Chapter 2: The Morning She Didn't Know He Already Knew
**— PART 2 —**
Luca didn't sleep that night.
He sat in his study until 3 a.m., the fourth photograph still open on his screen.
His best man.
Marco.
Twenty-two years of loyalty.
Standing in his private study, holding a document with a date written on the back.
His wedding date.
At 3:17, his phone buzzed.
A message from Marco.
*"Everything still on track for Saturday.
You good?"*
Luca stared at it for a long time.
Then typed back:
*"Never better."*
He set the phone face-down.
Upstairs, Dr.
Harris had wrapped Claire's hand and confirmed two things: the fingers were badly bruised, and the marks on her wrist were not from a door.
They were from fingers.
Someone had grabbed her and held her against the wall.
Claire had said nothing beyond what was necessary.
But before the doctor left, he paused at the door.
"Mr.
Moretti asked me to tell you something."
She looked up.
"He said: don't be afraid.
And don't leave."
She didn't understand why that made her want to cry.
The next morning, Vanessa came downstairs in a white robe, calm and bright, as if the night before had never happened.
She found Luca at the breakfast table.
She kissed his cheek.
"Good morning."
He looked up from his coffee.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Perfectly," she said.
He smiled.
"Good."
What Vanessa didn't know was that Marco had arrived at the front gate eleven minutes earlier.
And Luca had already let him in.
---
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What Luca said to Marco behind that closed door — and what Claire found hidden inside her own room that morning — changes everything.
Read the full story in the link below.
