The Man In The Velvet Chair

Screams erupted around the table as guests dove for cover, the sound of breaking crystal echoing through the grand dining room.

I threw myself in front of Teresa without thinking, shielding the frail old woman with my body.

Luca froze. His hand was inches from his own weapon, but Dominic’s silver pistol was leveled dead at his mother’s heart.

“Back away, Luca,” Dominic snarled, his finger tight on the trigger.

“Dominic,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, gravelly whisper. “If you pull that trigger, I will spend the rest of my life dismantling every person you have ever loved.”

“I have no one left to love!” Dominic shouted back. “You took everything from me ten years ago when your father handed this empire to you instead of the man who actually built it!”

Vanessa was sobbing hysterically by the table. “Dominic, this wasn't the plan! You said it would be quiet! You said the girl would just disappear!”

“Shut up, you stupid woman!” Dominic spat. He grabbed Vanessa by the arm, yanking her hard against his chest, using her as a human shield while keeping the gun aimed at my end of the table.

“We made a deal, Vanessa,” Dominic sneered. “You get the Moretti fortune without the brat, and I get the ultimate leverage over the great Luca Moretti. A daughter for an empire.”

Luca’s eyes were entirely black with rage. “You’re a dead man, Dominic.”

“Maybe,” Dominic smiled a sick, desperate smile. “But I’m walking out of here tonight. And to make sure nobody follows me...”

Dominic didn't shoot Teresa.

He didn't shoot Luca.

He aimed the pistol at the massive, antique crystal chandelier hanging directly over the center of the dining table and pulled the trigger.

The gunshot was deafening.

The bullet shattered the heavy brass chain.

With a horrifying screech of tearing metal, the massive chandelier plummeted from the ceiling, crashing onto the mahogany table in an explosion of glass, wood, and darkness.

The dining room plunged into chaos.

“Get down!” Luca roared, diving across the debris to shield Sophie.

The impact sent razor-sharp shards of crystal flying in every direction. I felt a sharp sting on my cheek, but I held on tightly to Teresa, pulling her under the edge of the serving table as the lights flickered and died.

In the sudden darkness, I heard the heavy dining room doors crash open. Footsteps pounded down the marble hallway.

“Don't shoot in the dark!” Luca commanded his guards. “My daughter is in here!”

By the time the emergency backup lights flickered on, casting a dim red glow over the ruined dining room, the doorway was empty.

Dominic was gone.

And Vanessa was gone with him.

Luca stood up, brushing shattered glass from his dark suit. He immediately pulled Sophie into his arms, checking her frantically for injuries. She was crying softly, but she was unharmed.

“Marco!” Luca shouted.

His head of security, a massive man with a scarred jaw, rushed into the room.

“Lock down the estate,” Luca ordered, his voice echoing with absolute authority. “Nobody leaves. Put every man on the perimeter. Dominic is running, and he took Vanessa.”

“Boss,” Marco said, his voice tense. “Dominic’s men were waiting outside. They took out the gate guards. They’re already gone.”

Luca’s jaw clenched so hard I thought it might shatter. He looked around the ruined room, at the terrified guests emerging from under the tables, and finally at his mother.

Teresa was shaking violently, clutching my arm.

“Mom, are you hurt?” Luca asked, rushing over.

“I’m alright, sweetheart,” Teresa whispered, her voice fragile. “Hannah protected me.”

Luca looked at me. The cold, terrifying mafia boss softened for just a fraction of a second. “Thank you, Hannah.”

“Of course, sir,” I breathed, wiping a drop of blood from my cheek.

“Marco, get my mother and daughter to the safe room,” Luca ordered. “Get the guests out of here safely. I want this room cleared.”

As Marco began escorting the terrified guests out, Luca turned his attention to the area where Dominic had been standing.

He walked over to the velvet chair, which had been knocked backward in the struggle.

Beneath the chair, half-hidden by a fallen piece of crystal, was a small, black object.

Luca reached down and picked it up.

It was Dominic’s cell phone. He had dropped it when he grabbed Vanessa.

Luca tapped the screen. It was locked, but the notifications were visible on the home screen.

I watched Luca’s face as he read the screen. The color completely drained from his cheeks.

“Mr. Moretti?” I asked hesitantly.

Luca didn't answer. He stared at the phone.

“He didn't orchestrate this alone,” Luca whispered, his voice laced with a fresh, deeper horror.

He turned the phone around so I could see it.

There was a text message on the screen, received just minutes before the dinner began.

The message read: The maid is too close to the old woman. If Hannah Collins gets in the way, execute the contingency on her mother at the nursing home.

My heart completely stopped.

My mother.

“No,” I gasped, the room spinning around me. “No, no, no.”

Luca pocketed the phone and immediately grabbed my arm.

“Marco!” Luca roared. “Get my car! Now!”

Before I could even process what was happening, Luca was pulling me toward the front doors. But as we passed the grand staircase, Teresa called out to us.

“Luca, wait!”

The old woman was pointing at something on the bottom step of the staircase.

It was a heavy, silver pocket watch.

Luca froze. He let go of my arm and walked over to the watch. He picked it up slowly.

“That’s Dominic’s,” Luca said, his brow furrowing. “He’s carried this for twenty years.”

He popped the latch open.

Inside the watch cover, there wasn't a picture of Dominic’s family.

There was a photograph of a woman with bright green eyes and dark hair.

It was Catherine. Luca’s late wife. The mother of his child.

And written on the back of the photograph, in Dominic’s handwriting, were four terrifying words: