Chapter 3 - The Locked Drawer
Breakfast was canceled.
That was how Hannah knew the situation was serious.
The Morelli household operated on schedules that bordered on military precision.
Coffee at six.
Breakfast at seven-thirty.
Luca’s school car at eight-fifteen.
Dante’s first meeting at eight-thirty.
But at seven that morning, the dining room remained empty.
Security guards questioned staff members one by one in the sitting room.
Phones were collected.
Delivery access was suspended.
Luca stayed upstairs.
Hannah found Dante in his father’s office with three men she recognized and one she did not.
The unfamiliar man was in his late fifties, silver-haired, immaculate, with the kind of polite face that made Hannah trust him less.
He looked at her.
“This must be the tutor.”
Dante’s expression sharpened.
“Hannah, this is my uncle, Vittorio Morelli.”
Vittorio smiled.
“Carlo spoke of you.”
Hannah blinked.
“Your brother died before I started working here.”
Vittorio’s smile did not move.
“I meant Dante.”
Dante’s eyes went cold.
“My mistake,” Vittorio said smoothly.
Hannah did not believe in accidents that polished.
She looked at Dante.
“You wanted me?”
“No. You should be upstairs.”
“Luca asked for his blue notebook.”
“That can wait.”
Vittorio studied her.
“She is very young.”
“She is standing here,” Hannah said.
Dante closed his eyes briefly.
One of the men coughed to cover a laugh.
Vittorio’s smile widened.
“And brave.”
“Reckless,” Dante corrected.
“That too.”
Hannah looked toward the desk.
One drawer hung open.
The lock was broken.
Papers had been pulled out.
“What’s missing?”
Dante’s face changed.
“Upstairs.”
“That means something is missing.”
Vittorio said, “Miss Reeves, family business is not your concern.”
Hannah looked at him.
“Then I’ll go.”
She turned.
Dante said, “Hannah.”
She stopped.
“Take Luca to the library. Stay there.”
“Okay.”
She walked out.
As she crossed the hallway, she heard Vittorio say behind her, “You are becoming careless.”
Dante answered, “Be very sure before you say that again.”
The door closed.
Luca was waiting at the top of the stairs.
“What did they steal?”
Hannah frowned.
“You were supposed to be in your room.”
“I was.”
“You’re not now.”
“I moved.”
“Technically true.”
He looked toward the office.
“My grandfather kept a ledger.”
“What kind?”
“No idea.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because he told me once that numbers are harder to kill than people.”
Hannah stared at him.
“That is a disturbing sentence.”
“My family says a lot of disturbing things.”
“Fair.”
Luca lowered his voice.
“He had a red leather book. I saw it in the drawer last year.”
Hannah remembered the broken drawer.
“Did you tell Dante?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Luca hesitated.
“Because Dad told me never to tell anyone where the second one was.”
Hannah’s heartbeat changed.
“The second what?”
Luca’s face went pale.
He looked toward the security camera in the hallway.
Then he grabbed her hand.
“Not here.”
He pulled her into the library.
Hannah closed the door.
Luca went to a shelf and removed a large art book.
Behind it was nothing.
He frowned.
“What?”
“I hid something.”
“What?”
He searched the shelf.
His movements became frantic.
“Luca.”
“It’s gone.”
“What is gone?”
He turned.
“A key.”
Hannah felt cold.
“What key?”
“I don’t know.”
“That sentence is becoming a problem.”
“My dad gave it to me two weeks before he died.”
Hannah stared.
“He said if anything happened to him, I should keep it until Dante was ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Did Dante know?”
“No.”
“Luca.”
“I was scared!”
Hannah lowered her voice immediately.
“Okay.”
“He and Dad were fighting. Everyone was acting weird. Dad made me promise.”
“What did the key look like?”
“Small. Brass. No label.”
“And you hid it behind a book?”
“I was twelve when I picked the spot.”
“You were fourteen.”
“Emotionally twelve.”
