Chapter 3 - The Old Greenhouse
Victoria forced a quick, high-pitched laugh, sounding incredibly confident but desperately defensive.
"Oh, ignore her, Leo," Victoria said dismissively, taking a casual sip of her wine. "She fell in the old greenhouse this afternoon. She's incredibly clumsy. She probably bumped into one of the rusted garden tool racks."
Mr. Moretti didn't look at Victoria. He stayed crouched beside the trembling maid. He stared at the red handprint on Madison's neck. Garden tools didn't have fingers.
He slowly stood up to his full, towering height, his dark eyes finally turning toward the woman in the red dress.
"The greenhouse..." Mr. Moretti echoed, his voice laced with heavy, lethal suspicion.
"Yes," Victoria nodded quickly, waving her manicured hand. "I sent her out there to clean it, and she made a complete mess of herself. Now, darling, please sit down. The food is getting cold, and our guests are waiting for your toast."
Mr. Moretti didn't sit down. He looked at the empty wooden chair.
"Why did you order her to remove this chair, Victoria?" he asked quietly.
Victoria rolled her eyes, leaning back in her seat. "Because it's an eyesore, Leo! Your late wife has been dead for three years! It is completely morbid and utterly embarrassing to keep a permanent, empty seat for a ghost at a dinner party! It makes everyone uncomfortable!"
The wealthy guests stared at their plates, terrified to breathe. It was a well-known fact that Leo Moretti had never recovered from his wife’s sudden death. He kept her chair empty at every single formal dinner.
"It stays," Mr. Moretti stated with absolute, terrifying finality.
"Fine!" Victoria snapped, her face turning blotchy red with anger. "But I want that maid fired tonight! She is a walking disaster, and she is ruining my event!"
Mr. Moretti looked from his furious sister-in-law, down to the trembling maid holding her bruised neck.
"Come with me, Madison," Mr. Moretti ordered softly.
May you like
He turned his back on the dinner party and walked out of the room. Madison scrambled to her feet and quickly followed him, leaving Victoria fuming in front of the silent guests.
👉 What really happened in the greenhouse, and what is Madison hiding?
