She rolls her eyes, and I lean forward, relishing the unease in her expression as she shifts on her seat.
“Enrico Zaferelli didn’t become the richest man in the world by playing the fool, Miss Sorcusi. If he signed this document—and I have my doubts on that—he also made a countermove, one you cannot challenge.”
“What move? You’re insane?”
I note her position shift as I shrug, my evil grin enough to cause her to question her own name right now.
“Now why would I tell you that when it’s way more fun to watch you chase the end of the rainbow, Miss Sorcusi, so–”
I reach for Rose’s hand. “As you are so rich now, I’m sure you won’t mind picking up the check. Enjoy your good fortune while it lasts because you are about to learn that actions have consequences and the three sisters have grown up and the odds of three against one are way more favorable. Enjoy the rest of your meal and don’t look back when you leave town shortly afterwards.”
We say nothing and leave her open-mouthed to watch us, and only when we are in the car, does my mom ask, “What were you talking about, Julius? What other move?”
I laugh out loud and pull Rose beside me, the leather document folder resting innocently on my lap.
“Sometimes, Mom, when you play chess you take a step sideways to unsettle your opponent. You do the opposite of what they expect to raise doubts.”
“So, there is no other move?”
Mom sounds disappointed, and Rose interrupts, “There is something we should investigate.”
“What?”
We turn to her with interest, and she shrugs. “It may be nothing, but just before he died, our father called us into his den. Morgan was out on one of her endless shopping trips so it was just the four of us, and we didn’t think much of it at the time, but he was different somehow.”
“In what way?” I ask, intrigued with what she may reveal, and as she glances at me, her face is alight with excitement.
“He gave us three matching keys on a gold chain. Theyhad our names inscribed along with our dates of birth. We believed it was a gift, but his words are haunting me now.”
“What words?”
Mom catches my attention with a hopeful smile, and my heart pounds with possibility as Rose’s eyes shine.
“He said that if anything happened to him, we were to guard the keys with our lives. To tell nobody of their existence and to wait for his instructions.”
“His instructions? I wonder what he meant by that?”
Rose nods. “We thought he meant personally, but what if it’s not? A letter perhaps, something in his will, a clue of sorts.”
“Do you think the three keys will unlock the secret?”
Mom is almost hyperventilating with excitement, and I say with a guarded tone. “Where are the keys now?”
“Sister Agatha has them. We weren’t allowed valuables at the convent, and when we arrived, she took all of our belongings and told us she would keep them safe.”
“Then we must return to Switzerland and retrieve them.”
Mom nods. “Perhaps we should wait until your sisters are safe.”
Rose’s face falls because we still don’t have confirmation of that, so I slip my arm around her shoulders and pull her to my side.
“I agree. We don’t want to alert Morgan and lead a trail back to the convent. In the meantime, I will run a check on this document and discover whether the signature was forged. Put the word out and upturn a few rocks, and let the vermin howl. And if there is even a sniff of this being fake, I will make it my personal mission to remove that woman from your lives, forever.”
40
ROSE
Sophia leaves almost immediately after issuing an invitation to lunch at the family home in the Hamptons on Sunday.
