Chapter 3 - The Trap set in Velvet
Elena screamed.
"No! That's impossible! I didn't put that there! I swear on my mother's grave, I didn't!" She dropped to her knees, looking up at Alessio with tears streaming down her face. "Alessio, brother, look at me! You know I couldn't hurt a fly! Someone framed me!"
Alessio’s face remained an unreadable mask of stone, but I saw the subtle tightening of his jaw. He loved his sister; she was the only immediate family he had left after his wife died during Leo's birth.
"The evidence is in your room, Elena," Vincenzo chimed in suddenly, his tone shifting instantly from indignant to accusatory. "You've always complained that Alessio gives all his attention to the baby. You felt pushed aside!"
"That's a lie!" Elena shrieked, glaring at Vincenzo. "You old snake! You're the one who wanted the syndicate funds redirected last week! You hated that Leo's trust fund secured thirty percent of the family assets!"
"Silence! Both of you!" Alessio roared.
The silence returned, cold and absolute.
I looked down at the bracelet on the tray, then back at the plastic bag containing the bead I had extracted from Leo. I leaned forward, examining the metallic sheen under the grand chandelier.
"Wait," I said softly.
Alessio looked at me. "What is it, Clara?"
"Look closely at the bracelet found in Elena's room," I pointed out, gesturing for Dominic to bring the tray closer. "The blue enamel on this bracelet is glossy, high-shine, imported Italian ceramic. But look at the bead I pulled from Leo’s throat."
Alessio bent down, his face mere inches from mine as he inspected both items. "The bead from the baby's throat has a matte finish. The blue tint is slightly darker."
"They don't match," I confirmed, looking up at Elena. "The bracelet in Elena's room was planted to frame her. Whoever put it there knew Dominic would search her room first because she brought gifts yesterday. But they made a mistake—they used a cheap imitation bracelet for the frame-up, thinking no one would compare the enamel texture under close inspection."
Elena gasped, clutching her chest. "Clara... thank you... oh God, thank you!"
Vincenzo sneered. "Or perhaps the nanny is simply making up stories to protect the person who hired her!"
"I am a medical professional, Mr. Vincenzo, not a mob enforcer," I replied coldly, standing up while holding Leo securely. "I deal in facts and observation. And the fact is, whoever set this trap was sloppy because they were in a rush."
Alessio turned his dark eyes back toward his uncle and Martha. "Dominic. Take my sister to her room. Put two guards outside her door for her protection, not her imprisonment."
"Yes, Boss."
"As for the rest of this house," Alessio continued, stepping into the center of the room like a predator stalking his prey. "No one leaves. The estate remains on total lockdown. Dominic, bring the tech team from the city. I want every millimeter of this mansion swept for secondary cameras, wiretaps, and planted evidence."
"Alessio, you cannot treat us like prisoners!" Vincenzo shouted, rising to his feet.
"I can, and I will," Alessio replied smoothly. "Because until I find out who tried to murder my son, every single one of you is a dead man walking in my eyes."
Alessio walked over to me, extending his arm. "Clara. Follow me. You and Leo are sleeping in my quarters tonight."
My heart did a sudden, chaotic flutter. "Your quarters?"
"It is the only room in this fortress with reinforced steel doors and an independent security grid," he said, his tone leaving no room for debate. "If someone wants to reach my son again, they will have to go through me first."
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I looked at the dangerous man standing before me—a man who had held a gun to my head an hour ago, yet was now standing as an impenetrable shield between us and the viper hidden in the dark.
"Lead the way, Mr. Romano," I whispered.
