Chapter 8 - THE GHOST IN THE LEATHER CHAIR
The cell phone slipped from my trembling fingers, clattering onto the floorboard of the armored SUV.
“Hannah?” Luca asked, glancing over from the steering wheel. He noticed my pale, horrified expression instantly. “What is it?”
I couldn’t speak. The air had been sucked entirely from my lungs. I pointed a shaking finger at the phone by my feet.
Luca kept one hand on the wheel, reaching down to grab the device. He glanced at the screen.
The heavy, armored vehicle swerved slightly as the mafia Don processed the impossible image.
“That’s your father?” Luca breathed, his voice tight with shock.
“He died ten years ago,” I sobbed, hyperventilating as the terrifying reality closed in on me. “I went to his funeral. I saw the casket go into the ground. How is he standing there with Leo?!”
Luca’s jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched in his cheek. He tossed the phone onto the dashboard and accelerated, the SUV’s engine roaring as we approached the massive iron gates of Elias Thorne’s estate.
“He faked his death,” Luca deduced grimly, his mind working rapidly. “When Antonio ordered the hit on your mother, your father must have known he was next. He made a deal with Elias Thorne to disappear.”
“But he left me!” I cried, tears of profound betrayal spilling down my face. “He let me believe I was an orphan! He let me scrub floors to survive while he hid in a mansion!”
“Elias uses people, Hannah,” Luca said softly, his voice filled with protective rage. “He probably told your father that if he ever contacted you, Antonio would kill you both. He kept your father as a prisoner of his own fear. And now, he’s using him as bait.”
We reached the towering wrought-iron gates of the estate.
There were no guards outside. The gates stood wide open, inviting us into the lion’s den.
“It’s a trap, boss,” Daniel warned from the backseat, racking the slide of his assault rifle.
“I know,” Luca replied coldly. “Drive straight through.”
We rolled up the long, winding gravel driveway, flanked by ancient, sprawling oak trees. The mansion at the top of the hill looked like a European castle, massive and foreboding against the stormy night sky.
Luca parked the SUV directly in front of the grand entrance.
He turned to me, reaching out to gently cup my face. His thumbs wiped the tears from my cheeks.
“Listen to me, Hannah,” Luca commanded gently, his dark eyes locking onto mine with absolute certainty. “Whatever happens in there, you do not leave my side. If things go south, you take Leo and you run to the car. Daniel will get you out.”
“I’m not leaving without you,” I whispered fiercely.
“You will if I tell you to,” Luca promised, leaning in to press a hard, desperate kiss to my lips. It was a kiss that tasted like fear, adrenaline, and profound, unconditional love.
We stepped out of the SUV. The rain had stopped, leaving the air thick with fog.
The heavy oak front doors of the mansion were cracked open.
Luca led the way, his pistol drawn. Daniel covered our flank. I stayed right behind Luca, gripping the heavy flashlight until my knuckles turned white.
We walked into the grand foyer. It was opulent, dripping with wealth. Crystal chandeliers, marble floors, and priceless Renaissance paintings adorned the walls.
“Hello, Luca,” a smooth, cultured voice echoed from the top of the sweeping double staircase.
We all aimed our weapons upward.
Standing on the landing, wearing an impeccable navy suit and smoking a thin cigar, was Elias Thorne. He looked exactly like the man I had seen in the warehouse doorway.
“Where is the boy, Elias?” Luca demanded, his voice a low, lethal rumble.
“The boy is safe with his father,” Elias smiled, slowly walking down the stairs. “A beautiful family reunion. It brings a tear to the eye.”
“He’s not his father,” Luca snarled. “Leo is my half-brother. My father’s son.”
Elias chuckled softly, reaching the bottom of the stairs. He didn’t look armed, but the casual arrogance in his posture meant he didn’t need to be.
“Antonio’s son by blood, yes,” Elias agreed smoothly. “But William Collins raised him for the first year of his life. And William has been very, very cooperative with me for the last decade.”
I stepped out from behind Luca. I couldn’t hide anymore.
