Chapter 7 - The Lesson
Clara stiffened.
She kept her face completely neutral, forcing herself not to look at Adriano.
Lucas continued fastening the silver chain around her neck, playing the part perfectly.
"You feel the weight?" Lucas asked loudly for Adriano's benefit.
"Yes," Clara replied smoothly.
"When you take it off him, you have to replace that weight immediately, or he'll notice."
Adriano leaned against the ruined kitchen counter, watching them with cold, calculating eyes.
"She needs to be flawless, Lucas."
"If Martin catches her, I won't have time to pull her out of the room."
Clara practiced unhooking the clasp with one hand while pressing her other hand against Lucas's chest.
Misdirection.
She smiled at Lucas, playing the part of a flirtatious lover.
But her mind was racing.
Who was telling the truth?
Martin claimed Adriano set her up.
Adriano claimed Martin was the enemy.
Now Lucas was telling her Adriano was planning to murder them.
Everyone wanted the ledger.
And Clara was the only one who knew the vault number and the passcode.
The key was useless without her.
For the first time in her life, Clara realized she held all the power.
"Again," Adriano commanded.
Clara unhooked the chain perfectly, sliding it into her palm without Lucas flinching.
"Good," Adriano said, pushing himself off the counter.
"Get some sleep."
"My tailor arrives at dawn to fit you for the gala."
He turned and walked out of the apartment, leaving two heavily armed guards at the door.
Clara was locked in her own home with a ghost.
Lucas immediately moved to the living room, checking the windows for listening devices.
"He's bugged the place," Lucas whispered, pointing to a tiny black dot under the coffee table.
He pulled a small radio jammer from his pocket and clicked it on.
"We have three minutes before his tech guys realize the signal is jammed."
"Clara, listen to me."
"When we get that key tomorrow night, we don't give it to Adriano."
"We take it to the FBI."
"I have an agent on the inside who can give us witness protection."
Clara backed away from him, crossing her arms.
"You want me to trust you?"
"You lied to me for three years."
"I did it to keep you alive!" Lucas pleaded.
"If you give Moretti that ledger, he'll burn the evidence to protect his family, and he'll bury us to tie up loose ends."
Clara looked deep into the eyes of the man she had once promised to marry.
She saw desperation.
She saw fear.
But she also saw something else.
"How do you know an FBI agent, Lucas?"
Lucas hesitated.
He swallowed hard.
"Because I made a deal."
"I'm wearing a wire right now."
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Before Clara could react, the front door was kicked violently open.
Adriano stood in the doorway, a silenced pistol raised and pointed directly at Lucas's chest.
