Chapter 3 - THE GOLD WATCH
The silence in the dining room was so absolute I could hear the hum of the air conditioning vents.
Adrian stared at me, the ten-million-dollar check still suspended in his tattooed hand.
“Your boss?” Adrian repeated, the words slow and deliberate. “A dentist signed a ten-million-dollar Castellano family trust check?”
“Yes,” I said, my voice shaking. “Dr. Aris. I process his referral slips and payroll every Friday. I know the way he loops his ‘A’ and sharply crosses his ‘t’. It’s identical.”
Isabella snatched the check from her brother’s hand. She stared at the ink, her face pale.
“This is insane,” she whispered. “Dr. Aris? As in, Elias Aris?”
I nodded frantically. “He owns the practice in Oak Park. Ryan does all the construction contracting for his new clinic expansions.”
Adrian turned to Daniel. The mafia boss didn't look confused anymore; he looked lethal.
“Daniel,” Adrian ordered. “Run Elias Aris. I want his financials, his associates, and his current location. I want to know why a suburban dentist has access to my father’s locked trust accounts.”
“On it,” Daniel said, pulling his phone and stepping away.
I pulled Ellie closer to me. My twelve-year-old daughter was remarkably quiet, watching the adults with wide, terrified eyes. I needed to get her out of this building. I needed to get us as far away from Ryan Mitchell and the Castellano family as possible.
“Please,” I said, looking at Adrian. “You have the check. Ryan is gone. Let me take my daughter home.”
Adrian looked at me, the harshness in his eyes softening just a fraction. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
“Melissa,” Adrian said gently, but firmly. “You cannot go home.”
“Why not?” I demanded, panic flaring again. “It’s my house!”
“Because Ryan just tried to steal ten million dollars from the Chicago syndicate,” Adrian explained, stepping closer so nobody else could hear. “He didn't act alone. And a man desperate enough to run from me is desperate enough to go back to your house to pack a bag.”
He was right.
If Ryan went back to the house and found me there, knowing I had exposed his double life to the Castellanos, he wouldn't hesitate to follow through on his threat.
He would take Ellie.
“I don't have anywhere else to go,” I whispered, tears finally spilling over my lashes. “My parents are gone. We live paycheck to paycheck. I have thirty dollars in my purse.”
Adrian didn't hesitate.
“You’re coming with me,” he said.
Before I could protest, Daniel walked back over, his face grim.
“Boss,” Daniel said quietly. “I just ran Dr. Elias Aris.”
“And?” Adrian asked.
“He’s dead.”
The floor dropped out from under me.
“What?” I gasped. “No, I saw him yesterday! He signed my paycheck!”
“He was found an hour ago in his office,” Daniel corrected, looking directly at Adrian. “Chicago PD is calling it a suicide. But the responding officer is on our payroll. He said the office was completely tossed. Someone was looking for something.”
Adrian’s jaw clenched. “Ryan.”
“It fits the timeline,” Daniel agreed. “Ryan leaves the wedding venue to 'run an errand' two hours ago. Aris is found dead. Ryan comes back with the ten-million-dollar check.”
Isabella covered her mouth, stifling a sob. “I was going to marry a murderer.”
“You were going to marry a ghost,” Adrian corrected her harshly. He turned to me. “Melissa, did Dr. Aris ever give you anything? A file? A package to hold onto?”
I shook my head, my mind racing. “No! I just answer the phones and schedule cleanings!”
But then, Ellie tugged on my caterer’s apron.
“Mom?” Ellie whispered, her small voice cutting through the tension.
I looked down. “What is it, baby?”
Ellie reached into the small, beaded purse she was carrying to match her flower girl dress.
“When Daddy picked me up from Sophie’s house today,” Ellie said softly, “he was really mad. He said he had to stop at your office to get something before the wedding.”
My heart stopped. “Ryan went to the dental office today?”
Ellie nodded. “He made me wait in the car. But when he came back out, he looked scared. He gave me this and told me to put it in my purse and never show it to anyone.”
She pulled her hand out of her purse.
Resting in my daughter’s small palm was a heavy, solid gold pocket watch.
Adrian stepped forward instantly.
I stared at the watch. It was incredibly old, covered in intricate engravings. I had never seen it before in my life. Ryan didn't own anything gold.
Adrian carefully took the watch from Ellie’s hand.
He didn't open it to check the time. He turned it over, inspecting the back casing.
With his thumb, Adrian pressed hard on the center of the engraving.
With a sharp click, the back of the gold watch popped open like a locket.
Inside the hollowed-out casing was a tiny, tightly folded piece of parchment paper.
Adrian pulled the paper out and unfolded it.
His eyes scanned the words. The color drained from his face.
“Adrian?” Isabella asked, terrified by her brother’s silence. “What is it?”
Adrian slowly looked up from the paper. He didn't look at his sister. He looked at me.
“Melissa,” Adrian whispered, his voice thick with a horrifying realization. “How long did you say you’ve been married to Ryan?”
“Sixteen years,” I answered, my hands shaking uncontrollably. “Why?”
Adrian turned the small piece of paper around so I could read it.
It was a birth certificate.
Issued sixteen years ago.
But it wasn't Ryan’s birth certificate.
The name on the certificate was Elias Aris.
And listed under 'Mother' was a name that made my blood freeze in my veins.
May you like
Melissa Castellano.
“My mother’s name was Melissa,” Adrian breathed, staring at me as if he were seeing a ghost. “She died sixteen years ago.”
