Chapter 3 - THE GIRL WHO DISAPPEARED
Nell had never run from a man because he frightened her.
She ran because she had finally begun to trust one.
For three years, the Orsini mansion had been the closest thing to safety she could find. The staff rarely asked questions, the wages arrived on time, and nobody demanded to know why she sent most of her paycheck to a nursing facility.
Carmine had been different.
He noticed things.
He noticed the way she limped after long shifts. He noticed when she skipped meals. And after one bite of pecan pie, he'd noticed the one skill she'd spent years trying to forget.
Now she was certain he would uncover everything.
Nell took a bus to the care facility, clutching the only photograph she'd managed to save from her old life.
Emmett was sitting beside the window when she arrived.
"Nellie?" he whispered.
Her breath caught.
He hadn't called her that in months.
"I'm here, Papa."
He reached for her hand.
For a few precious seconds, his eyes cleared.
"You made the pie?"
She nodded, fighting tears.
"Did he taste it?"
"Yes."
Emmett's expression changed.
"Then you must listen carefully. Your mother was right. The recipe was never the secret."
Nell leaned closer.
"What do you mean?"
He struggled to sit upright.
"The seven minutes. The original ledger. The key beneath the blue tile."
His fingers tightened around hers.
"Don't let them open the safe without you."
Before she could ask another question, the door burst open.
Two men in dark jackets entered the room.
One approached the bed while the other blocked the exit.
"Miss Fontaine," the taller man said pleasantly. "Mr. Moreau would like a word."
Nell stood between them and her father.
"He's sleeping. You need to leave."
The man glanced at Emmett.
"Then perhaps we'll discuss the inheritance without him."
Nell felt her blood turn cold.
Nobody outside the family was supposed to know about the inheritance.
She reached for her phone, but the second man caught her wrist.
Then the hallway lights went out.
A voice came from the darkness.
"Touch her again, and you'll answer to me."
May you like
Carmine Orsini stepped into the room.
And behind him stood Victor Moreau, holding a key that bore the Fontaine family crest.
