Chapter 6 - The Diamond in the Chair
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Marcella stared at the earring.
For the first time that night, she didn’t have an immediate answer.
Dominic placed the evidence bag on the dining table.
“One of yours?”
Marcella touched her right ear.
A diamond still hung there.
Her left earlobe was bare.
She recovered quickly.
“I lost it earlier.”
“In the chair?”
“I sat there this afternoon.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No, you didn’t.”
Marcella turned sharply.
“You don’t remember what you had for lunch.”
The room reacted.
Not loudly.
Just a collective shift.
A few faces that had been avoiding Evelyn now looked directly at Marcella.
Evelyn remained composed.
“I remember exactly what I had for lunch.”
She smiled faintly.
“Chicken salad. Too much dill.”
A few people almost laughed.
Marcella didn’t.
Dominic picked up the bag.
“The chair was opened after the banquet started.”
“You can’t prove that.”
Thomas cleared his throat.
“We can.”
Marcella stared at him.
Thomas continued.
“The loading dock camera wasn’t connected to the same security server. It runs on an independent recorder.”
Dominic looked at him.
“You just remembered that?”
Thomas looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
“Show me.”
They gathered around a tablet.
10:29 p.m.
A service corridor appeared.
The old chair sat against the wall.
10:30.
A woman in an emerald gown entered the frame.
Marcella.
She looked both directions.
Then knelt beside the chair.
The image didn’t show her face clearly when she opened the underside, but the gown was unmistakable.
Marcella went rigid.
“This is absurd.”
The video continued.
She reached into the hidden compartment.
Then the screen glitched.
Three seconds later, she stood again.
Something was in her hand.
Small.
Metal.
A key.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Dominic stared at Marcella.
“Give it to me.”
“I don’t have it.”
“Marcella.”
“I said I don’t have it.”
He took one step closer.
Her confidence suddenly returned.
“You think I’m stupid enough to carry it around?”
Dominic stopped.
There it was.
Not a denial.
A confession hidden inside arrogance.
Harold heard it too.
“Where did you send it?”
Marcella smiled.
“Prove I sent it anywhere.”
Dominic looked at the grandfather clock.
10:52.
One hour and eight minutes.
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Dominic Vercetti?”
“Yes.”
“This is Lauren Pierce from Saint Catherine Senior Residence.”
Dominic’s brow furrowed.
“We’re calling to confirm your mother’s admission appointment for eleven-thirty tonight.”
The entire room seemed to tilt.
Dominic stared at Marcella.
“I never made an appointment.”
The woman paused.
“Our records list Marcella Vercetti as Evelyn’s authorized representative.”
Dominic’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“Authorized by what?”
“A medical power of attorney.”
Evelyn whispered, “I never signed one.”
Dominic’s eyes stayed on Marcella.
Lauren continued.
“And there’s one more thing, Mr. Vercetti.”
“What?”
“The paperwork says your mother has already been declared legally incompetent.”
May you like
👉 Marcella wasn’t only trying to steal Evelyn’s votes — she had created an entire legal trail designed to erase Evelyn’s right to speak for herself.
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