Chapter 1 - The Funeral Without a Body
The slap echoed through the Moretti mansion's grand hall.
Rachel Hayes stumbled against the polished mahogany coffin, one hand flying to her burning cheek. Her other hand remained pressed against the wood.
“How dare you touch Mr. Moretti's coffin!” Vanessa Sterling screamed.
Nearly a hundred mourners turned to stare.
At the front of the room, Sebastian Moretti slowly rose from his chair. He had spent six days mourning his father, Antonio Moretti, who had supposedly died after his car exploded on a deserted road outside Chicago.
Sebastian had inherited his father's criminal empire, his legitimate business holdings, and a list of enemies long enough to fill a telephone directory.
But he hadn't inherited the one thing he wanted most.
The chance to say goodbye.
Vanessa had told him that the injuries were too severe. The funeral director had insisted on keeping the casket sealed. Even Sebastian's uncle, Vincent Moretti, had advised him to accept that some things were better left unseen.
Now his fiancée was slapping the maid who had cared for Antonio during his final months.
“Vanessa,” Sebastian said coldly. “Step away from her.”
“She was disrespecting your father!”
Rachel lowered her eyes.
“No, sir. I was trying to tell you something.”
Vanessa's face drained of color.
“Rachel, don't.”
The maid reached into her apron and removed a sealed envelope bearing the official stamp of Bellamy Funeral Services.
Sebastian approached.
“What is that?”
“A document they gave me this morning.”
Vanessa lunged for the envelope.
Sebastian caught her wrist.
“Enough.”
He took the document and broke the seal.
The first page was a transfer receipt. The second contained a statement signed by the funeral director.
NO HUMAN REMAINS WERE RECEIVED WITH THE CASKET.
Sebastian read the sentence twice.
Then a third time.
His breathing stopped.
“What does this mean?”
Rachel's eyes filled with tears.
“The coffin arrived sealed, sir. But there was no body inside.”
A murmur swept through the hall.
Sebastian slowly turned toward Vanessa.
“Who did we bury?”
She backed away.
For six days, he had stood beside that coffin, apologizing to his father for every argument they had ever had. He had promised to protect the family and preserve everything Antonio had built.
And now he was learning that he had mourned an empty box.
“Rachel,” he whispered, “how did you get this?”
“Your father made me promise something before he disappeared.”
Sebastian froze.
“Disappeared?”
“Three nights before his supposed death, he told me someone was planning to kill him.”
Vanessa suddenly shouted, “She's lying!”
Rachel flinched but continued.
“He said that if anything happened, I should ask the funeral director for the original transfer paperwork. He said the truth would be hidden in the one place nobody would think to look.”
Sebastian stared at Vanessa.
“Why did you tell me my father was dead?”
Vanessa began crying.
“Because he wanted you to believe it!”
The room fell silent.
Sebastian stepped closer.
“You knew?”
Her lips trembled.
“He called me the night before the funeral.”
“Who called you?”
“Your father.”
Sebastian felt the ground shift beneath him.
“What did he say?”
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“He said someone close to you was involved in the plan to kill him.”
“Who?”
She couldn't answer.
Rachel reached toward the coffin and carefully lifted a small brass nameplate from its wooden base.
Beneath it lay a folded piece of paper.
Sebastian opened it.
Only one sentence was written inside.
Son, the person who ordered my death will be standing beside you at my funeral.
He slowly raised his eyes.
His business partners. His security chief. His uncle.
And the woman he intended to marry.
Rachel whispered, “There's a number on the back.”
Sebastian turned the paper over.
A telephone number.
And three words.
CALL BEFORE MIDNIGHT.
He dialed immediately.
The line rang once.
Twice.
Then an elderly man's voice answered.
“Sebastian?”
His son nearly dropped the phone.
“Dad?”
A long silence followed.
Then Antonio whispered, “Son, don't let Vanessa leave the house.”
Sebastian turned.
Vanessa was already moving toward the exit.
May you like
And his father's voice came through the speaker again.
“She knows who put the explosives in my car.”
