Chương 1 - One Second Before He Sat
I pulled the mafia boss’s chair away one second before he sat down.
His fiancée called me “a stupid little maid” in front of thirty guests.
Then the device beneath his seat started talking.
But at 8:47 that night, I still thought losing my job was the worst thing that could happen.
“Are you out of your mind?”
Vanessa Bellini’s voice cut through the dining room.
I stood with both hands gripping the chair, my heart pounding against my ribs.
She looked perfect in her red silk gown.
Luca Moretti stood beside the empty space at the head of the table.
Thirty guests watched beneath crystal chandeliers.
Nobody reached for a drink.
“Put that chair back, Grace,” Vanessa said.
I didn’t move.
My name was Grace Parker.
I was twenty-nine, and I had worked in Luca’s Chicago mansion for eight months.
I needed the paycheck.
My mother needed it more.
Her alterations shop had nearly folded after the building sold and the rent doubled.
I had promised she wouldn’t lose her house, too.
“Apparently,” Vanessa told Luca, “our housekeeper has forgotten how furniture works.”
Someone laughed.
“Mrs. Bellini, please—”
“Don’t you dare.”
She pointed toward the service entrance.
“You can collect your things after dinner.”
Luca looked at me.
“Why did you move my chair?”
“Because that’s not your chair, sir.”
Vanessa laughed again.
“I rearranged the furniture for our engagement photographs.”
Twenty minutes earlier, she had brought that velvet chair from the sitting room.
She told me to replace Luca’s usual leather chair, then sent me for candles.
When I returned, she was crouched beside the seat.
“There’s a loose thread,” she said.
But beneath the upholstery, I saw a small black device.
I recognized it from my old hotel job.
Conference microphones.
Wireless receivers.
Equipment meant to hear things people thought were private.
“Grace.
Leave.
Now.”
Luca raised his hand.
“Let her finish.”
I told him everything.
He ordered me to tilt the chair forward.
A green light blinked beneath the cushion.
“It’s security equipment,” Vanessa snapped.
“My security equipment?” Luca asked.
“For your protection.”
“Then why didn’t my security team know about it?”
Her mouth closed.
Luca detached the device and examined its display.
“Why is this transmitting to an outside receiver?”
“Luca, I can explain.”
“Good.”
He set it on the table.
“Close the doors.”
The security men obeyed.
Then Luca asked the question that changed Vanessa’s face.
“Who knew I was holding a private meeting here after dinner?”
The green light turned red.
A speaker crackled.
An unfamiliar man’s voice filled the room.
May you like
“Vanessa, don’t say another word.
He knows.”
