Chapter 3 - THE MIDNIGHT CAR RIDE
The silence of the staff quarters felt completely different now. It didn't feel peaceful. It felt like holding your breath before a bomb detonates.
I moved frantically around my small, sparse bedroom, stuffing jeans, sweaters, and a toothbrush into a duffel bag.
You are coming with us.
The words echoed in my head. I was a maid. I dusted baseboards and polished silver. I didn't belong in a safe house. I didn't belong in a mafia war.
But as I zipped the bag shut, I thought of Sophie’s terrified eyes looking at the black garbage bags.
I threw the strap over my shoulder and ran down the back stairwell.
The grand foyer of the Moretti mansion was a hive of chaotic, silent efficiency. Thirty heavily armed men in dark tactical gear were locking down the perimeter. The crystal chandeliers were turned off, plunging the house into darkness to prevent snipers from getting a clear line of sight.
Luca was standing near the heavy oak front doors, strapping a Kevlar vest over his white shirt.
He saw me and nodded curtly.
“Is she awake?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
“No,” Luca said, checking the magazine of his pistol before sliding it into his shoulder holster. “Silvio carried her down to the garage. She slept through it.”
He grabbed a heavy tactical jacket and gestured for me to follow him.
We moved quickly through the dark corridors, descending into the massive, climate-controlled subterranean garage.
A sleek, black, heavily armored SUV was idling near the exit.
Silvio, Luca’s massive head of security, was standing by the open rear door. He looked tense, his eyes scanning the shadows.
“The perimeter is secure for now, Boss,” Silvio reported quietly. “But we have spotters reporting three unmarked vans circling the neighborhood. The Bellinis are mobilizing faster than we anticipated.”
Luca’s jaw clenched. “Vanessa’s father isn't wasting time. He knows the merger is dead, which means the truce is dead.”
Luca turned to me. “Get in the back with Sophie. Keep her down.”
I scrambled into the spacious back seat. Sophie was curled under a thick blanket, fast asleep, exhausted from crying. I sat beside her, gently resting my hand on her back to shield her.
Luca climbed into the driver's seat, and Silvio got into the passenger side with a heavy assault rifle resting between his knees.
The heavy metal garage doors rolled up, revealing the pitch-black Chicago night.
Luca didn't turn on the headlights. He slammed his foot on the gas.
The heavy SUV roared out of the driveway, the tires screeching as we hit the main street.
I was thrown against the door, my heart hammering violently in my chest.
“Hold on,” Luca warned, his eyes locked on the rearview mirror.
A pair of bright headlights suddenly flared to life behind us. An unmarked van accelerated, aggressively trying to close the distance.
“We got a tail,” Silvio grunted, racking the bolt of his rifle.
“Don't shoot unless they engage,” Luca ordered, expertly maneuvering the heavy vehicle through the winding, affluent streets of the suburbs. “If we start a firefight in this neighborhood, the cops will swarm us before we hit the highway.”
Luca threw the SUV into a hard left turn, the tires protesting loudly. He navigated a series of narrow alleyways, cutting the lights entirely and relying on night-vision monitors on the dashboard.
The maneuver worked. The van blew past the alley entrance, losing us in the darkness.
I let out a shaky breath, sinking lower into the seat.
Sophie stirred beside me, blinking sleepily in the dark cabin.
“Hannah?” she mumbled. “Where are we going?”
“We’re just going for a ride, sweetie,” I whispered, forcing a calm smile I didn't feel. “Daddy is taking us on a late-night adventure.”
Sophie looked at the front seat. She saw Silvio holding the rifle.
Even at twelve, she knew what that meant. Growing up in the Moretti family, she wasn't completely naive to her father’s reality.
She reached out and grabbed my hand, her small fingers trembling.
“Is Vanessa’s family mad at Daddy?” Sophie asked quietly.
Luca heard her. He looked in the rearview mirror, his dark eyes meeting his daughter's.
“It’s going to be okay, Soph,” Luca promised, his voice steady and calm. “I’m taking you somewhere safe.”
“To Mom’s house?” she asked hopefully.
The silence in the car became instantly suffocating.
Luca gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. He didn't answer immediately.
“No, baby,” Luca finally said softly. “Not to Mom’s house.”
Sophie frowned. “Why not? Mom said if I ever felt scared, I should call her.”
Luca exchanged a dark, heavy look with Silvio in the front seat.
“Your mother is out of town for a few days, sweetheart,” Luca lied smoothly. “So we are going to a special place in the city.”
Sophie accepted the answer, resting her head against my shoulder and closing her eyes again.
But I didn't accept the answer.
I saw the way Silvio had looked at Luca. I saw the tension in Luca’s shoulders when Sophie mentioned her mother.
We drove in silence for another forty minutes, leaving the affluent suburbs and entering a gritty, industrial district near the river.
Luca pulled the SUV into an abandoned, rusted warehouse. The heavy metal doors closed behind us, plunging us into absolute darkness before the dim overhead lights flickered on.
It was a fortified safe house. Thick concrete walls, security monitors, and heavily armed men waiting in the shadows.
Luca carried a sleeping Sophie into a small, sparsely furnished bedroom in the back. I followed, pulling the blanket over her as Luca gently laid her on the cot.
He stood up, looking down at his daughter with a heartbreaking mixture of love and profound sorrow.
He walked out of the room. I followed him, pulling the heavy steel door shut behind me.
We stood in the cold, concrete hallway.
“Mr. Moretti,” I whispered, not wanting the guards to hear.
Luca turned to face me. The exhaustion on his face was absolute.
“Why didn't you take her to her mother’s house?” I asked, my voice trembling. “If the Bellinis are coming after you, wouldn't she be safer with her mom?”
Luca looked at me, a dark, agonizing pain flashing in his eyes.
“Sophie’s mother isn't out of town, Hannah,” Luca said quietly.
“Then why—”
“Because Vanessa’s father didn't just call to threaten me tonight,” Luca interrupted, his voice breaking.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, turning the screen toward me.
My blood ran completely cold.
It was a photograph.
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A picture of Sophie’s mother, tied to a chair in a dark basement, terrified and bruised, holding today’s newspaper.
“The Bellinis took her three hours ago,” Luca whispered, the devastating reality crashing down on us. “Before the dinner even started.”
