🥂 The Bruised Collar That Exposed His Best Friend and Fiancée

Chapter 01 - The Collar Buttoned to Her Chin

I had almost finished serving dinner.

Two more guests.

That was all I needed.

But the collar of my black housekeeping dress was rubbing against the bruises on my neck, and every time I reached across the table, pain spread toward my left shoulder. The heat from the chandeliers pressed down on the back of my head. The silver platter in my hands felt heavier than it had any right to feel.

I kept my chin lowered.

It was warm in Luca Moretti’s dining room, warm enough that one of the wives had already asked a footman to open a window, but I had buttoned every button on my uniform all the way to my throat.

I thought nobody would notice.

I was wrong.

My name is Sarah Collins. I was twenty-eight, had worked at Luca Moretti’s Chicago mansion for ten months, and had spent the last four hours pretending nothing had happened upstairs.

My neck was bruised.

My shoulder ached.

And I had eighty-two dollars left until payday.

Missing another shift was not an option. Neither was telling Luca who I had discovered in his fiancée’s dressing room that afternoon.

Twenty-four guests sat around the enormous dining table, celebrating Luca’s upcoming marriage to Vanessa Bellini. Crystal glasses caught the candlelight. White roses spilled across the center of the table. Everyone looked expensive, relaxed, and slightly dangerous.

Vanessa wore a deep-red silk gown and diamonds at her ears.

She had the kind of smile rich women wore when they wanted everyone to know the night belonged to them.

I approached Luca’s chair with the platter of roasted potatoes. Normally, I would have served him from the left and moved on without a sound. Tonight, I turned my entire body because I could not comfortably turn my neck.

Luca noticed immediately.

“Sarah.”

My stomach tightened. “Yes, Mr. Moretti?”

His fork lowered to the plate without a sound.

“Why are you moving like that?”

“I’m sorry, sir?”

“Your neck.” His eyes were not on the potatoes anymore. “Are you hurt?”

Before I could answer, Vanessa gave an embarrassed little laugh.

“She caught herself on a coat hook in my dressing room this afternoon. Apparently, hanging up a few dresses is beyond her abilities.”

My hand stopped above the platter.

Because I had not told anyone about my neck.

And Vanessa knew perfectly well that a coat hook had not caused those bruises.

Luca slowly turned toward his fiancée. “Your dressing room?”

“Yes, darling.” Vanessa lifted her champagne glass. “She has been making a fuss about it all afternoon.”

I stared at the white tablecloth.

I had not made a fuss. I had barely spoken since four o’clock.

Luca looked back at me. “Did you hurt yourself hanging up dresses?”

I could feel Vanessa watching. “Yes, sir.”

“Which dresses?”

“Some of the wedding clothes.”

Vanessa immediately added, “The bridesmaids’ gowns. She was clearing the wardrobe for tomorrow’s fittings.”

Luca looked at her again. “You saw her get hurt?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know what she was doing?”

Vanessa smiled. “She told me.”

His eyes returned to mine. “Did you?”

My throat tightened. “Yes.”

The answer came too slowly.

Luca noticed.

“Unbutton your collar, Sarah.”

My heart started pounding. “It’s really nothing, sir.”

“Let me see.”

The room had become terribly quiet.

Slowly, I set the platter down and loosened the top two buttons. Air touched the bruises, and I almost flinched. Three dark marks ran along the left side of my neck, disappearing beneath the uniform. One of the women at the table quietly lowered her fork.

Luca’s expression changed.

Not anger.

Something worse.

Stillness.

“Who grabbed you?”

I froze.

Vanessa sighed. “For heaven’s sake, Luca. She caught her collar on a hook. Must we interrupt our engagement dinner?”

He ignored her.

“Sarah, did somebody put their hands on you?”

My eyes lifted toward Vanessa before I could stop them.

I regretted it immediately.

Because Luca followed my gaze.

Vanessa’s smile had disappeared.

He looked back at me. “Are you afraid of losing your job?”

My eyes burned. “Yes, sir.”

“You won’t.”

Vanessa gave a small, uncomfortable laugh. “She’s being dramatic. Nobody threatened her.”

Luca turned toward her. “I didn’t ask whether someone threatened her.”

Vanessa stopped speaking.

He watched her for another second, then stood. Every man at that table understood the meaning of it. Conversations died. Chairs creaked. A guard near the wall shifted his weight.

“Sarah, leave the platter.”

“I can finish dinner.”

