Chapter 2 - the quiet confinement
The silence inside the abandoned bridal suite felt heavier than a lead weight. Lorenzo stood up from the floor, his tall frame towering over the small opening, his hand still firmly holding Evelyn’s thin, shaking fingers. His dark eyes locked onto Bianca, burning with an icy, lethal intensity.
"Bianca," Lorenzo said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous frequency that made the glass chandeliers tremble. "What did she find?"
Bianca swallowed hard, trying desperately to regain her regal posture. She adjusted her champagne gown, clutching her diamond necklace as her mind raced to construct a lie. "Lorenzo, please... she's delirious! Look at her! She’s been missing for three years! She doesn't know what she's saying!"
"I am not delirious," Evelyn whispered from the darkness beneath the floor, her voice growing slightly stronger as Lorenzo lifted her gently out of the concealed chamber and into his broad arms.
Evelyn leaned her head against Lorenzo’s chest, weeping quietly as her ruined wedding dress pooled over his black suit. "Three years ago... an hour before our ceremony... I went down to the wine cellar to fetch your father's vintage bottle. I saw Bianca meeting with Julian Vance... the head of the Vance syndicate."
Lorenzo froze, his body turning as rigid as stone. "Julian Vance?"
"They were signing a contract," Evelyn continued, clutching Lorenzo's white shirt. "Bianca sold our family's shipping routes in exchange for fifty million dollars in off-shore accounts. When I tried to run and tell you... Bianca caught me. Her men locked me down here..."
Bianca backed away toward the hallway, her high heels clicking frantically against the floorboards. "She’s lying, Lorenzo! She’s trying to destroy our family from within! I would never betray the Moretti name!"
"Anna," Lorenzo commanded, without taking his eyes off his sister.
Anna stepped forward nervously, her navy maid uniform rustling. "Y-yes, Mr. Moretti?"
"Take Evelyn to my private quarters," Lorenzo ordered gently, carefully transferring Evelyn into Anna’s supportive arms. "Lock the doors. Do not let anyone inside except Dr. Hayes."
"Right away, sir," Anna whispered, helping the weak, trembling woman down the hallway toward the master suite.
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Once the hallway was clear, Lorenzo turned back toward Bianca. He reached out with one broad hand, grabbing the heavy mahogany door of the bridal suite and slamming it shut, locking the brass deadbolt with a loud click.
"Now, sister," Lorenzo said, walking toward her with slow, intimidating strides until he stood inches from her face. "Tell me where the fifty million dollars went."
