Chapter 2 - [THE KEY TO THE MEDICINE CABINET]
Luca didn't yell.
He didn't pull a weapon.
He simply turned his head and looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa took a step back, her expensive heels clicking against the hardwood floor.
"Luca, this is absurd. Your father has dementia. You know this. His doctors know this. Are you really going to listen to a maid over your own fiancée?"
Luca looked down at his father.
Anthony’s grip on Luca’s wrist was still tight. His knuckles were white.
"Dad," Luca said quietly. "Did you see Vanessa change your medication?"
Anthony’s chest heaved.
He didn't speak. He just stared at the heavy oak doors leading to the west wing.
His private study.
"I am the one who organizes his pills," Vanessa said, her voice rising in defensive anger. "I do it because I care about this family. I do it because you are too busy running the business to notice when he forgets!"
"I didn't say you forgot, Vanessa," Luca replied softly.
"No, you’re letting her say it," she snapped, pointing at me. "She’s a twenty-five-year-old girl who cleans our toilets, Luca! She’s trying to cause a rift."
Luca finally looked at me.
"Emily. You said you changed the tea leaves. Why?"
My heart was hammering against my ribs.
I knew if I spoke, I might not walk out of this house with a job. Or my life.
But Anthony was looking at me. And his eyes were begging.
"Two weeks ago," I started, keeping my voice steady, "I was cleaning Mr. Moretti’s study. I noticed a small, dried leaf on the rug near the trash can. It wasn't from the garden."
Vanessa crossed her arms. "Fascinating. A leaf."
"It was a foxglove leaf," I said.
The room went completely silent.
Luca’s eyes narrowed. "Foxglove."
"It’s a plant," I explained. "When dried and crushed, it looks just like Earl Grey tea. But it contains digitalis. In small doses, it causes nausea, loss of appetite, and confusion."
Luca’s expression darkened. "And in large doses?"
"It causes sudden heart failure."
Several guests gasped.
Vanessa’s face drained of color. "You're insane. You are making this up to ruin me."
"I kept the leaf," I said.
I reached into my apron pocket.
My fingers trembled as I pulled out a small, folded napkin.
I opened it.
Sitting in the center was the dried, toxic purple leaf.
Luca stepped closer, staring at the evidence.
"Where did you find this, Emily?"
"Near the trash can," I repeated. "Right below the locked medicine cabinet."
Luca slowly turned toward his fiancée.
Vanessa shook her head. "No. No, Luca. I didn't do this. I swear on my life."
"You have the only key to that cabinet, Vanessa," Luca said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
"I don't!" she cried out.
Luca stopped. "What?"
"I don't have the only key," Vanessa said, tears of panic spilling over her cheeks. "I lost my key three days ago. I’ve been using the spare."
Luca’s jaw tightened. "Who has the spare?"
Vanessa looked terrified.
She glanced at the end of the dining table.
Sitting there was Marco, Luca’s younger brother.
He was twenty-eight. Always quiet. Always standing in Luca’s shadow.
Marco was staring at his plate.
"Marco?" Luca asked.
Marco didn't look up.
But he slowly reached into his suit jacket.
And placed a small, silver key onto the white tablecloth.
"I have the spare," Marco whispered.
Luca stared at the key.
Then he looked at his brother.
"Why do you have the key to our father’s medication?"
Marco finally looked up.
But he wasn't looking at Luca.
He was looking directly at me.
And what he said next made the blood freeze in my veins.
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TITLE: THE BROTHER’S BETRAYAL
