CHAPTER 4 – THE THIRD TIER
CHAPTER 4 – THE THIRD TIER
No one spoke.
The photograph passed from Vincent's hand to Carmine's.
Every face turned pale.
Even the hardened bodyguards exchanged uneasy glances.
Adrien leaned forward.
"A fake."
Vincent didn't answer.
He kept studying the image.
The timestamp matched the deleted security footage.
Exactly.
Carmine frowned.
"Boss..."
"Look."
He zoomed in on the photograph.
Reflected in the polished silver cake stand...
stood another person.
Not Celeste.
Not Adrien.
Someone holding the camera.
Someone wearing a white chef's coat.
"The baker," Vincent murmured.
"Mara."
"The baker has disappeared," another guard shouted from the hallway.
"What?"
"Her delivery truck is gone."
The room exploded with movement.
Vincent barked orders.
"Find her."
"Check every highway."
"Every airport."
"No one leaves New Jersey."
Meanwhile...
Deep beneath the mansion...
Lily and Mason hurried through an abandoned wine cellar.
Old brick tunnels stretched beneath the estate.
"They're following us," Lily whispered.
"I know."
"Why are we hiding?"
"Because someone inside Vincent's own security team works for the people who planted the device."
Lily stopped walking.
"You mean..."
"They'll kill us."
Mason didn't answer.
His silence said enough.
Suddenly...
Footsteps echoed behind them.
Heavy.
Fast.
Not one person.
Several.
Mason grabbed Lily's hand.
"Run."
They sprinted through the underground tunnels.
Dust filled the air.
Ancient wine bottles shattered as bullets ricocheted off stone walls.
The shooters weren't trying to scare them anymore.
They were trying to eliminate witnesses.
Above ground...
Vincent finally gave the order everyone had feared.
"Bring the cake."
The enormous wedding cake was wheeled into the center of the ballroom.
Hundreds of guests watched in confusion.
Crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead.
A string quartet stopped playing.
Vincent picked up the ceremonial knife.
Instead of cutting the first slice...
He smashed the blade into the third tier.
The room gasped.
Layers of expensive fondant collapsed onto the marble floor.
Hidden inside...
was the silver cylinder.
Exactly where Lily had said.
Nobody moved.
Carmine carefully lifted it out.
"It's heavier than it looks."
One bomb technician cautiously approached.
His face immediately changed.
"It's not a bomb."
"What is it?"
He carefully unscrewed one end.
A tiny flash drive slid into his hand.
Adrien finally lost his composure.
"Don't plug that in!"
Too late.
Vincent heard him.
"So..."
"You know what's on it."
Adrien froze.
One sentence had destroyed months of careful planning.
Moments later...
The flash drive was connected to a secure laptop.
A single video file appeared.
No title.
No date.
Vincent pressed Play.
Static.
Then...
The screen revealed a dim warehouse.
Several men sat around a table.
One of them was unmistakable.
Adrien Vale.
Another...
Celeste.
The third made every person in the room inhale sharply.
He wasn't a stranger.
He was Vincent's own younger brother...
Marco Moretti.
Thought dead...
Five years earlier.
Marco looked directly into the camera and smiled.
"If you're watching this..."
"...then Vincent finally opened the cake."
May you like
The ballroom fell into absolute silence.
TO BE CONTINUED…