“You’re finished for tonight.”

“Please, sir. I need the hours.”

“You’ll be paid.”

He looked toward the head housekeeper. “Mrs. Carter, take Sarah upstairs. Have Dr. Harris examine her neck.”

Vanessa put down her glass. “She doesn’t need a doctor.”

Luca looked directly at her. “How do you know?”

Silence.

I started toward the doorway with Mrs. Carter’s hand hovering at my elbow.

“Sarah.”

I stopped.

He was watching me carefully.

“Was Vanessa alone in her dressing room when you got hurt?”

My stomach dropped.

I looked toward her without meaning to. She was staring directly at me.

“No, sir.”

Luca’s expression changed. “Who was with her?”

I could not answer.

Vanessa reached for her champagne. “Darling, surely we can discuss the housekeeping staff after our guests leave.”

Luca looked at me for several seconds.

Then nodded once. “Go get yourself examined.”

I left the dining room.

For the next forty minutes, Luca behaved as though nothing unusual had happened. He finished dinner. Discussed the wedding. Listened to his guests. Even smiled when Vanessa mentioned the honeymoon she had booked in Italy.

By dessert, she had relaxed.

She thought he had forgotten about my neck.

At 10:12, Vanessa went upstairs.

Luca waited until her bedroom door closed.

Then he entered his study and called his head of security.

“Daniel. Check who visited Vanessa this afternoon.”

Five minutes later, Daniel returned with the gate records.

“Boss, a guest arrived at three-forty.”

“Who?”

“Miss Bellini told the gatehouse he was her wedding planner’s assistant.”

“Did he sign in?”

“Yes, sir.”

Daniel placed the visitor register on the desk.

Luca looked at the name.

Then stopped.

Anthony Marino.

His best friend.

The man he had known since they were seventeen.

And the man who was supposed to stand beside him as his best man on Saturday.

Luca slowly looked up. “Anthony was here?”

Daniel nodded. “He arrived at three-forty and left just after four.”

Anthony had called Luca that afternoon to say he was in Milwaukee visiting his father. He had even apologized for missing the engagement dinner.

“Did he come through the front entrance?” Luca asked.

“No, boss. Miss Bellini requested that he use the service entrance.”

For several seconds, Luca did not speak.

Then he reached for his phone.

Anthony answered on the third ring. “Hey, brother. Everything all right?”

“Where are you?”

“Still in Milwaukee. Why?”

Luca looked at the visitor register.

“Just checking. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He ended the call.

Then turned toward Daniel.

“Find out where Anthony went after he left my house.”

Twenty minutes later, I was sitting in Luca’s study with my neck examined and a fresh bandage covering the scrape on my shoulder.

He placed the visitor register on his desk.

My face went pale.

“Sarah. Was Anthony Marino in Vanessa’s dressing room?”

I stared at my hands.

For several seconds, I could not answer.

Then I nodded.

Luca leaned forward. “Tell me what happened.”

My voice trembled. “I was bringing fresh towels upstairs around four. Mrs. Carter asked me to put them in the guest bathroom.”

I swallowed. “Vanessa’s dressing-room door was partly open. I heard her talking to someone.”

“What were they saying?”

“I didn’t mean to listen, sir.”

“Sarah.”

I looked up.

He was not angry with me.

That somehow made it harder.

“I heard Anthony say he couldn’t keep doing this.”

Luca went completely still. “Doing what?”

“I don’t know.” My eyes filled. “Vanessa told him he needed to stop feeling guilty. She said everything would be different after the wedding.”

Luca stared at me. “What happened next?”

“I knocked because I thought Vanessa might need help.”

My voice broke. “She opened the door and saw me standing there.”

“And?”

“She asked how much I heard. I told her I hadn’t heard anything.” I looked down at my bandaged shoulder. “But Anthony was standing behind her. His jacket was on the floor.”

For several seconds, Luca did not move.

Then he quietly asked, “How did you hurt your neck?”

My eyes filled again. “Vanessa grabbed my collar and pulled me inside. She told me that if I said one word, she’d have me fired.”

I swallowed. “When I tried to leave, she shoved me against the open wardrobe door.”

Luca’s jaw tightened. “Did Anthony stop her?”

I shook my head. “He just stood there.”

Silence filled the study.

Then Luca picked up his phone. “Daniel. Find Anthony. I want to know where he is tonight.”

He looked toward the closed study door.

“And Vanessa?”

His voice became very quiet.

“Don’t tell her anything.”