Chapter 1 - THE WARNING THAT STOPPED THE PARTYThe ballroom glittered beneath hundreds of crystal lights.
Champagne flowed.
Music filled the air.
And at the center of everything stood Alessandro Moretti, the most feared man in the city.
He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, one hand resting casually around the waist of his fiancée, Clara.
Tonight was supposed to be perfect.
Their engagement celebration had brought together family, business partners, politicians, celebrities, and people who understood that attending a Moretti event was less an invitation than a declaration of loyalty.
Clara smiled as a photographer raised his camera.
Alessandro leaned closer.
“You okay?”
She nodded.
“I've never seen this many people in one room.”
“You'll get used to it.”
She laughed.
“You sound like you're talking about weather.”
Before Alessandro could answer, a voice suddenly tore through the room.
“She put something in your cake!”
Everyone turned.
A young woman stood near the entrance.
She looked homeless.
Her coat was torn.
Her hair was tangled.
Her shoes were soaked from the rain.
Security guards immediately moved toward her.
But she pointed toward the dessert table.
“Don't eat it!”
The room fell silent.
Clara looked confused.
Alessandro stared at the girl.
“Who are you?”
The girl shook her head.
“You need to leave.”
A guard grabbed her arm.
“Sir, should I remove her?”
Alessandro raised a hand.
“Wait.”
The girl looked directly at him.
“Your cake.”
Alessandro glanced toward the table.
The enormous white cake had been prepared especially for the engagement.
Gold decorations covered the frosting.
A small edible replica of a phoenix sat at the top.
Clara reached toward it.
“Don't!”
The girl screamed.
Clara stopped.
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
“What did you see?”
The girl opened her mouth.
But before she could answer—
Clara suddenly gasped.
Her hand flew to her throat.
“Alessandro…”
She collapsed.
The room exploded.
Guests screamed.
Chairs crashed.
Security rushed forward.
Alessandro caught Clara before her head hit the floor.
“Call Rossi!”
Dr. Rossi was already moving.
He pushed through the crowd.
“Get her somewhere private.”
Alessandro carried Clara toward a side room.
Her lips were turning pale.
Her body had become frighteningly still.
The homeless girl stood frozen near the entrance.
Nobody noticed that she was crying.
Alessandro suddenly turned.
“You!”
She flinched.
“Did you know this would happen?”
“I knew someone was going to die.”
“Who?”
The girl looked toward the dessert table.
“Not her.”
Alessandro froze.
“What?”
“She wasn't supposed to drink from that glass.”
His eyes moved toward the table.
Clara's wineglass was empty.
The cake remained untouched.
Dr. Rossi shouted from the side room.
“Alessandro!”
He ran inside.
Clara's pulse was disappearing.
Rossi immediately began treatment.
“What happened?”
Alessandro pointed toward the table.
“She said something was in the cake.”
Rossi looked at the cake.
Then at the wine.
He dipped a testing strip into the remaining bottle.
His expression changed.
“Don't touch anything.”
Alessandro stared.
“What?”
“There's something in the wine.”
The room went silent.
The homeless girl had been right.
But she had also been wrong.
The poison wasn't in the cake.
It was in Clara's wine.
And someone had deliberately created the cake accusation to make everyone look in the wrong direction.
Alessandro turned toward security.
“Lock the building down.”
Every door closed.
Nobody left.
The police were called.
The guests were separated.
And the homeless girl?
She disappeared.
Alessandro found only one thing where she had been standing.
A small black envelope.
Inside was a handwritten message.
YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE WRONG WOMAN.
Alessandro stared at it.
Then another detail caught his eye.
The handwriting looked familiar.
Very familiar.
But before he could place it, Dr. Rossi shouted from the medical room.
“She has a pulse!”
Alessandro closed his eyes.
Clara was alive.
Barely.
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But someone had just tried to kill the woman he loved.
And the person responsible was still somewhere inside the building.
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