Chapter 5 - THE BOY IN THE BATHTUB
Luca didn’t hesitate. He moved down the narrow hallway with the terrifying speed of a predator.
I stayed right behind him, my heart pounding in my ears.
Luca stopped in front of the closed bathroom door. A thin strip of yellow light bled from beneath the crack. He didn't knock. He didn't speak. He simply raised his leg and kicked the door right below the doorknob.
The wood splintered instantly, the door flying open and crashing against the tiled wall.
Beatrice shrieked.
The middle-aged nurse was standing near the sink, a heavy medical syringe clutched in her hand.
But my eyes immediately darted to the bathtub.
Sitting inside the dry, porcelain tub was a little boy. He was small for a six-year-old, with messy dark hair and enormous, terrified brown eyes. He was clutching his knees to his chest, wearing a pair of faded pajamas.
He looked exactly like Luca.
Luca froze. All the rage drained out of his body the second he saw the boy. His breath hitched, and for a moment, the powerful mafia boss looked entirely fragile.
“Leo,” Luca whispered, speaking the name he had chosen seven years ago.
The boy flinched, shrinking further back into the tub.
“Don’t take another step!” Beatrice screamed, holding the syringe up like a weapon. “Arthur told me what to do if you found us! I’ll do it!”
Luca’s eyes snapped to the nurse.
“What is in that syringe, Beatrice?” Luca asked, his voice deathly calm.
“A heavy sedative,” Beatrice panicked, her hand shaking violently. “Enough to put him out for two days. Arthur’s men are coming to pick us up in ten minutes. If you try to take him, I’ll inject him. You know how dangerous this dose is for a child his size!”
“You’re a nurse,” I yelled from the doorway, anger suddenly replacing my fear. “How could you do this to a child?!”
Beatrice looked at me, her eyes wild. “I needed the money, Hannah! Arthur paid off my gambling debts! He promised me a fresh start if I kept the boy hidden!”
“And why bring him to my apartment?” I demanded.
“Because Arthur knew you worked for the Morettis!” Beatrice cried. “He knew that if things went wrong, he could frame you. He was going to call the police anonymously and say the Moretti maid kidnapped the child for ransom!”
My stomach dropped. I was supposed to be the scapegoat. Vanessa and her father had planned to ruin my life, throw me in prison, and steal Luca’s son all at once.
Luca didn’t look at me. He kept his eyes locked on Beatrice.
He slowly reached into the inside pocket of his coat.
“Beatrice,” Luca said softly. “You know who I am. You know what my family does.”
Beatrice swallowed hard, her hand trembling so badly the liquid in the syringe shook.
Luca pulled his hand out of his jacket. He wasn’t holding a gun.
He was holding a thick, black leather checkbook.
“Arthur Bellini is bankrupt,” Luca lied smoothly, his eyes piercing hers. “He’s running. He’s leaving you here to take the fall. When the police arrive, who do you think they’re going to believe? Me, or the nurse holding a lethal syringe over a child?”
Beatrice wavered. The terror in her eyes deepened.
“But… Arthur said—”
“Arthur is dead,” Luca said, delivering the lie with chilling conviction. “My brother handled him an hour ago. You’re the only loose end left.”
Beatrice gasped, the syringe dropping an inch.
“I can destroy you, Beatrice,” Luca continued, stepping one inch closer. “Or, I can write you a check right now for two hundred thousand dollars. You drop that syringe, you walk out of this apartment, and you disappear. Tonight.”
Beatrice stared at the checkbook. The greed and the fear fought a desperate war on her face.
She looked at the boy in the tub. Then at Luca.
Slowly, her fingers uncurled. The syringe dropped to the bathroom tiles with a sharp clatter.
Beatrice grabbed her coat from the towel rack and sprinted past us, pushing her way down the hallway and out the front door.
The apartment fell dead silent, save for the sound of my mother’s ragged breathing in the hallway.
Luca didn’t chase the nurse. He immediately dropped to his knees beside the bathtub.
He didn’t reach out to grab the boy. He kept his hands open, resting on the edge of the porcelain.
“Hi, Leo,” Luca said softly, his voice thick with emotion.
The boy looked at him, his dark eyes filled with suspicion. “How do you know my name?”
“Because I gave it to you,” Luca whispered.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the wooden toy car he had found in the backpack. He placed it gently on the edge of the tub.
Leo stared at the car. He slowly reached out and picked it up.
“The lady at the big house told me my dad made this,” Leo said quietly.
A single tear slipped down Luca’s cheek. “He did. I made it for you.”
Leo looked up at Luca. For a long moment, the father and son just stared at each other, the lost years hanging heavily in the small bathroom.
Then, Leo asked a question that shattered my heart.
“Are you going to hide me in the dark again?”
Luca closed his eyes, a choked sob escaping his throat. “Never again. I swear to you on my life, Leo. You are never hiding again.”
Luca slowly reached out, and this time, Leo didn’t pull away. Luca lifted his son out of the bathtub and pulled him into a desperate, crushing hug, burying his face in the boy’s neck.
I stood in the doorway, crying silently. My mother rested her hand on my shoulder, wiping her own eyes.
The nightmare was ending. The boy was safe.
But just as Luca stood up, holding his son tightly in his arms, a deafening crash echoed from the living room.
The front door had been kicked open.
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Heavy, aggressive footsteps stomped into the apartment.
“Search the place!” a gruff voice yelled. “Arthur wants the boy, and he wants the maid dead!”
