Chapter 11 - THE VIDEO IN THE PARKING GARAGE
The grainy video looped on my phone screen, the silent horror playing out over and over.
Vanessa Bellini. Smiling in the back of a black sedan as Dr. Hayes handed her the murder weapon.
"Tommy," I whispered, my voice shaking so badly I could barely form the word.
My brother looked up from his coffee, instantly recognizing the terror in my eyes. The protective older brother instinct—dormant for eighteen years—snapped into focus.
"What is it, Hannah?" he asked, standing up and moving quickly around the table.
I handed him the phone.
Tommy watched the video, his jaw clenching, the muscles in his neck tightening.
"Simon is dead," Tommy stated, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "Dr. Hayes executed him in the parking garage."
"But why is Vanessa there?" I asked, panic rising in my chest. "Luca threw her and her father out hours ago. Her father was arrested tonight. Why would she order a hit on Simon?"
Tommy stared at the screen, his mind working with the tactical precision of a man who had spent his life securing targets.
"Simon knew too much," Tommy deduced. "Simon knew about Margaret's embezzlement. He knew about Julian's true identity. But more importantly... Simon was the one who paid off the doctors to fake my death certificate."
"And Dr. Hayes was Luca's family doctor," I realized, the terrifying connection clicking into place. "Hayes must have been the doctor who signed the fake certificate eighteen years ago."
"Exactly," Tommy nodded grimly. "Hayes was working for Simon. When Simon was shot and captured tonight, Hayes knew Simon would give him up to save himself. So Hayes killed him to silence him."
"But how does Vanessa fit into this?" I pressed.
Tommy paused, replaying the video, watching Vanessa's chilling smile.
"Vanessa's father just lost his entire shipping empire. He's going to federal prison," Tommy said slowly. "Vanessa has no money, no title, and her engagement to Luca is broken. She has nothing left to lose. And she blames you."
My blood ran cold. "Me?"
"You exposed the brooch. You translated the German. You set off the chain of events that destroyed her family tonight."
Tommy looked at me, his eyes dark with sudden, urgent fear.
"She didn't just kill Simon to silence him, Hannah. She took the gun because she's coming for you."
Before the words fully registered, the sound of breaking glass shattered the quiet morning air.
It wasn't the front window. It came from the back of the house. The kitchen door.
Tommy moved instantly. He shoved me violently behind the heavy oak kitchen island, drawing a concealed handgun from his waistband in one fluid motion. He had kept his weapon despite the police presence earlier.
"Stay down!" Tommy hissed, crouching beside the counter, both hands gripping the pistol, his eyes locked on the hallway leading to the back door.
Heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor.
"Hannah?" a voice called out, sickly sweet and dripping with venom.
It was Vanessa.
"I know you're in here, sweetheart," Vanessa crooned, her voice echoing in the small house. "I saw the police leave. I saw Luca leave. You're all alone."
I pressed my hands over my mouth, terrified to make a sound. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.
"You really thought you could humiliate me in front of the entire city and just walk away?" Vanessa taunted, her footsteps growing closer. "You're just a maid, Hannah. You clean floors. You don't get to destroy my life."
Tommy held up a hand, signaling me to remain absolutely still. He slowly rose, using the edge of the kitchen island for cover, aiming his weapon down the hall.
Vanessa stepped into the threshold of the kitchen.
She was no longer wearing the elegant red satin gown. She wore a dark trench coat, her hair pulled back tightly. In her hand, she held the suppressed handgun Dr. Hayes had given her.
She didn't see Tommy hiding in the shadows of the island. She only saw me, huddled on the floor.
She smiled, raising the gun.
"Goodbye, Hannah."
"Drop it, Vanessa!" Tommy roared, stepping out from cover, his gun aimed directly at her chest.
Vanessa shrieked, stumbling backward in shock. She hadn't known Tommy was in the house. She thought I was alone.
"Who the hell are you?!" Vanessa screamed, aiming her gun wildly between me and Tommy.
"I'm her brother," Tommy growled. "And if you twitch that trigger finger, I will put a bullet through your heart before the casing hits the floor. Drop the gun."
Vanessa’s hands shook violently. She looked at Tommy's unwavering stance, the cold, lethal professionalism in his eyes. She realized she was entirely outmatched.
But desperation makes people reckless.
"I have nothing left!" Vanessa sobbed, the anger breaking into hysterical despair. "My father is in jail! Luca threw me out! I won't go to prison!"
She turned the gun, aiming it wildly toward the ceiling, intending to fire a distraction shot.
Tommy didn't hesitate.
He fired once.
The gunshot deafened the small kitchen.
Vanessa screamed, dropping her weapon as the bullet shattered her right shoulder. She collapsed to the floor, clutching her bleeding arm, sobbing in agony.
Tommy kicked her suppressed handgun across the room and stood over her, his weapon still trained on her head.
"Call the police, Hannah," Tommy said calmly.
I scrambled up from the floor, grabbing the kitchen phone with trembling hands. I dialed 911, screaming the address and demanding an ambulance and police immediately.
Within minutes, the flashing red and blue lights illuminated the morning fog outside my window for the second time that night.
The police burst through the front door, weapons drawn. They found Tommy standing over a bleeding Vanessa, who was curled in a fetal position, weeping hysterically.
The paramedics rushed in, loading Vanessa onto a stretcher under heavy police guard.
I stood in the corner of the kitchen, shivering uncontrollably as the adrenaline finally crashed.
As they wheeled Vanessa out the front door, she turned her head, fixing me with a look of pure, venomous hatred.
"You haven't won," Vanessa spat, blood on her teeth. "Elias Vance is dead. My father is in jail. But you still don't have the one thing that can save Luca's empire."
I frowned, stepping closer. "What are you talking about?"
Vanessa laughed, a weak, pathetic sound.
"The shipping ports," Vanessa sneered. "My father signed the foreclosure paperwork to Elias Vance before dinner tonight. The ports belong to the Vance estate now. And since Julian is alive... Julian inherits everything."
She looked at Tommy, a wicked smile playing on her lips.
"He owns the ports, Hannah. Not Luca. The Moretti empire is entirely dependent on a man they thought was dead."
They wheeled her out into the cold morning air.
I stood frozen in the kitchen, the weight of her words sinking in.
The shipping ports—the absolute lifeblood of the Moretti and Bellini empires—were legally owned by Elias Vance. And with Elias dead, the entire fortune, including the ports, defaulted to his only living heir.
Julian Vance.
Daniel.
Tommy.
I turned slowly to look at my brother.
He was standing near the shattered back window, holstering his weapon, looking out into the rain.
"Tommy," I whispered.
He turned to face me.
"She's right, Hannah," Tommy said quietly, the exhaustion of the night finally showing in the heavy lines of his face. "Legally, I just inherited the Vance shipping empire. I control half of Chicago's cargo routes."
"What does that mean for Luca?" I asked, terrified that the war wasn't actually over.
Tommy offered a small, reassuring smile.
"It means," Tommy said softly, "that I have a very important meeting with my former boss."
May you like
He walked over and wrapped his arms around me in a fierce, protective hug.
"I lost my father tonight, Hannah. I'm not going to lose my sister, too. Let's go finish this."
