
Derek had mentioned the box twice.
Both times casually.
He said her father had left legal papers there.
He had asked her to retrieve them after the wedding.
She had planned to do it Monday.
Gabriel saw recognition in her face.
“When were you supposed to open it?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because someone has already tried to break into it.”
Her skin prickled.
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
Gabriel turned.
“I can take you somewhere safe.”
“I don't know you.”
“No.”
She nodded.
“Exactly.”
He looked at her.
“Then don't trust me.”
She blinked.
“What?”
“Verify me.”
He took out his phone.
“Call your father's old attorney.”
Clare did.
The attorney answered immediately.
“Clare?”
“I need to ask you something.”
“What happened?”
“Did my father know Gabriel Moretti?”
There was silence.
Then:
“Yes.”
“Did he leave instructions concerning him?”
Another silence.
“Yes.”
Clare's heart pounded.
“What instructions?”
The attorney lowered his voice.
“He told me that if the Whitmore family ever tried to take control of your inheritance, I was to contact Isabella Moretti.”
“Isabella is dead.”
“I know.”
“Then who was I supposed to contact?”
The attorney hesitated.
“Her son.”
Clare looked at Gabriel.
He said nothing.
She ended the call.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“I'll go with you.”
Gabriel nodded.
But the moment they stepped outside, a black sedan accelerated toward the curb.
Gabriel grabbed Clare.
They moved aside.
The car crashed into the hotel flower display.
Men jumped out.
Three of them.
Gabriel pushed Clare behind a concrete pillar.
Gunfire exploded.
Guests screamed.
Security ran.
Gabriel drew his weapon.
Clare had never seen a man move like that.
One shot.
Second.
Third.
The attackers disappeared into the street.
Gabriel turned toward her.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded.
Then she noticed blood.
His shoulder.
“You're shot.”
“Grazed.”
“That's blood.”
“I've had worse.”
She stared at him.
“You are impossible.”
He smiled faintly.
“You've mentioned that.”
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He listened.
“No.”
Clare watched him.
Gabriel said quietly:
“She's gone.”
He ended the call.
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
Clare froze.
“What do you mean?”
“She disappeared from the hotel.”
“But why?”
Gabriel looked at the shattered entrance.
“Because someone knew exactly when the wedding would collapse.”
He looked at Clare.
“And someone wanted your mother alone.”
They left immediately.
As the SUV pulled away, Clare looked back at the hotel.
The wedding flowers were scattered across the pavement.
May you like
Her marriage was over.
But her real nightmare had just begun.
