Chapter 10 - Beneath the Pink Blanket)
Marcus shoved Domenico.
"Back off."
Then came the punch.
Then Domenico's defensive strike.
Then the bronze horse crashing onto marble.
Then Valentina grabbing Ruby.
Then Domenico catching her wrist.
"Get your damn hands off my daughter."
Exactly as police cameras hidden around the ballroom recorded everything.
Valentina smiled.
"You really should ask her what she packed."
Domenico released her.
He lifted the blanket from the open suitcase.
The black leather folder.
The silver key.
Lucia's old phone.
All three had been placed there deliberately.
Copies.
Except the phone.
The phone was real.
Daniel had discovered it inside the false bottom of Marcus's abandoned warehouse desk that afternoon.
The battery had been removed.
The device had not yet been examined.
Valentina saw it.
Her face changed.
For the first time, genuine panic replaced calculation.
"Where did you get that?"
Domenico looked up.
"You recognize it."
"No."
"You just asked where I got it."
Marcus swore.
Adrian moved toward the hallway.
Two plainclothes officers blocked him.
Valentina looked around.
The remaining guests were not guests.
Half the room had already been cleared.
Detective Shaw stepped from behind a pillar.
"Nobody leaves."
Valentina stared at Domenico.
"You set this up."
"No."
He looked at Ruby.
"We did."
Ruby stood behind him.
Her thumb was no longer rubbing her palm.
Shaw collected Lucia's phone.
A technician connected a new battery.
The screen flickered.
Domenico's heart stopped.
Lucia's photograph appeared on the lock screen.
Ruby touched the image.
"Mommy."
The phone required a six digit code.
Domenico tried Ruby's birthday.
Wrong.
His anniversary.
Wrong.
Lucia's birthday.
Wrong.
Ruby suddenly said, "Blue bird."
Domenico looked at her.
"What?"
"The song."
He remembered.
The music box melody had six notes before repeating.
Lucia had once converted those notes into numbers while teaching Ruby a game on the piano.
3 1 4 2 5 3.
Domenico entered them.
The phone unlocked.
Valentina whispered, "No."
Shaw immediately took possession of the device.
There were hundreds of deleted files.
Most would require forensic recovery.
But one video remained visible.
Recorded the day before Lucia died.
Shaw played it.
Lucia appeared on screen inside her car.
"If this records properly, I finally have proof."
She turned the camera.
Across a parking lot, Marcus and Adrian stood beside Valentina.
Their voices were distant but audible.
Marcus said, "Tomorrow she goes to the bank."
Adrian replied, "Then tomorrow is the last chance."
Valentina's voice came next.
"No mistakes this time."
The video ended.
The ballroom was silent.
Marcus looked at Adrian.
Adrian looked at Valentina.
Each one understood the same thing.
The alliance was finished.
Shaw faced them.
"Marcus Russo. Adrian Cole. Valentina Russo. You are being detained while we execute warrants related to conspiracy, fraud, kidnapping related offenses, obstruction, and the reopened investigation into Lucia Moretti's death."
Valentina did not move.
She stared at Domenico.
"You think that video proves murder?"
"No."
His voice was quiet.
"But you look very afraid of what else is on the phone."
Valentina smiled again, though her eyes were wet.
"You'll never know what really happened on that road."
Domenico felt Ruby's hand slip into his.
He looked down.
The child whispered, "Mommy was in the red car."
Domenico frowned.
"Her car was black."
Ruby shook her head.
"No."
Everyone turned.
Ruby looked at Valentina.
"Mommy got in the red car first."
Valentina went completely still.
Shaw crouched.
"Ruby, what red car?"
The child stared at the floor.
"The one Miss Valentina drove."
Domenico stopped breathing.
Valentina whispered, "She's confused."
May you like
Ruby looked up.
"You took Mommy."
