Chapter 9 - THE BROKEN WINDOW
The red and blue lights of the police cruisers flooded the driveway, casting eerie shadows against the burning mansion.
Federal agents—the real ones Marco had called—swarmed the estate, dragging a screaming, thrashing Vanessa Bellini into the back of a van.
Sofia was on her knees in the snow, weeping hysterically as she crushed both of her children against her chest. Teresa stood beside them, her hand resting gently on her daughter’s head, crying tears of absolute joy.
It was over for them. The family was whole.
But my nightmare was just beginning.
I stood in the shadows of the stone pillar, staring at the text message from my mother. My hands were shaking so violently I almost dropped the phone.
Hannah, they’re here. They broke down the door. Help me.
Answer one: Vanessa’s arrest didn't stop the danger.
Open two: Who was attacking my mother’s house?
I turned and started running down the long, winding driveway toward the main road. I didn't have a car. I didn't care. I was going to run the five miles to my duplex in the freezing cold if I had to.
“Hannah!”
A voice called out from behind me.
I spun around. Luca was jogging toward me, leaving the federal agents and his family behind.
“Where are you going?” he asked, his chest heaving, his face covered in soot.
“I have to go,” I choked out, the tears finally breaking free. “My mother… someone is at my house.”
Luca’s expression instantly hardened. He didn't ask questions. He didn't hesitate.
He turned toward one of the abandoned security SUVs left running in the driveway. “Get in.”
Three minutes later, we were tearing through the dark, icy streets of Chicago at eighty miles an hour.
I sat in the passenger seat, my faded apron still tied around my waist, staring out the window with a hollow, terrified feeling in my chest.
“Mr. Moretti,” I whispered into the dark car. “There’s something you need to know.”
He kept his eyes on the road. “What?”
“The person blackmailing Vanessa… the nurse who helped her fake the stillbirth records so she could steal your sister’s kids…” I swallowed hard, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. “It was my mother.”
Luca didn't slam on the brakes. He didn't yell.
Reversal: Luca didn't look surprised at all.
“I know, Hannah,” Luca said quietly.
I whipped my head around to stare at him. “You know?”
“I found out three days ago,” Luca said, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. “When my mother told me she thought Vanessa was going to kick her out, I started digging into Vanessa’s private finances. I found the LLC. I found the payments to your mother’s name.”
“But… why didn't you fire me?” I asked, my voice cracking. “Why didn't you have us arrested?”
“Because I also pulled your mother’s medical records,” Luca said softly. “Your mother didn't blackmail Vanessa out of greed, Hannah. Three years ago, your mother was diagnosed with terminal lung disease. She needed experimental treatments that her insurance wouldn't cover. Vanessa offered her a choice: sign the fake stillbirth certificate and get the money to live, or refuse, and Vanessa would make sure she never got off the transplant list.”
I covered my mouth, sobbing into my hands. My mother had compromised her soul to stay alive for me. And Vanessa had turned us both into slaves to keep her secret.
“Who is at my house, Luca?” I cried.
“Vanessa’s cleanup crew,” Luca said grimly. “When David failed to secure the kids tonight, Vanessa must have panicked and sent men to eliminate the only loose end that could testify against her.”
We swerved violently onto my narrow suburban street.
My heart completely stopped.
The front door of my small duplex was smashed off its hinges. The living room window was shattered, glass littering the frozen lawn.
Luca slammed the SUV into park before it had even fully stopped. He drew his spare weapon from his ankle holster and kicked the car door open.
“Stay behind me,” he ordered.
We ran up the concrete steps, the glass crunching beneath our feet.
Luca stepped through the broken doorway, sweeping the living room with his gun.
It was completely destroyed. The sofa was overturned. My mother’s oxygen tanks were smashed against the wall.
But the room was empty.
“Mom!” I screamed, rushing into the tiny kitchen.
Empty.
I ran down the hallway to her bedroom. The bedsheets were torn, the bedside lamp shattered on the floor.
On the center of the mattress lay a single object.
I walked over, my legs feeling like lead.
It was a silver medical bracelet. The one my mother wore every single day. The clasp had been broken by force.
Answer one: Vanessa’s men had kidnapped my mother.
Open two: Where did they take her?
I collapsed onto the bed, burying my face in the broken bracelet. I had lost her. After everything, I had lost her.
But then, Luca walked into the bedroom. He wasn't looking at the bed. He was looking at the small wooden closet in the corner of the room.
He slowly raised his gun.
“Hannah,” Luca whispered. “Get down.”
Before I could move, the closet doors burst open.
A massive man in a black tactical vest lunged out, holding a hunting knife.
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He didn't go for Luca.
He lunged directly at me.
