Chapter 2 - The Woman in the Silver DressFor three seconds, nobody moved.
Then Beatrice ran.
Dante caught her wrist.
“Wait.”
“My sister's bag is in his hand.”
“I know.”
“Let go.”
“No.”
“Dante!”
His grip tightened just enough to stop her without hurting her.
“Look at Charles.”
She did.
The executive vice president was sweating.
Not the controlled discomfort of a man caught lying.
Real fear.
Charles looked over his shoulder twice.
Then toward the elevators.
Dante noticed it too.
“He's not the one in control.”
“What?”
“He's being watched.”
Charles raised the handbag.
“Maggie Gallagher was seen entering this hotel earlier.”
Beatrice's voice cracked.
“She wasn't.”
“Then perhaps you know more than you claim.”
The guests began whispering.
Dante stepped forward.
“Put the bag down.”
Charles looked at him.
“Mr. Moretti, this doesn't concern you.”
Dante smiled.
“It concerns me now.”
Charles lowered the handbag.
His eyes darted toward one of the columns.
Beatrice followed his gaze.
Nothing.
Then she noticed something else.
A reflection in the polished marble.
A woman in silver.
Victoria.
She was standing near the service corridor.
Watching them.
Beatrice pointed.
“Her.”
Dante turned.
Victoria was gone.
He released Beatrice's wrist.
“Stay here.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Beatrice.”
“I've spent all night being told where I can stand.”
She walked after him.
They entered the service corridor.
The noise from the ballroom disappeared behind the fire door.
Cold fluorescent lights hummed overhead.
Dante's two bodyguards moved ahead.
They found no one.
Then one stopped.
A silver heel lay on the floor.
Beatrice stared.
“That's hers.”
Dante crouched.
He picked it up.
A smear of blood marked the sole.
Beatrice covered her mouth.
“No.”
The bodyguard pointed toward a stairwell.
The door was slowly swinging.
Dante opened it.
Nobody.
Only darkness.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice whispered:
“You're looking in the wrong direction.”
Dante said nothing.
“You brought her into the room exactly as predicted.”
Dante's eyes narrowed.
“Who are you?”
“You still think the file is the weapon.”
The caller laughed softly.
“It isn't.”
“What is?”
“The woman.”
The line disconnected.
Beatrice felt a sickening realization form.
“Dante.”
He turned.
“The entire thing.”
She breathed slowly.
“The insult in the lobby.”
“The office search.”
“Your arrival.”
“The threats against Maggie.”
She looked at him.
“They wanted you to take my side publicly.”
Dante nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To turn our alliance into evidence.”
He opened the accounting folder.
Inside, beneath the reconciliation sheets, was a second document.
An authorization transfer.
The signature appeared to belong to Dante Moretti.
The amount:
$4,800,000.
Beatrice stared.
“They're framing you.”
“They're framing us both.”
A noise came from the stairwell.
Three footsteps.
Then silence.
Dante's guards moved instantly.
The door opened.
A terrified hotel employee stumbled out.
“Sir.”
“What happened?”
“I found her.”
“Who?”
The employee looked at Beatrice.
“Your friend.”
Beatrice's stomach dropped.
“Where?”
“Basement corridor.”
They ran.
The basement was colder.
Darker.
The hotel's immaculate luxury disappeared beneath pipes and concrete.
They found Victoria sitting against a wall.
Her silver dress was torn.
Her face was bruised.
She was breathing.
Barely.
Beatrice knelt.
“Victoria.”
Victoria opened her eyes.
Her lips moved.
“Don't trust…”
“Who?”
Victoria coughed.
“Anyone.”
Dante crouched beside her.
“Who attacked you?”
Victoria grabbed Beatrice's hand.
“Charles.”
Beatrice froze.
“What did he do?”
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“He told me… if I didn't help him… he'd kill Maggie.”
Dante looked up.
“Where is Charles?”
Victoria whispered:
“Not Charles.”
Her eyes rolled back.
“Who, then?” Beatrice asked.
Victoria forced out one final sentence.
“The man who owns your company.”
Beatrice stared.
“Richard Wilkes?”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
Her voice became almost inaudible.
“His son.”
Dante's expression changed.
“Thomas Wilkes died twelve years ago.”
Victoria whispered:
“He didn't.”
The lights went out.
A gunshot cracked through the basement.
Dante pulled Beatrice to the floor.
Another shot.
Then footsteps.
Running away.
When the emergency lights flickered back on, Victoria was gone.
And beside Beatrice lay a small black envelope.
Inside was a birth certificate.
Maggie Gallagher's name appeared at the top.
The father's name had been blacked out.
May you like
But beneath it, written in red ink, were four words:
ASK WHO YOUR FATHER IS.
