Chapter 15 - The Search
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The head of security, a massive man named Marco, stepped forward. He roughly patted down Nora’s gray uniform, checking her pockets, her waistband, and the folds of her apron.
The entire crowd watched in breathless silence.
Marco stepped back, shaking his head.
“She’s clean, Boss,” Marco reported. “No emerald.”
Vanessa’s fake tears instantly vanished, replaced by a flash of genuine panic.
“Look harder!” Vanessa shrieked, stepping forward. “She must have hidden it! Check her shoes! Check the room!”
The guards frantically searched the small vault room, tearing apart the velvet display cases and checking every corner.
“Nothing, sir,” Marco confirmed again.
Vanessa turned to Luca, her eyes wide, desperately trying to maintain her narrative. “She must have passed it to an accomplice in the hallway! I swear to you, Luca, she had it in her hand! We need to lock down the estate and torture her until she talks!”
Luca didn't respond to his fiancée. He walked slowly toward the biometric safe in the center of the room. He reached out, placed his hand on the scanner, and pulled the heavy steel door open.
Inside, resting on a velvet pillow, was a massive, glittering green emerald.
The guests murmured in confusion.
Vanessa stared at the gem in the safe, completely bewildered. “But... how? I saw her take it.”
Luca picked up the emerald, holding it between two fingers, letting the harsh security lights hit its facets.
“You saw her take it, Vanessa?” Luca asked quietly, turning to face her.
“Yes! She grabbed it right out of the safe!” Vanessa insisted, clinging to her lie.
Luca smiled. It was a terrifying, humorless expression.
He dropped the massive emerald onto the hard marble floor.
The guests screamed. Vanessa gasped in horror.
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The gem hit the floor and shattered into a dozen pieces of cheap, worthless green glass.
“That’s fascinating, Vanessa,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a lethal, vibrating register. “Because the real Moretti emerald hasn't been in that safe for three days.”
