The heat from the burning SUV was intense.

Luca and Marco stood twenty yards away, shielding their faces from the inferno. Fire alarms blared across the estate.

“Did anyone get out?” Luca shouted over the roar of the flames.

“No, boss,” Marco replied grimly. “They hit the barricade going full speed. It was instant.”

The fire department arrived ten minutes later, dousing the wreckage in chemical foam.

When the smoke finally cleared, the vehicle was a charred, unrecognizable shell.

Luca approached the wreckage slowly.

The driver's side door had been blown off its hinges. Inside, two bodies were burned beyond recognition.

“Was it Vanessa?” Marco asked quietly.

Luca stared into the ruined cabin.

He noticed something resting on the melted dashboard, miraculously untouched by the worst of the fire.

It was a small, metal lockbox.

Luca used his handkerchief to pry the hot metal open.

Inside was a single, folded piece of paper.

Luca opened it.

It was a child's drawing.

Crayon on thick paper. It showed a little girl holding a red balloon, standing next to a dark-haired woman.

Sophie had drawn it for Grace years ago.

But written across the bottom of the drawing, in fresh black ink, were three words:

It wasn't me.

Luca stared at the message.

If Vanessa had died in the crash, she wouldn't have left a cryptic note inside a fireproof box.

“Marco,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “Check the bodies. Check their teeth.”

Marco frowned but signaled to the forensics team that had just arrived.

Ten minutes later, the lead investigator walked over to Luca.

“Mr. Moretti, the dental records don't match Vanessa Bellini.”

Luca’s jaw clenched. “Who are they?”

“One of your security guards, and one of the kitchen staff. Both shot in the head before the crash. Someone staged this to look like an escape attempt gone wrong.”

Answer one: Vanessa wasn't dead. She had faked her death to escape the estate undetected.

Open two: Where was she hiding, and who was helping her?

Upstairs in the safe room, I watched the chaotic aftermath on the security monitors.

Sophie was asleep on the small sofa, exhausted from crying. David sat in the corner, holding his head in his hands.

Evelyn walked over to me.

“Emma,” she whispered. “Thank you for staying with us.”

“I wouldn't leave her,” I promised.

Evelyn reached into her purse.

“I need you to hold onto this for me,” she said, pulling out a heavy envelope. “In case something happens to me.”

I took the envelope. It was thick.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s a copy of Grace’s real autopsy report,” Evelyn said softly. “David gave it to me before he disappeared five years ago. I hid it because I didn't know who to trust.”

Before I could open it, the heavy steel door of the safe room hissed open.

Luca walked in. He looked exhausted, covered in soot.

“She’s gone,” Luca said bluntly. “Vanessa faked the crash and escaped.”

He looked at David. “And my sister Isabella helped her.”

David stood up sharply. “Isabella? Why would Isabella help the woman who murdered Grace?”

“Because Isabella didn't know Vanessa murdered Grace,” Luca said bitterly. “Isabella thought she was helping a desperate woman escape my wrath.”

Luca looked at me. “Emma. Did you see Isabella on the cameras?”

I shook my head. “No, sir. The feeds in the east wing were cut twenty minutes ago.”

Luca’s phone buzzed.

He answered it on speaker.

“Hello, brother,” Isabella’s voice echoed in the quiet room.

“Isabella. What have you done?”

“I saved a woman from your psychotic paranoia, Luca,” Isabella said defensively. “Vanessa called me from the basement. She said you were framing her for Grace’s death just to get out of the engagement.”

“She lied to you!” Luca yelled. “She poisoned Grace!”

Silence on the other line.

“No,” Isabella whispered. “That’s impossible.”

“Where are you, Isabella?”

“I’m at the old family cabin near Lake Geneva. I brought her here to hide.”

Isabella’s voice suddenly cracked.

“Luca... she has a gun.”

A loud scuffle echoed through the phone.

Then, Vanessa’s voice came through the speaker.

“Hello, Luca,” Vanessa smiled. “I think it’s time we renegotiated our prenup.”

TITLE: THE TICKET TO SWITZERLAND