Chapter 3 - The Silver Locket Around Her Neck
Robert’s voice cut through the panic like a blade.
The forty-two guests froze in terror.
I pulled Noah tightly against my chest on the dark staircase, covering his mouth so he wouldn't cry out.
His little heart was hammering against my ribs.
Down in the dining room, Luca’s gun remained perfectly steady.
He didn't point it at the four armed men. He pointed it directly at Robert’s chest.
“You have three seconds to get out of my house, Robert,” Luca said, his voice dangerously calm.
Robert smiled, leaning heavily on his polished wooden cane.
“I’m not leaving without my grandson,” Robert replied. “Anna wanted him with me.”
“Anna was terrified of you!” Luca shouted. “She left a note warning me!”
Robert’s cold eyes flicked toward Vanessa, who was sobbing uncontrollably against the banquet table.
“Ah,” Robert sighed. “I see the little bride couldn't keep her mouth shut.”
Vanessa fell to her knees.
“You promised you would protect me!” she screamed at Robert. “You said if I married him, you would clear my family’s debts!”
Luca slowly turned his head toward Vanessa.
“Married me?” Luca whispered.
Vanessa wept, refusing to look at him.
Robert chuckled, a dry, rasping sound.
“Don't be naive, Luca,” Robert said. “Did you really think it was a coincidence that you met the beautiful Vanessa Bellini at a charity gala just when you were feeling most lonely? I placed her there.”
Elena stepped forward, placing herself bravely between Luca and the armed men.
“You’re a monster, Robert,” Elena spat. “You sacrificed your own daughter to hurt my son.”
Robert’s smile vanished.
For a fraction of a second, genuine pain flashed across the older man’s face.
“I never meant for Anna to die,” Robert snarled, his grip tightening on his cane. “The cut brakes were meant for Luca’s car. Anna was supposed to take the SUV that night. But Luca took the SUV, and Anna took the sedan. It was a mistake.”
Luca’s entire body went rigid.
The realization washed over him.
His wife had died in a trap meant for him.
“And the locket?” Luca asked, his voice hollow.
Robert pointed his cane at Vanessa.
“My insurance policy,” Robert said coldly. “I had Vanessa steal it from Anna’s bedroom. I told her that if she ever betrayed me, I would make sure you found it. I would make sure you knew she was the one who gave my mechanic the keys.”
Vanessa sobbed, clutching the silver locket around her neck.
“I had no choice!” she cried.
“You always have a choice,” Luca said, his voice devoid of all emotion.
He didn't look at her anymore. She was dead to him.
Luca turned his burning gaze back to Robert.
“You killed my wife. And now you come into my home to steal my son?”
“I’m taking Noah to a safe place,” Robert demanded. “To the white house in the suburbs. Where he belongs.”
From the shadows of the staircase, Noah tugged on my sleeve.
I looked down.
The little boy was shaking violently, but he reached into his pocket again.
He pulled out a small, folded photograph.
“Rachel,” he whispered in my ear.
“Shh, baby,” I whispered back. “We have to be quiet.”
“But look,” he insisted softly.
He handed me the photograph.
I opened it.
It was the picture Elena had shown Luca earlier. Anna standing in front of the house with the white fence, holding newborn Noah.
But Noah had peeled back the cardboard backing of the frame.
There was a second photograph hidden underneath.
I stared at it, my blood turning to ice.
It was a picture of Robert.
He was shaking hands with a man I recognized from the evening news. The head of the rival Bellini crime family. Vanessa’s uncle.
On the back of the photo, Anna had written:
He isn't my father. He’s my handler. My real father died when I was a baby.
I stopped breathing.
Robert wasn't Anna’s biological father. He was a syndicate boss who had adopted her to secure a bloodline.
And he wasn't here to save Noah. He was here to use Noah as a hostage to force Luca to surrender his empire.
I looked down into the dining room.
Robert’s men were raising their rifles.
Luca was completely outnumbered. His own security guards were stationed outside; they had no idea the dining room had been breached through the private terrace doors.
I had to do something.
I looked around the dark landing.
Sitting on a small decorative table was a heavy brass vase.
I looked at Noah.
“Stay exactly right here,” I whispered. “Do not move.”
He nodded, his eyes wide.
I picked up the heavy brass vase.
I crept to the edge of the balcony that overlooked the dining room chandelier.
Robert was smiling.
“Take the old woman,” Robert ordered his men, pointing at Elena. “Luca won't shoot if we have his mother.”
Two men stepped forward to grab Elena.
I didn't think.
I raised the brass vase high above my head, and I threw it straight down at the enormous crystal chandelier.
May you like
It struck the center ring with a deafening crash.
Hundreds of heavy glass crystals rained down like jagged hail directly onto Robert and his men.
