Vincent’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“You’re accusing my son’s neurologist.”
“I’m telling you to test his blood.”
“He had a toxicology panel last month.”
“Ordered by whom?”
Vincent didn’t answer.
Clara did.
“Dr. Mercer.”
Dominic’s phone suddenly vibrated.
He looked at it.
His expression changed.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“West gate.”
Vincent turned toward the security display.
A black sedan waited beyond the locked barrier.
Inside sat Luca Marino.
Sofia’s older brother.
Matteo’s uncle.
Vincent frowned.
“He wasn’t invited.”
Dominic checked his phone again.
“He says he received a message from Matteo.”
Clara’s face drained of color.
“Matteo doesn’t have a phone.”
Vincent was already moving.
Luca Marino entered the mansion smiling.
He was fifty-one, elegantly dressed, silver threaded through his dark hair. He ran the Marino shipping group that Sofia had inherited shares in after their father’s death.
To Matteo, he was Uncle Luca.
To Vincent, he had always been family.
Luca spread his arms when Vincent approached.
“Brother.”
Vincent did not embrace him.
“Why are you here?”
Luca’s smile faded.
“Always charming.”
“Answer me.”
“I received a text saying Matteo wanted to see me.”
“From what number?”
Luca showed him.
Vincent didn’t recognize it.
Clara stood several yards away.
The moment Luca saw her, something flickered across his face.
It lasted less than a second.
But Vincent Rossi had built an empire by noticing seconds other men wasted.
Luca smiled.
“You must be the new caretaker.”
Clara stared at his right hand.
A ring gleamed on his little finger.
Black onyx surrounded by silver.
Clara stopped breathing.
Matteo’s voice echoed in her memory.
The man last night had a shiny black finger.
At the time she had assumed the frightened boy meant a glove.
Clara looked at Vincent.
Vincent understood immediately.
“Dominic.”
The security chief moved behind Luca.
Luca glanced over his shoulder.
“Something wrong?”
Vincent stepped closer.
“Give me your phone.”
Luca laughed.
“No.”
“Give me your phone.”
“This is absurd.”
Vincent didn’t blink.
Luca’s amusement vanished.
“You’re treating me like a suspect?”
“I haven’t decided what you are.”
Luca’s gaze moved toward the staircase.
“Where’s Matteo?”
Vincent stepped into his path.
“That depends.”
“On?”
“Whether you’ve been in his room at night.”
Silence.
Then Luca actually smiled.
“You’ve lost your mind.”
Perhaps he would have convinced someone else.
Not Vincent.
Not after watching thousands of men lie.
Dominic took Luca’s phone.
The guards searched him.
Nothing.
Then a scream came from upstairs.
Clara ran first.
Vincent followed.
They reached Matteo’s room and found the wheelchair empty.
The balcony doors were open.
Rain blew through white curtains.
For one horrible second, Vincent saw only empty floor.
Then—
“Dad!”
Matteo was beneath the bed.
Clara dropped to her knees.
“What happened?”
“A man came in.”
Vincent looked toward the balcony.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“He asked where Mr. Blue was.”
Clara and Vincent looked at each other.
The teddy bear.
“Where is it?” Clara asked.
Matteo pointed.
