Chapter 8 - THE LAWYER AT THE IRON GATE
The air in the panic room turned to ice.
Arthur Vance. The corrupt lawyer who had helped murder my parents, faked his own death, and stolen the Moretti trust fund.
And now, he had Luca’s mother.
Luca didn’t hesitate. He turned on his heel, his dark eyes filled with absolute, lethal purpose.
"Daniel, lock them back in," Luca ordered. "Nobody gets through this door."
"I'm coming with you," I said, wiping the tears from my face.
Luca stopped. He turned back, his expression a mix of shock and fierce protectiveness. "Hannah, the man out there orchestrated the murder of your parents. He is a dead man. But I will not let him hurt you."
"He destroyed my family," I said, my voice steadying, hardening into steel. "He used my brother as a pawn. I’m not hiding in a bunker while you finish this."
Luca stared at me. He saw the fire in my eyes—the absolute refusal to be a victim anymore.
He gave a single, tight nod. "Stay behind me."
We left Leo safely locked inside the panic room with two of Luca’s most trusted guards.
Luca, Daniel, and I sprinted down the grand staircase and out the back doors of the mansion. The rain had stopped, leaving the estate slick and smelling of ozone and gunpowder.
At the rear iron gates, illuminated by the harsh glare of security floodlights, stood Arthur Vance.
He was a tall, thin man in a bespoke suit, holding an umbrella despite the clearing sky. He looked entirely calm, entirely arrogant.
Flanking him were half a dozen heavily armed mercenaries.
And kneeling in the wet grass in front of him, with her hands tied behind her back, was Rosa Moretti. The untouchable matriarch looked bruised and terrified.
"Arthur," Luca’s voice boomed across the lawn, dark and terrifying. "Let her go."
Vance smiled, adjusting his glasses.
"Luca, my boy," Vance called out, his tone mockingly polite. "You survived the Russian assault. I’m impressed. Your father always said you were too stubborn to die."
"My father is dead," Luca spat, walking slowly across the grass, his gun aimed perfectly at Vance’s chest. "And you stole his money."
"I didn't steal it," Vance corrected smoothly. "I collected my severance. I served Antonio for thirty years, cleaning up his messes. Including the little fire I set to silence the Collins family."
Vance’s eyes shifted past Luca, landing on me.
"Ah, the surviving daughter," Vance smirked. "You have your mother's resilience. It's a shame I have to finish the job tonight."
My grip tightened on the flashlight I still carried. "You're a coward."
Vance laughed. "I’m a pragmatist. And right now, I have the leverage."
He pulled a small, black detonator from his pocket.
"I wired your mother’s Mercedes with C4, Luca," Vance announced. "I have the trigger. If you don't lower your weapons and let me walk away with the remaining bearer bonds in your private safe, the matriarch goes up in smoke."
Luca froze.
Rosa looked up at her son, her eyes wide. "Don't give him anything, Luca!" she yelled. "He'll kill us anyway!"
"Shut up, Rosa," Vance snapped, pressing the barrel of his pistol against the back of her head. "The bonds, Luca. Now."
Luca’s jaw clenched. The mafia Don was trapped. He couldn't shoot Vance without risking his mother’s life.
"I'll get them," Luca said softly, lowering his weapon.
"Boss, no," Daniel hissed.
"Stand down, Daniel," Luca ordered.
Luca turned around, walking slowly back toward the house.
Vance smiled triumphantly. "Smart boy."
But as Luca passed me, he didn't look at my face. He looked down at the heavy metal flashlight in my hand.
He gave the slightest, almost imperceptible nod.
I understood instantly.
Vance was watching Luca retreat. The mercenaries were relaxed, assuming they had won.
I didn't hesitate. I threw the heavy metal flashlight with every ounce of strength I had, directly at the massive security floodlight illuminating the gate.
CRASH.
The bulb shattered, plunging the rear gate into pitch-black darkness.
"What the—!" Vance shouted, blinded by the sudden shift in light.
Luca spun around in the dark.
Two suppressed shots echoed through the night.
The two mercenaries closest to Vance dropped instantly.
Daniel opened fire from the flank, providing covering fire as the remaining mercenaries scrambled for cover.
I dove to the wet grass, crawling desperately toward Rosa.
In the chaos, Vance panicked. He raised the detonator, his thumb moving to press the button.
"No!" I screamed, lunging forward out of the darkness.
I tackled Arthur Vance around the knees. We both went crashing to the muddy ground.
The detonator flew from his hand, skidding across the wet pavement.
Vance cursed, kicking me hard in the ribs. I gasped in pain, rolling away, but I didn't stop. I scrambled toward the detonator.
Vance reached into his jacket, pulling a backup pistol. He aimed it directly at my back as I reached for the device.
"Die, you little bitch," Vance snarled.
BANG.
A gunshot rang out.
But it didn't come from Vance's gun.
Vance dropped his pistol, his eyes widening in shock. A dark red stain bloomed across his immaculate suit jacket.
He fell backward onto the grass, dead before he hit the ground.
I spun around, clutching the detonator to my chest.
Standing ten feet away, lowering his smoking weapon, was Luca.
He was breathing heavily, his dark eyes locked on me, ensuring I was safe.
The remaining mercenaries, seeing their employer dead, threw down their weapons and surrendered to Daniel’s men.
The yard fell completely silent, save for the rain beginning to fall again.
Luca walked over to his mother, cutting the ropes binding her wrists. Rosa stood up, pulling her son into a fierce, desperate hug.
Luca held her for a moment, then stepped away.
He walked over to me.
I was sitting in the mud, clutching the detonator, tears streaming down my face. The man who had murdered my parents was dead. The nightmare was over.
Luca knelt in the mud beside me. He didn't care about his ruined clothes. He didn't care about the guards watching.
He gently took the detonator from my shaking hands and tossed it aside.
Then, he pulled me into his arms, burying his face in my neck, holding me as if he would never let go.
"I've got you," Luca whispered fiercely. "I've got you, Hannah."
I closed my eyes, finally letting myself break down, safe in the arms of the man who had torn his world apart to save mine.
But as we held each other in the rain, a slow, deliberate clapping sound echoed from the shadows of the garden.
We pulled apart, Luca instantly raising his weapon.
Stepping out of the darkness, wearing her ruined champagne gown and a terrifying, malicious smile, was Vanessa.
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"Bravo, Luca," Vanessa mocked, holding a small, silver thumb drive in the air. "You killed the lawyer. But you forgot about his insurance policy."
TITLE: The Thumb Drive In The Rain