“Where is he?” I demanded, my voice shaking with a decade of suppressed grief and sudden, violent anger. “Where is my father?”
Ettore smiled at me, a polite, chilling gesture. “In the study, my dear. Second door on the right. He’s been dying to see you.”
Luca didn’t lower his gun from Elias’s chest, but he nodded to Daniel. “Clear the study.”
Daniel moved swiftly, kicking the heavy mahogany doors of the study open and sweeping the room with his rifle.
“Clear, boss,” Daniel called out. “It’s just the two of them.”
Luca kept his gun trained on Elias, slowly backing toward the study doors. I followed him, my heart pounding so loudly I thought it would burst.
We stepped into the dimly lit, wood-paneled room.
Sitting in a massive leather armchair near the fireplace was a man. His hair was graying, his face lined with age and exhaustion, but I knew him instantly.
William Collins. My father.
And sitting on the floor next to his chair, playing with a vintage silver pocket watch, was Leo.
“Dad?” I whispered, the word feeling foreign on my tongue.
The older man looked up. His eyes filled with tears, his hands trembling as he gripped the armrests of his chair.
“Hannah,” he choked out, his voice broken. “My beautiful girl.”
“Hannah!” Leo cheered, jumping up and running over to hug my legs.
I dropped to my knees, wrapping my arms tightly around my little brother, burying my face in his shoulder. He was safe. He was unharmed.
I stood up, holding Leo behind me, and glared at the man sitting in the chair.
“You let me believe you were dead,” I cried, pointing an accusing finger at him. “You let me scrub toilets to survive! You let me mourn you!”
“I had no choice!” my father wept, standing up slowly. “Antonio found out I had stolen evidence of his offshore accounts. He killed your mother to silence her! Elias saved me from the hitmen. He told me if I ever contacted you, Antonio would kill you and Lily too.”
“Elias didn’t save you,” Luca spat from the doorway. “He kept you as leverage. He knew you had the account numbers.”
“I gave him everything,” my father sobbed, looking at Luca. “I gave Elias the codes. I gave him the ledgers. But he wouldn’t let me leave. He kept me locked in this house for ten years, making me launder his money.”
Elias Thorne chuckled from the hallway, stepping into the doorway behind Luca.
“William is a very talented accountant,” Elias praised mockingly. “And a terrible father. But he served his purpose. He gave me access to Antonio’s fortune.”
“You orchestrated the entire war,” Luca realized, never lowering his weapon. “You tipped the FBI off to my operations. You set Vanessa up to fail. You wanted the syndicate destroyed so you could sweep in and take the legitimate billions for yourself.”
“I’m a businessman, Luca,” Elias smiled. “The mafia is dead. Corporate espionage is the future. And with Leo in my custody, I control the only remaining trust fund Antonio set up.”
“You’re not getting the boy,” Luca said coldly.
“Oh, I think I am,” Elias smirked.
He reached into his tailored suit jacket and pulled out a small, black remote detonator.
My blood ran cold.
“I wired the foundation of this estate with C4 five years ago,” Elias announced calmly. “If I press this button, this mansion becomes a crater. Give me the boy, and I will let you and your lovely fiancée walk out the front door.”
Luca stared at the detonator. He was trapped. He couldn't shoot Elias fast enough to stop his thumb from pressing the button.
“I won’t let you take him,” I whispered, gripping Leo’s hand tightly.
“Then you all die,” Elias shrugged, his thumb hovering over the red button. “A tragic end to the Moretti legacy.”
Elias prepared to press the trigger.
But before his thumb could descend, a loud, metallic click echoed from the shadows of the study behind Elias.
“Drop the detonator, Elias.”
Elias froze. The arrogant smile vanished completely.
We all looked toward the dark corner of the room.
Stepping out from behind the heavy velvet curtains, holding a suppressed pistol aimed directly at the back of Elias’s head, was a woman.
She wore a long black coat. Her dark hair was pulled back into a severe bun. She looked older, tired, but fiercely determined.
I gasped, covering my mouth in sheer, absolute disbelief.
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It was my mother.
TITLE: The Match In The Dark Room
