Chapter 5 - The Ghost in the Bloodline
The small, crumpled piece of paper fluttered in the cool night breeze.
She is yours.
I stared at the words, the messy ink blurring as my mind struggled to process the magnitude of the revelation. I looked up at Luca. The imposing, ruthless mafia boss looked like he had just been shot in the chest. He was staring blindly at the dark street, his chest rising and falling in shallow, erratic breaths.
"Luca," I whispered, stepping closer.
He didn't move. "It’s a lie," he murmured, his voice hoarse. "It’s a trick. Thomas wouldn't have lied to me for seventeen years."
"Thomas was protecting her," I said softly, the pieces clicking into place with horrifying clarity. "If Olivia is your daughter, she is the heir to the Moretti empire. Your father, Enzo... he would have used her. He would have raised her to be a monster, or used her as leverage against you."
Luca closed his eyes, a look of profound agony twisting his features. "Thomas always said her mother died in childbirth. A woman he met in Paris during his conservatory days. I believed him. I never questioned it."
"Who was her mother, Luca?" I asked gently.
Luca opened his eyes, the memory surfacing like a drowned ghost. "Seventeen years ago, before I took over the family, I was reckless. I fell in love with a woman named Elena. She wasn't from our world. She was a violinist, just like Thomas. When my father found out about her, he threatened to kill her if I didn't end it and marry within the syndicates."
He looked down at the silver pocket watch in his trembling hand.
"I broke her heart to save her life," Luca said, his voice cracking. "She disappeared. Three months later, Thomas told me she died in a car accident in France. He said she was alone."
"She wasn't alone," I realized, tears pricking my eyes. "She was pregnant. She went to Thomas for help because she knew he was your best friend. And when she died... Thomas claimed the baby as his own to hide her from Enzo."
Luca looked back toward the mansion, his eyes fixing on the grand windows of the banquet hall where Olivia was still sitting, crying over a father she had just lost all over again.
"She is my blood," Luca whispered, the terrifying weight of it settling over him.
Suddenly, Leo’s voice crackled over the radio clipped to Luca’s belt.
"Boss! We have a ping on Camilla’s car. She didn't head for the Falcone compound. She’s headed south, toward the old shipping yards."
Luca’s demeanor instantly hardened. The grieving father vanished, replaced by the warlord. He unholstered his weapon, checking the magazine with terrifying efficiency.
"Get the SUVs ready," Luca commanded into the radio. "We are ending this tonight."
He turned to me. "Emily. Go inside. Lock yourself in the safe room with Olivia. Do not tell her the truth yet. She’s been through enough trauma for one night. Let me bring the ledger and the insurance policy back first."
"Luca, you can't go to the shipping yards blindly," I argued, grabbing his arm. "If Camilla went there instead of her family’s compound, she’s meeting someone. It’s an ambush."
"I don't care if the entire Falcone army is waiting for me," Luca snarled, pulling away. "She has the blackmail files that can destroy my family, and she knows the truth about my daughter. She dropped that watch on purpose to let me know."
He turned and sprinted toward the armored SUVs pulling out of the garage.
I stood in the driveway, watching the taillights disappear into the night. My heart pounded a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I turned and ran back into the mansion, the heavy doors thudding shut behind me.
The banquet hall was still in chaos. Marcus was arguing with the security guards, demanding to be let go. The elite guests were huddled together, whispering furiously.
I ignored them all and ran straight to the kitchen. Olivia was sitting at the stainless steel prep table, clutching a cup of hot tea Pietro Bellini had made for her. She looked exhausted, her eyes red and swollen.
"Olivia," I said, catching my breath. "We need to go upstairs. To the safe room."
Olivia shook her head slowly. "I don't want to hide, Emily. I want to know why Vanessa did this to my dad."
"Luca is handling it," I promised, gently taking her arm. "But you aren't safe out here. Camilla is dangerous."
Olivia stopped. She looked at me, a strange, terrifying calm settling over her tear-stained face.
"Camilla isn't dangerous, Emily," Olivia said quietly.
I frowned. "What do you mean? She stole the ledger. She stole the blackmail files."
"Camilla didn't steal anything," Olivia whispered. She reached into the pocket of her simple blue dress and pulled out a folded piece of thick, expensive cardstock.
It was the other half of the place card Vanessa had torn.
"Camilla slipped this to me under the table when Vanessa was yelling at you," Olivia said, her voice shaking.
I took the card from her. Written on the back, in the same elegant, flowing cursive that had mocked us in my bedroom, was a frantic message.
Olivia, they’re going to kill me. Vanessa found out I discovered the truth about the embezzlement. She forced me to take the blame for the stolen ledger so Luca would hunt me instead of her. I’m running. Don't trust Vanessa. Don't trust Marcus.
My blood ran completely cold.
Camilla wasn't a master manipulator. She was a terrified nineteen-year-old girl being used as bait.
"If Camilla didn't take the ledger," I breathed, the horror dawning on me, "then who did?"
A cold, metallic click sounded from the doorway of the kitchen.
I slowly turned around.
Standing in the threshold was Marcus Moretti.
He was holding a suppressed pistol, aimed directly at my chest. His face was pale, sweating, stripped of all the cowardly innocence he had performed in the dining room.
"I really wish you hadn't found that note, Emily," Marcus said, his voice remarkably steady.
I pushed Olivia behind me, my heart hammering violently. "You. You took the ledger from my room."
"Of course I did," Marcus smiled thinly. "I put it there. I knew Vanessa was getting close, and I needed a scapegoat if Luca ever found out. But then Vanessa found the insurance policy in Enzo’s safe. We realized we didn't need to hide anymore. We just needed a distraction so we could leave the city with the money and the blackmail files."
"You set up Camilla," I spat, disgusted. "You sent Luca to an ambush at the shipping yards while you run away."
"Luca is a dinosaur," Marcus sneered. "He actually cares about people. It makes him weak. Vanessa and I are taking the money and the leverage. We’re going to sell it to the Falcones, and by tomorrow, Luca will be dead, and I will be the head of this family."
He raised the gun, aiming it at Olivia’s head.
"But first," Marcus said coldly, "I need to tie up my father’s loose ends. I know who you really are, Olivia."
I didn't think. I grabbed the heavy cast-iron skillet resting on the prep table beside me.
May you like
But before I could swing it, a deafening gunshot rang out, shattering the kitchen window and sending Marcus crumpling to the floor, bleeding from the shoulder.
I spun around, staring at the shattered glass, and saw Pietro Bellini standing on the terrace, holding a smoking revolver.
