Chapter 7 - THE BURNER PHONE AND THE BARGAIN
Creeping back into the house was easier than escaping it. The guards were outside, preparing the grounds for Dominic's arrival.
I slipped through the kitchen and down the long hallway to the library.
The room was empty.
I walked straight to the heavy oil painting of Luca's grandfather and swung it open. The steel face of the wall vault stared back at me.
My fingers trembled as I punched in the code. 0-8-1-2. Clara's birthday.
The light flashed green, and the heavy door clicked open.
Inside sat Clara's diary. Next to it was the thick, leather-bound black ledger.
I grabbed them both and shoved them into my coat.
Just as I closed the vault, the library door opened.
Vivian walked in.
She stopped, staring at me in shock. "You're supposed to be in the cellar."
"And you're supposed to be gone," I said, my grip tightening on the crowbar hidden by my side.
Vivian's eyes darted to the painting, then to my bulging coat pocket. She smiled, a nasty, triumphant look. "You have the diary. Hand it over, Rose. Dominic is pulling up to the gates right now. If I give him the diary, he'll let me live."
"He'll kill you the second you hand it over," I said, stepping toward her. "You're a loose end, Vivian. You know too much."
She faltered, doubt flickering in her eyes. "No. He promised."
"Like Luca promised you the east wing?" I asked softly. "In this world, promises are just lies they tell you to keep you quiet."
Vivian looked toward the window. The sweep of headlights cut across the driveway. Dominic was here.
"What are you going to do?" Vivian whispered, suddenly looking very small and very afraid.
"I'm going to finish this," I said. "If you want to live, walk out the back door and never look back."
Vivian didn't need to be told twice. She turned and fled.
I didn't wait. I ran out the side door, slipping into the shadows of the hedges just as Dominic's SUVs parked in the circular driveway.
I reached my car in the garage, started the engine, and kept the headlights off until I was through the back service gates.
I drove toward the docks, the black ledger burning a hole against my side.
Warehouse 4 was a rusted, hulking structure on the edge of the water. I parked a block away and walked the rest of the distance in the dark.
I slipped through a side door. The warehouse was massive, filled with shipping crates and shadows.
"Luca!" I whisper-shouted.
"Rose?"
Luca stepped out from behind a stack of wooden crates. He looked exhausted, his shirt torn, a bruise forming on his jaw.
I ran to him. For the first time in six years, he pulled me into his arms, and I didn't pull away. He held me tight, his face buried in my hair.
"I told you to stay hidden," he breathed.
"I brought leverage," I said, pulling back and handing him the black ledger and Clara's diary.
Luca stared at the ledger, his jaw dropping. "Rose... this is Nonna's book. The entire family's assets. How did you get this?"
"I took it from the vault," I said fiercely. "We trade the ledger to the Commission for our freedom. And for Leo."
"Where is Leo?" I asked, looking around the empty warehouse.
Luca's face crumbled.
A reversal so cold it stopped my heart.
"Luca," I panicked. "Where is he?"
"We were ambushed on the road," Luca whispered, his voice cracking. "Dominic's men ran us off the highway. They took him, Rose. They took the boy."
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TITLE: THE CHILD'S NECKLACE AT THE DOCKS
