Chapter 1 - The Cold Marble
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Matteo Moretti adjusted his gold cufflinks, his shadow stretching across the polished marble of the penthouse kitchen. Beside the island lay his seven-month-pregnant wife, Elena. Blood pooled quietly into her dark hair, staining the light stone. Her fingers were curled tightly near the curve of her abdomen, a mother’s final instinct to shield her unborn baby before unconsciousness took her.
Matteo did not kneel. He did not check for a pulse. Instead, he stepped around her body, picked up his glass of scotch, and swirled the dark amber liquid. He pulled a encrypted cell phone from his tailored jacket and dialed a familiar number.
"Enzo," Matteo said, his voice completely flat. "Get up to the apartment. Elena had a fall."
On the other end of the line, the family driver paused. "Is she alright, boss?"
"She slipped," Matteo commanded, his eyes cold as ice. "Take her to the family clinic on Lexington. Tell them she was clumsy. Clean up the floor, then bring the car around to pick me up. I have an eight o'clock dinner reservation at Le Cirque."
"Sir... should I call an ambulance?"
"You heard what I said," Matteo snapped, ending the call. He swallowed the rest of his drink, placed the empty crystal glass on the counter, and walked out the door without looking back.
Five minutes later, Enzo rushed into the penthouse. He had served the Moretti family for eleven years. He had carried sealed envelopes across state lines, waited outside dim alleyways, and learned never to ask questions about the blood on the leather seats. But nothing prepared him for the sight of Elena broken on the floor.
He dropped to his knees beside her. "Mrs. Moretti? Elena?"
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Elena’s eyelashes trembled. She couldn't move her lips, but deep inside her fading mind, one single word burned like a flare: midnight.
"Hang on," Enzo whispered, his hands trembling as he lifted her. Her body felt impossibly light, save for the heavy, undeniable weight of the child inside her. As he carried her into the private elevator, he felt the terrifying heat of blood soaking into his jacket sleeve.
