Chapter 2 - THE MAID WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Enzo closed the ballroom doors.
Nobody left.
Nobody spoke.
That alone shocked everyone.
Because Enzo Marchetti was not a man who explained himself.
He gave orders.
People followed.
But tonight was different.
He stood in the center of the corridor while Adeline sat in a chair near the fireplace.
A doctor had already cleaned the cut on her wrist.
But she still held onto Enzo’s jacket.
Camilla noticed.
And it made her furious.
“You’re really doing this?”
Enzo looked at her.
“Doing what?”
“Acting like she matters.”
The room became cold.
Adeline lowered her eyes.
Enzo’s voice was quiet.
“Everyone matters.”
Camilla laughed.
“That’s not who you are.”
“No.”
He looked directly at her.
“That’s who I should have been.”
For the first time, Camilla had no response.
She had known Enzo for three years.
She knew his reputation.
She knew his power.
She knew his enemies.
But she had never seen him defend someone who could offer him nothing.
And that frightened her.
Enzo turned back to Adeline.
“Start from the beginning.”
Adeline hesitated.
“I was serving drinks.”
Camilla interrupted.
“She was careless.”
Enzo raised one hand.
Camilla stopped talking.
Adeline continued.
“Mrs. Ashford asked for champagne.”
“I brought it.”
“And?”
“She told me the glass was dirty.”
Camilla smiled.
“It was.”
Adeline looked down.
“So I replaced it.”
Enzo frowned.
“Then why did you take the glass from her hand?”
Adeline became silent.
Again.
That silence bothered him more than an answer would have.
“Adeline.”
She looked at him.
“I saw something.”
“What?”
Her voice dropped.
“A reflection.”
Nobody moved.
“In the glass.”
Camilla’s expression changed.
Only for a second.
But Enzo saw it.
“What reflection?”
Adeline looked at the elderly woman by the door.
The woman slowly stepped forward.
“My name is Eleanor Bell.”
Camilla immediately turned.
“Eleanor, don’t.”
That reaction told Enzo everything.
“You know her?”
Camilla said nothing.
Eleanor looked at Enzo.
“I worked for your father.”
The room changed.
Enzo’s father had been dead for twelve years.
Nobody mentioned him.
Not in front of Enzo.
Not ever.
“What does she have to do with this?” Enzo asked.
Eleanor’s hands trembled.
“She knows the truth about what happened before your father died.”
Enzo stared at her.
“What truth?”
Eleanor looked at Camilla.
And Camilla looked terrified.
“The truth that your father did not die because of an accident.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Enzo’s expression became unreadable.
“My father’s death was investigated.”
“Yes.”
“And the conclusion was an accident.”
Eleanor nodded.
“Because someone made sure it looked like one.”
Camilla stepped forward.
“Enzo, don’t listen to her.”
But it was too late.
Because Enzo had already seen something.
The fear in Camilla’s eyes.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Fear.
He turned slowly toward his fiancée.
“Why are you afraid?”
Camilla opened her mouth.
No words came out.
Then Enzo’s phone rang.
The number was unknown.
He answered.
A man’s voice spoke.
“Mr. Marchetti…”
A pause.
“You should ask your maid what she found in the champagne tray.”
Enzo’s eyes moved to Adeline.
The voice continued.
“Because if she tells you everything…”
A cold silence.
“…your engagement will be the least of your problems.”
The call ended.
And Enzo realized one thing.
May you like
Adeline Croft had not walked into his mansion by accident.
Someone had sent her there.
