Chapter 6 - THE VAULT AND THE LEDGER
The First National Bank of Westbridge was supposed to be closed, but when Luca Moretti slammed his fist against the reinforced glass doors at 2:00 AM, the terrified night manager opened them in under ten seconds.
“Mr. Moretti,” the manager stammered, clutching his keys. “We weren’t expecting—”
“Vault. Now,” Luca commanded.
He didn’t let go of my hand as we walked across the sprawling marble floor. The cold authority radiating from him was intoxicating. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t shrinking back. I walked beside him, my chin raised, the silver key burning a hole in my pocket.
The heavy steel door of the vault hissed open.
“Box 402,” the manager squeaked, pointing to a row of brass squares in the back corner. “I’ll—I’ll leave you to it.” He practically ran out of the room.
Luca turned to me. “Ready?”
I pulled the small silver key from my pocket. My hand was shaking. I stepped forward and slid the key into the brass lock.
Click.
I pulled the long metal drawer out and carried it to the private viewing table in the center of the vault.
Inside the box rested a thick, leather-bound ledger, and sitting perfectly on top of it was a heavy gold ring set with a black onyx stone.
“My father’s signet ring,” Luca breathed, picking it up gently. “He never took it off. They said it was stolen by paramedics the night he died.”
I reached for the leather ledger. I opened the cover. The pages were filled with my mother’s neat, cursive handwriting, detailing dates, names, and bank account numbers.
But it was the letter tucked inside the front cover that made my breath catch.
“To my dearest Emily,” I read aloud, my voice echoing in the quiet vault. “If you are reading this, I am either dead, or I have been forced to run. I never wanted you to carry this burden. But you need to know the truth.”
I swallowed hard, feeling Luca step closer, his solid presence anchoring me.
“Marcus Moretti was a good man. We loved each other in secret. He knew Carlo Bellini was stealing from the families, funneling millions through a shell company called Bellini Residential Holdings.”
Luca stiffened. “The same company Vanessa used to steal the leases from the 28 women.”
I kept reading. “Marcus confronted Carlo that night in the study. Carlo shot him. I was hiding in the adjoining library with little Luca, who had come downstairs for a glass of water. Luca saw it all.”
A quiet, painful exhale escaped Luca’s lips.
“I grabbed the ledger Marcus had compiled—the proof of Carlo’s treason—and I ran. Carlo hunted me, but he couldn’t kill me without exposing himself, because I sent copies of this ledger to one person I trusted. Margaret Ellis.”
I gasped, dropping the letter.
“Margaret?” I said, stunned. “The social worker? She has the copies?”
Luca’s eyes widened in realization. “That’s why Margaret was at the dinner tonight. That’s why she brought up the housing fraud. She wasn’t just a social worker. She was my father’s silent ally.”
My phone suddenly vibrated violently in my pocket.
I pulled it out. It was an unknown number. I answered it, putting it on speaker.
“Emily.”
It was my mother’s voice. She sounded exhausted, breathless, but alive.
“Mom! Oh my god, where are you? Are you safe?”
“I’m safe, baby. I’m with Margaret at the community center. You have to listen to me—”
Suddenly, the sound of breaking glass echoed through the speaker. A woman screamed in the background. It was Margaret.
“Mom? What’s happening!”
“They found us,” my mother shouted. “Vanessa is here! She brought men. Emily, the ledger—”
The line went dead.
Luca didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the ledger, shoved the signet ring into his pocket, and grabbed my hand.
“We’re going,” he snarled, his eyes dark with a murderous fury.
We sprinted out of the bank. The drive to the Westbridge Community Center took less than five minutes, Dante driving the SUV like a battering ram through the quiet city streets.
When we pulled up to the center, my stomach dropped.
Thick black smoke was pouring out of the second-story windows. Flames licked at the brick exterior.
Vanessa’s men had set the building on fire.
“Mom!” I screamed, throwing the car door open before Dante had even fully stopped.
I ran toward the burning building, but Luca caught me around the waist, pulling me back as a window blew out, showering the sidewalk in glass.
“Let me go!” I fought against him, tears streaming down my face. “She’s in there!”
“I’m getting her,” Luca yelled over the roar of the fire. He spun me around to face him, gripping my face in both hands. “Do you hear me? I will bring her out. Stay behind Dante.”
May you like
Before I could protest, Luca took his suit jacket off, wrapped it around his arm, and kicked the blazing front doors of the community center wide open.
He disappeared into the smoke.