Despite everything, Hannah almost laughed.
Then she remembered.
Someone had disabled a camera.
Someone had entered Carlo’s office.
Now Luca’s key was gone.
“Who knew you used this library?”
“Everyone.”
“Who knew that exact book?”
Luca shook his head.
“Nobody.”
A knock came.
Hannah opened the door.
Dante stood outside.
One look at her face and he knew.
“What?”
She glanced at Luca.
Dante stepped inside and shut the door.
“Tell me.”
Luca did.
Dante did not interrupt.
He did not move.
But by the time Luca finished, the temperature in the room seemed to have dropped ten degrees.
“When did he give you the key?” Dante asked.
“Two weeks before he died.”
“What exactly did he say?”
“That you weren’t ready yet.”
Dante looked away.
“What else?”
“That when you were ready, you would know where to use it.”
Silence.
Then Dante asked, “Why did you not tell me?”
Luca’s face tightened.
“Because he made me promise.”
“I am your brother.”
“He was my dad.”
The words hit harder than Luca intended.
Again.
Dante’s expression went flat.
Hannah stepped between them before either could say something worse.
“This is not the argument.”
Dante’s gaze snapped to her.
“Do not interfere.”
“I’m already interfering.”
“Hannah.”
“Someone came into this house. Someone knew enough to take something from your father’s office and something from Luca’s hiding place.”
Dante stared.
She continued.
“That means either they searched the library randomly, which seems unlikely, or someone knew the key existed.”
Vittorio’s voice came from the doorway.
“Very perceptive.”
Hannah turned.
She had not heard him enter.
Dante’s face hardened.
“How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough.”
Luca moved closer to Hannah.
Vittorio noticed.
“Carlo always did enjoy games.”
Dante said, “Did you know about the key?”
“No.”
“You are lying.”
Vittorio’s smile disappeared.
“Careful.”
Dante stepped closer.
“Answer the question.”
“I knew Carlo had contingency plans. That is all.”
“What ledger was in the drawer?”
Vittorio’s eyes flickered.
Hannah saw it.
So did Dante.
“Leave,” Dante said.
Vittorio’s voice became icy.
“This family does not function without me.”
“It did before you arrived this morning.”
“I came because you called.”
“And now I’m telling you to leave.”
Vittorio looked at Luca.
Then Hannah.
Then Dante.
“This girl is changing your judgment.”
Dante moved so fast Hannah barely saw it.
He grabbed Vittorio by the front of his jacket and shoved him against the door.
Luca froze.
Hannah’s breath stopped.
Dante spoke quietly.
“You will not discuss her again.”
Vittorio stared at him.
“You are proving my point.”
Dante released him.
“Get out.”
Vittorio fixed his jacket.
Before leaving, he looked directly at Hannah.
Not threatening.
Not openly.
Worse.
Calculating.
Then he was gone.
Hannah waited until the door closed.
“You just made that incredibly normal.”
Dante turned on her.
“Upstairs.”
“No.”
“Hannah.”
“Stop ordering me upstairs every time something gets complicated.”
“This is not a debate.”
“Then stop talking like I’m furniture.”
His nostrils flared.
Luca quietly sat down on the sofa, clearly prepared to enjoy the fight.
Dante noticed.
“You too.”
Luca pointed at himself.
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
“You sound old.”
“Luca.”
“Going.”
He left.
Hannah started after him.
Dante caught her wrist.
Not hard.
Just enough.
She stopped.
His hand was warm.
“Do you understand what just happened?”
“Yes.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Someone stole a key.”
“Someone breached my home.”
“I know.”
“Someone may have searched my brother’s room.”
“I know.”
“And my uncle looked at you like a variable he had not accounted for.”
Hannah held his gaze.
“So?”
“So you leave today.”
The words struck unexpectedly.
“What?”
“I’ll pay the year. All of it. Tuition, housing, whatever you need.”
Her chest tightened.
“You’re firing me.”
“I’m protecting you.”
