Chapter 3 - THE EMPTY BED
Luca’s blood ran cold.
"How long ago?"
"Two minutes," Daniel said. "She took the Mercedes."
Emily let out a sound that was half-gasp, half-sob. "Leo. The babysitter is with him, but she’s just a teenager. She won’t know—"
"He’s not going to be touched," Luca said.
He turned to Emily, gripping her shoulders. His hands were large, warm, and completely steady.
"Look at me."
Emily forced her panicked eyes to meet his dark ones.
"I am going to bring your nephew back here. To this house. Where no one will ever lay a finger on him."
"She’s going to take him," Emily sobbed. "She knows you know. She’s securing collateral."
"Daniel," Luca barked, never breaking eye contact with Emily. "Get the SUV. We are leaving right now."
"Yes, boss."
"I’m coming with you," Emily said, wiping her face with the back of her sleeve.
"Your leg—"
"I don't care if it's broken. He is my son in every way that matters. I am coming."
Luca saw the fierce, maternal fire in her eyes. It was a look his own mother had worn many times.
"Come," he said simply.
They hurried down the back stairs. Emily bit her lip to stifle the pain with every step, but she didn't slow down.
The black SUV was idling at the kitchen entrance.
Luca practically lifted Emily into the passenger seat before sliding into the back. Daniel gunned the engine, tearing down the winding driveway of the estate.
"Call the babysitter," Luca ordered.
Emily pulled out her cracked cell phone with shaking fingers. She dialed.
It rang. And rang. And rang.
"Voicemail," she choked out.
Luca pulled his own phone from his jacket. "Marco. Track Vanessa’s phone. Now."
The ride into the city was a blur of neon lights and screeching tires. Daniel drove like a madman, cutting across lanes, blowing through red lights.
Emily’s apartment was in a rundown brick building on the South Side.
The SUV slammed to a halt at the curb. The Mercedes Vanessa had taken was nowhere in sight.
Emily scrambled out before Daniel even put it in park.
She limped heavily, practically dragging her right leg as she pushed through the broken front door of the building.
Luca was right behind her, his hand resting instinctively over the weapon holstered beneath his jacket.
Third floor. Apartment 3B.
The hallway smelled of old cabbage and bleach.
Emily reached her door.
It was unlocked.
"No," she whimpered.
She pushed it open.
The small living room was perfectly quiet. The television was off. A half-eaten bowl of macaroni and cheese sat on the cheap coffee table.
"Sarah?" Emily called out for the babysitter.
Silence.
Luca stepped past her, moving with lethal silence as he cleared the kitchen and the tiny bathroom.
Empty.
Emily stumbled into the only bedroom.
The twin bed in the corner, with its Spiderman sheets, was empty.
She dropped to her knees, clutching the edge of the mattress. A broken sob tore from her throat.
"She took him. Luca, she took him."
It was the first time she had ever used his first name.
Luca stared at the empty bed, the rage inside him crystallizing into something cold and absolute.
He walked over to Emily and knelt beside her.
"Emily."
"He’s six," she cried, burying her face in the sheets. "He’s terrified of the dark. He’s just a little boy."
"Look at me."
She lifted her tear-streaked face.
"I swear on my father’s grave, Vanessa will not live to see the sunrise if she hurts him."
Suddenly, Daniel walked into the bedroom. He was holding something in his gloved hand.
"Boss. I found this on the kitchen counter. Someone left it deliberately."
Luca stood up.
He took the object from Daniel.
Emily pulled herself up, leaning heavily against the wall. She looked at what Luca was holding.
It wasn't a ransom note.
It wasn't a threat.
It was a small, ornate silver pocket watch.
Luca stared at it, his face draining of color.
"What is it?" Emily asked, her voice trembling. "Is it hers?"
"No," Luca said softly. His thumb traced the engraved crest on the silver lid—a crest of a coiled serpent.
"Answer one question, Daniel," Luca said, his voice echoing in the small room. "Is the senator still at my house?"
"Yes. Why?"
Luca snapped the watch shut.
"Because Vanessa didn't come here to kidnap Leo. She came here to draw me away from the estate."
Emily’s eyes widened. "Why?"
"Because this watch," Luca said, his eyes darkening with a terrifying realization, "belongs to the Romano family. The men who murdered my father."
Luca looked at Daniel.
"She didn't want the wedding tomorrow. She wanted me out of the house tonight."
May you like
Daniel drew his weapon. "Your mother is alone on the second floor."
"Call the guards at the estate," Luca roared, sprinting toward the door. "Tell them to breach Isabella’s room!"
