Chapter 3 - THE DRAWING
The words hung in the air, suffocating the room.
“No,” I said, shaking my head violently. “No, you’re lying. David was a good man. He was a carpenter. He worked hard for everything we had.”
Luca’s expression softened, but the steel behind his eyes remained. “David Carter worked for Romano Shipping. He was a dock foreman, Emily. He wasn’t a carpenter.”
My legs gave out. I bumped into the edge of Table 12, gripping the polished wood to keep from collapsing. Lily clung to my leg, her wide eyes darting between me and the towering men in the room.
“He built houses,” I whispered, but even as I said it, a cold truth began to seep into my bones. The late nights. The sudden cash. The way David would lock the door and stare out the window during his final months.
“Four years ago, three million dollars and a family heirloom went missing from my father’s private safe,” Luca said, his voice terribly calm. “Two days later, my father was found dead. David disappeared the same week. We looked for him for a year before we heard he died in a car accident upstate.”
“It was black ice,” I choked out, tears finally spilling over my cheeks. “His truck went off a bridge. I had to identify his shoes because… because the fire…” I couldn’t finish.
Marcus stepped forward. “Boss, if she’s wearing the bracelet, the money might be in that apartment. That’s why the guy in the coat wanted her out tonight. He’s going to tear the place to the studs.”
“I don’t have your money!” I shouted, desperation clawing at my throat. “I have twenty-three dollars! If David stole millions, where is it? Why am I cleaning floors in your restaurant on Christmas Eve?”
Luca studied my face. He looked at my worn shoes, my frayed sweater, and the dark circles under my eyes. He looked at Lily, who was wearing a coat two sizes too small.
“She doesn’t know,” Luca said to Marcus. “She’s telling the truth.”
Lily tugged at my apron. “Mommy, why is the big man mad at Daddy?”
“He’s not mad, baby,” I lied again, dropping to my knees to be at her eye level. I needed to distract her. I needed to ground myself before I lost my mind. I reached into my tote bag and pulled out her little sketchbook. “Why don’t you show Mr. Romano the drawing you made today? The nice one.”
Lily sniffled, wiping her nose with her sleeve. She opened the sketchbook. “I drew a picture of me and Daddy,” she said softly, holding it up.
Luca knelt down, his massive frame awkwardly folding toward the floor. He looked at the crayon drawing. It was a crude sketch of a tall man holding a little girl’s hand.
“That’s very nice, Lily,” Luca said gently.
“Daddy has a halo because he’s an angel now,” Lily explained. Then she pointed to a dark smudge in the background of the drawing. A figure colored in black crayon, standing behind a tree. “And that’s Uncle Paul watching us.”
Luca froze.
The entire room seemed to stop breathing.
“Who did you say?” Luca asked, his voice cracking for the first time.
“Uncle Paul,” Lily said innocently. “Daddy said Uncle Paul was a secret. He gave me lollipops sometimes before Daddy went to heaven. But he told me never to tell Mommy.”
I stared at my daughter in absolute horror. “Lily, what are you talking about? You don’t have an Uncle Paul.”
Luca reached out with trembling fingers and touched the dark figure in the drawing. “Lily… when did you see this man last?”
“Yesterday,” Lily said. “Outside the apartment. It was him. Uncle Paul.”
Luca stood up slowly. The color had completely drained from his face. He looked at Marcus, and for the first time tonight, I saw genuine fear in the eyes of Boston’s most dangerous man.
“Paul,” Luca whispered.
“Boss,” Marcus said, his voice tight. “Paul has been dead for five years.”
May you like
Luca stared at the drawing, then looked toward the dark window where the man had been standing.
“No,” Luca said. “He hasn’t. My brother framed David for the robbery. He framed your husband, Emily. And now he’s back to finish whatever he started.”