“Those are not the same thing.”
“They are today.”
“Luca needs me.”
“Luca needs security.”
“He needs a person who isn’t afraid of him, your money, or this house.”
“And you need to stay alive.”
She pulled her wrist free.
“Do you think I’m disposable?”
Dante’s face changed.
“What?”
“You can just move me somewhere else because I’m inconvenient.”
“That is not what I said.”
“It’s what you’re doing.”
“You are not inconvenient.”
“Then what am I?”
His jaw tightened.
“Hannah.”
“No. Tell me.”
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then he said, “A weakness.”
The word landed between them.
Hannah stopped breathing.
Dante’s face immediately changed, as if he regretted the honesty.
She whispered, “That’s what you think of me?”
“No.”
“You just said it.”
“I mean you are a weakness someone can use.”
“That is not better.”
“It is the truth.”
“You don’t get to decide my life because you’re scared.”
His eyes darkened.
“This has nothing to do with fear.”
She laughed once, without humor.
“Everything with you has to do with fear.”
He went still.
Hannah stepped closer.
“You’re afraid of losing Luca. You’re afraid of what happened to your father. You’re afraid of whatever is in that ledger. And now you’re afraid someone will use me against you.”
His voice dropped.
“You should stop.”
“Why?”
“Because you are provoking me again.”
Her pulse jumped.
But this time she did not move.
“And if I do?”
For one suspended second, the room disappeared.
Dante’s hand came to her face.
Not possessive.
Not rough.
Almost reverent.
His thumb touched her cheek.
Hannah’s breath caught.
Then he leaned down.
He stopped an inch from her mouth.
“Then I stop being a gentleman.”
Her heart slammed.
She whispered, “Maybe I’m tired of the gentleman.”
Dante closed his eyes.
And stepped away.
Again.
The rejection hurt worse the second time.
He turned toward the window.
“You are leaving this afternoon.”
Hannah’s anger returned.
“No.”
His head snapped around.
“You do not work for a prison.”
“Correct.”
“So you cannot force me to stay.”
“No.”
“And you cannot force me to leave.”
His expression hardened.
“I can terminate your employment.”
“Then do it.”
“I just did.”
“Fine.”
She walked to the door.
Then turned.
“I’ll stay as Luca’s friend.”
Dante stared.
“No salary. No employment. No authority.”
“You cannot stay in my house if you do not work for me.”
“Then I’ll move to a hotel nearby and tutor him off-site.”
“Absolutely not.”
“You are not my boss anymore.”
For the first time, Dante Morelli looked genuinely speechless.
Hannah opened the door.
Mrs. Rose stood outside holding a tray.
She looked at Hannah.
Then Dante.
Then the air between them.
“I’ll come back.”
She turned around.
Hannah walked upstairs to pack.
She had placed three sweaters into her suitcase when Luca came in.
“You’re leaving?”
“Your brother fired me.”
Luca’s face changed.
“What?”
“It’s complicated.”
“No.”
“Luca.”
“No!”
He ran.
Hannah closed her eyes.
Thirty seconds later, shouting exploded downstairs.
She followed.
Luca stood in the entrance hall.
Dante faced him.
“You cannot fire her!”
“I already did.”
“I hate you!”
“Luca.”
“You ruin everything!”
Dante’s face tightened.
“Enough.”
“She’s the only normal person here!”
“That is precisely the problem.”
Hannah frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Dante looked at her.
Then at his brother.
Before he could answer, Marco entered through the front doors.
His face was grim.
“Boss.”
He handed Dante a phone.
A security image filled the screen.
The timestamp was 2:43 A.M.
A figure in a black jacket stood in the library.
The face was partially hidden.
But one detail was clear.
The person was wearing a Morelli security badge.
Someone inside Dante’s own protection team had stolen Luca’s key.
And Dante’s attempt to send Hannah away suddenly became more than controlling.
May you like
It became necessary.
Because whoever had betrayed him already knew exactly who mattered inside that house.
