Chapter 2 - THE PHOTOGRAPH UNDER THE WEDDING DOOR
My mother died when I was seventeen.
At least, that was what I'd believed for the last eleven years.
Her car had gone off a mountain road during a winter storm.
The police found the vehicle at the bottom of a ravine.
There was a funeral.
A closed coffin.
And a father who refused to discuss what happened.
Now I stood in my wedding-night bedroom holding a photograph that suggested the story was a lie.
I didn't sleep.
At six in the morning, I opened the door.
Luca was sitting on the couch near the library.
Still wearing his wedding shirt.
His tie was gone.
A laptop rested on his knees.
When he saw me, he closed it immediately.
"Good morning."
I held up the envelope.
"Did you leave this?"
His expression changed.
"No."
"Then who did?"
He stood.
"May I see it?"
I handed him the photograph.
His jaw tightened when he saw Bianca.
Then he turned it over.
The color drained from his face.
"Where did you get this?"
"Outside my door."
"Last night?"
"Yes."
Luca looked toward the corridor.
Then pressed a button on his phone.
"Marco, I need last night's hallway footage preserved."
I crossed my arms.
"Who is Marco?"
"My head of security."
"Did you know my mother?"
Luca looked back at me.
"No."
"Did you know she might still be alive?"
He hesitated.
That hesitation terrified me.
"Luca."
"I knew your father's account of her death had inconsistencies."
My chest tightened.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I found out four days ago."
I stared.
"Before our wedding."
"Yes."
I stepped backward.
He didn't follow.
"I was trying to verify it."
"You married me knowing someone might have lied about my mother's death?"
His expression filled with regret.
"Yes."
I laughed bitterly.
"So much for honesty."
"You're right."
I hadn't expected that answer.
Luca continued.
"I should have told you what I knew, even though it was incomplete."
I looked away.
For months, I'd wondered whether this marriage was simply another transaction between powerful families.
Now I was beginning to think the answer was worse.
"Why did you marry me?"
He looked genuinely startled.
"Ellie—"
"Don't give me the official version."
I gripped the photograph.
"Don't tell me our families wanted stability or that Bennett Maritime needed a partnership."
Luca took a breath.
"Your father approached me eight months ago."
"I know."
"He offered access to Bennett's shipping network."
"I know that too."
Luca's eyes darkened.
"But he also asked me to protect you."
I stared.
"From whom?"
"He wouldn't say."
My stomach twisted.
"What did he offer you in return?"
Luca looked toward the photograph.
"Information about the man who ordered my older brother's murder."
The room fell silent.
I had never known Luca had an older brother.
Then he whispered the name that made my blood run cold.
May you like
"Andrew Keller."
My former fiancé.
