Chapter 2 – The Box with Flowers
Every conversation in the ballroom died before Marco spoke another word.
Alessandro didn't blink.
"What did you find?"
Marco hesitated—a rare thing for a man who had once negotiated hostage situations without raising his voice.
"The maternity belly."
Gasps rippled through the guests.
Vanessa shot to her feet so quickly no one could believe she'd nearly fainted moments earlier.
"That's impossible!"
Marco continued.
"It's exactly where the child described. Bottom shelf of the closet. Behind two garment bags."
Emma quietly whispered into my skirt.
"I told the truth."
I hugged her tighter.
Marco held up a white storage box decorated with tiny blue flowers.
Exactly as Emma had described.
Exactly as I remembered.
The room felt suddenly too small.
One of the senators took a slow step backward.
Several women covered their mouths.
Photographers, who moments before had been documenting an engagement celebration, now aimed their cameras at Vanessa.
Flash.
Flash.
Flash.
Vanessa's breathing quickened.
"Someone planted that."
No one answered.
Marco carefully opened the box.
Inside rested a realistic silicone pregnancy prosthetic.
Beautifully made.
Soft.
Weighted.
Convincing enough to fool almost anyone beneath an expensive gown.
A whisper swept across the ballroom.
"My God..."
"It's real..."
"She lied..."
But Marco wasn't finished.
"There was something underneath."
He pulled out an envelope.
Still sealed.
My heartbeat thundered inside my ears.
Alessandro accepted the envelope himself.
Across the front, written in elegant handwriting, were four simple words.
RETURN IF UNUSED
He opened it.
Inside was the purchase receipt.
Date.
Price.
Serial number.
The name of a luxury theatrical supplier in Manhattan.
Vanessa's face lost every trace of color.
"No..."
She lunged forward.
"Give me that!"
Marco stepped between them before she reached Alessandro.
Alessandro studied the receipt without expression.
Then he looked up.
"When?"
Marco answered immediately.
"Purchased eight weeks ago."
Vanessa shook her head frantically.
"I bought it for charity."
No one believed her.
"A fundraiser."
Silence.
"A costume event."
Still silence.
Finally, an elderly judge spoke from the crowd.
"What charity requires a fake pregnancy?"
No answer came.
Vanessa looked desperately around the ballroom.
Searching.
Calculating.
Looking for anyone willing to save her.
No one moved.
Then Alessandro unfolded one more piece of paper hidden beneath the receipt.
His eyes narrowed.
"What is this?"
Marco frowned.
"I didn't see that."
It wasn't a receipt.
It was a handwritten note.
Only one sentence.
May you like
The DNA results will arrive Monday. Make sure he never asks for them.
The room exploded.
