Chapter 4 - The Whispers of the East Wing
Lorenzo ordered his chief security officer, Frank, to secure the staff locker room and preserve the physical evidence for forensic analysis. He then escorted Mrs. Harper, Emma, and Pino up to his private study in the main wing of the mansion, far away from the rest of the staff.
The grand study was a sanctuary of dark mahogany, leather armchairs, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Lorenzo set little Emma down gently on a plush leather sofa. Pino immediately lay down on the rug beside her feet, resting his heavy chin on her white shoes. Emma offered the dog a tiny piece of a biscuit she had found in her dress pocket, which Pino accepted with gentle care.
Mrs. Harper stood nervously near the edge of the desk, her eyes fixed on the floor.
"Sit down, Mrs. Harper," Lorenzo commanded gently, taking his seat behind the massive oak desk.
"Thank you, Mr. Duca," she murmured, sitting on the edge of the leather chair.
Lorenzo crossed his hands over the polished wood, his luxury watch catching the soft lamp light. "Now tell me what happened in the east wing this morning before the family meeting began."
Mrs. Harper swallowed hard, her voice trembling softly. "I was assigned to dust the high moldings in the east wing study at two o'clock. Your uncle, Marco Duca, and his son Julian were inside discussing the estate land deeds. They didn't notice me behind the velvet drapes near the balcony."
Lorenzo’s dark eyes narrowed into razor-sharp slits. "What were they discussing?"
"Mr. Marco was talking about a secondary trust document," Mrs. Harper explained, her hands clutching her white apron. "He said if you signed the quarterly report today, his firm would gain fifty percent voting control over the estate's commercial foundation. Then... he dropped a sheet of paper into the waste basket and shredded another."
She reached into her apron pocket, pulling out a crumpled, sealed envelope. "When they left the room, I emptied the bin. I saw the Duca family seal on the shredded pieces. I know it wasn't my place, sir, but I took the pieces because I thought... I thought it looked suspicious."
Lorenzo reached across the desk, taking the envelope from her hand.
"Renata saw me empty the bin," Mrs. Harper continued, tears brimming in her eyes again. "Ten minutes later, she came into the linen closet, accused me of stealing your father's gold clock, and told me I would be thrown off the property before sunset if I said a word to anyone."
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Lorenzo opened the envelope, spilling dozens of tiny shredded paper fragments across his desk blotter.
"She wasn't trying to fire a maid, Mrs. Harper," Lorenzo said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, low rumble. "She was trying to silence a witness."
