Chapter 8 - The Sister in White
I moved between Bianca and the chair where Leo slept.
“You gave Lorenzo the key.”
“I needed him to believe I was helping.”
“Why?”
“Because Marco was losing control.”
She stepped closer.
“The nurse panicked.”
“Mason became reckless.”
“And then you walked into the nursery and gave Leo exactly what he needed.”
Her gun remained steady.
“You ruined two years of planning in one night.”
My mouth went dry.
“You helped poison your own nephew?”
“I helped protect this family.”
“He is your family.”
“He is Sofia’s blood.”
The hatred in her voice shocked me.
Bianca looked toward the sleeping child.
“My father promised the family business would pass to Lorenzo and me equally.”
“Then Lorenzo married Sofia.”
“Her father gave him ports, shipping routes, and political connections.”
“When Leo was born, Lorenzo changed the succession documents.”
“Everything would eventually belong to the child.”
“So you tried to kill a baby for money?”
“I tried to prevent a civil war.”
Her eyes flickered.
“If Leo dies from illness, the old agreement returns.”
“If Lorenzo learns his son was murdered, he destroys everyone around him.”
I heard movement inside the wall behind me.
The mansion’s secret passages connected nearly every room.
Someone was listening.
I needed to keep Bianca talking.
“Did you kill Sofia?”
“Marco cut the brake line.”
“I delayed the ambulance.”
“Vale completed the rest.”
She said it without hesitation.
“You let your brother bury his wife.”
“My brother became weak because of her.”
“You call love weakness because no one has ever loved you.”
Bianca’s expression cracked.
She struck me across the face with the pistol.
I fell against the table.
Leo woke and began crying.
She aimed toward him.
“Pick him up.”
I obeyed.
“Open your uniform.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
“You are going to feed him one final time.”
My blood turned cold.
She removed a vial from her pocket.
A clear liquid moved inside it.
“No.”
“The drug enters breast milk quickly.”
“When Lorenzo returns, he will find the grieving maid holding his dead son.”
“Marco’s remaining men will testify that you admitted everything.”
“You will never leave this room.”
I held Leo tighter.
Bianca pressed the gun against my forehead.
“Open it.”
I unbuttoned the top of my uniform with shaking fingers.
She placed the vial against my lips.
“Drink.”
A gunshot exploded inside the wall.
Bianca spun around.
The hidden panel opened.
Lorenzo stepped through the passage.
His pistol was aimed at his sister’s chest.
The vial slipped from her hand and shattered.
Bianca raised her gun toward Leo.
Lorenzo fired first.
The bullet struck her shoulder.
She fell backward.
Guards rushed through the main door.
They restrained her before she could reach the broken vial.
Lorenzo crossed the room and took Leo from me.
He checked his son’s face.
Then he looked at the bruise forming across my cheek.
“What did she do?”
“She confessed.”
Bianca laughed from the floor.
“You cannot prove anything.”
I looked toward the shelf beside the hidden passage.
A small red light blinked.
Lorenzo followed my gaze.
The nursery listening system had been repaired that morning.
Every word Bianca said had been recorded.
Her laughter stopped.
Lorenzo crouched in front of her.
“You delayed the ambulance?”
Bianca looked away.
“You let Sofia die?”
“She changed you.”
“She gave me a reason to become better.”
“And you hated her for it.”
Bianca’s eyes filled with tears.
“I hated what she took from me.”
Lorenzo stood.
“Take her downstairs.”
“Not to the cellar.”
“Take her to the authorities.”
Bianca began struggling.
“You cannot hand me to them.”
“I am your sister.”
Lorenzo’s voice remained empty.
“Sofia was my wife.”
“Leo is my son.”
“And you stopped being my sister when you decided they were worth less than your inheritance.”
The guards removed her.
Lorenzo turned toward me.
“You knew someone was in the wall.”
“I heard breathing.”
“That was me.”
“No.”
I looked toward the still-open passage.
“I heard it before you arrived.”
A shadow moved deeper inside the tunnel.
Then Mason’s voice echoed through the walls.
May you like
“Very good, Clara.”
“But you just arrested the only person who knew where I took Dr. Vale.”
