The Boy Who Drew The Truth

“Put the gun down, Luca.”

Vanessa’s voice was completely unrecognizable. The sweet, elegant tone she used at dinners was gone. It was replaced by a cold, hollow sound that made my blood freeze.

She stood in the doorway, the suppressed barrel of her weapon perfectly steady.

Luca didn’t raise his gun. He didn’t shout. He simply moved a half-step to the right, placing his body completely between Vanessa and where I stood holding Leo.

“You’re pointing a weapon at my son, Vanessa,” Luca said. The lethal calmness in his voice was terrifying.

“I’m pointing it at the maid,” Vanessa corrected, stepping into the room and kicking the door shut behind her. “The boy is just in the way.”

“She knows,” I whispered, pulling Leo tighter against my hip. My ribs screamed in agony, but I didn’t care. “She knows we found out.”

Vanessa smiled a terrible, thin smile. “Of course I know. Do you think I didn’t notice you sneaking downstairs instead of going home, Nora? I’ve been watching you all night.”

Her eyes darted to the train ticket in Luca’s hand.

“Vincent dropped that in the hallway yesterday,” she sneered. “Careless. He always was careless.”

Luca looked at the ticket, then back at her. “He’s leaving tomorrow.”

“We’re both leaving tomorrow,” Vanessa said. “The wedding was never going to happen, Luca. You were just the bank.”

“He paid you,” Luca said, his mind putting the pieces together. “Leo drew it. Vincent was paying you.”

“Vincent was paying off my debts to the Romano family,” Vanessa corrected. “He’s been embezzling from your accounts for three years. He needed access to the main vault. The only way to get the security codes was through your fiancée. So, we made an arrangement.”

I felt sick. Twenty years of friendship. All a lie.

“He locked my son in the cellar,” Luca stated, his voice dropping an octave.

For the first time, Vanessa looked slightly uncomfortable. “The kid was snooping. He saw Vincent copying the vault codes. We had to put him somewhere until the transfer went through.”

“And you?” Luca asked. “What was your role in terrorizing a six-year-old?”

“I just kept him quiet,” she said callously. “But that doesn’t matter now. Put the gun on the desk, Luca. Kick it away. Or I shoot Nora.”

Luca didn’t move. “If you shoot her, I will kill you before the casing hits the floor.”

“Maybe,” Vanessa said. “But she’ll still be dead. And so will your son. Are you willing to gamble with their lives?”

Silence suffocated the room.

I looked at Luca’s broad back. He was a man who had built an empire on never surrendering. But I could see the slight tremor in his hand. He was terrified for Leo.

“Do it,” I whispered.

Luca slowly lowered his gun. He placed it on the edge of the mahogany desk and pushed it away.

“Smart,” Vanessa said. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a heavy set of brass keys. The keys to the estate’s main gates.

“Vincent is waiting outside,” she said. “The money is already transferred. I just came back to ensure there were no loose ends.”

She raised the gun, aiming it squarely at my head.

“Goodbye, Nora.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and threw my body over Leo.

Click.

The sound echoed in the quiet room.

But there was no gunshot.

Vanessa frowned. She pulled the trigger again.

Click.

I opened my eyes.

Luca hadn’t moved. But the lethal tension in his shoulders was gone. He looked at Vanessa with a cold, mocking pity.

“Did you really think my head of security wouldn’t notice you tampering with the weapons in the east wing safe?” Luca asked softly.

Vanessa’s face went completely pale. She stared at the gun in her hand.

“Daniel emptied the firing pins on every weapon you had access to three weeks ago,” Luca said, taking a slow step toward her. “I knew you were stealing, Vanessa. I just didn’t know who you were working with. Thank you for telling me.”

Vanessa panicked. She threw the useless gun at Luca’s head.

He deflected it effortlessly with his forearm.

She turned and ran for the door.

She yanked it open, sprinting into the hallway.

“Stay here,” Luca barked at me.

He grabbed his gun from the desk and bolted after her.

I didn’t stay.

I scooped Leo into my uninjured arm. The little boy wrapped his legs around my waist, his face buried in my neck. I ran out into the hallway, desperate to keep him away from the crossfire if Vincent was waiting.

I heard Luca’s heavy footsteps echoing toward the grand foyer.

By the time I reached the top of the stairs, the front door was wide open. The cold Chicago wind swept in, blowing rain across the marble floor.

Luca was standing on the front steps, his gun raised, staring out into the darkness of the driveway.

I hurried down the stairs. “Luca! Did she get away?”

He didn’t lower his weapon. He didn’t turn around.

“No,” he said quietly.

I stepped up beside him, shielding Leo’s eyes.

A black town car was idling at the bottom of the driveway. The driver’s side door was open.

Vincent Rowan was standing in the rain.

But he wasn’t holding a gun.

He was holding Vanessa.