Chapter 6 - The Rosary In The Darkness
Luca didn't flinch.
As Daniel collapsed screaming, clutching his shattered knee, Luca lunged forward in the pitch black.
He didn't go for the gun. He went for the throat.
His hands closed around Daniel’s neck, slamming the younger man backward against the heavy oak dining table. The crack of wood splintering echoed alongside the panicked shouts of the guests.
The two hired guns raised their weapons, blinded by their own swinging flashlights.
“Drop them!” Marcus roared from the shadows.
Simultaneously, the massive double doors of the dining room crashed open. Six of Luca’s heavily armed perimeter guards flooded the room, laser sights slicing through the darkness, painting red dots across the chests of the two mercenaries.
They dropped their guns instantly, throwing their hands in the air.
“Don't shoot! We surrender!” one of them yelled.
Luca ignored them. He hoisted Daniel up by the lapels of his jacket, his face inches from the man who had tortured his father.
“Where is the SUV?” Luca’s voice was a demonic growl.
Daniel gagged, spitting blood. “Go to hell.”
Luca didn't hesitate. He slammed Daniel’s head against the table again.
“Where is the girl?!”
“Luca, stop!” I screamed, scrambling across the marble floor.
I didn't care about the guns or the mafia men. I grabbed Luca’s arm.
“If you kill him, the driver will shoot her! Please!”
Luca froze. His chest heaved as he fought the absolute rage coursing through his veins. He looked down at my hands clutching his sleeve.
Slowly, he released his grip on Daniel’s throat.
Daniel slumped to the floor, gasping for air, clutching his ruined knee.
The emergency backup generators finally kicked in.
The chandeliers flickered to life, bathing the ruined dining room in warm, golden light.
Anthony was sitting calmly in his wheelchair, wrapping his late wife’s rosary around his knuckles. He looked ten years younger.
“Secure them,” Luca ordered his men, pointing at the mercenaries.
Marcus dragged Camille to the center of the room and threw her to the floor next to her brother. She was weeping hysterically, her perfect engagement ring glittering mockingly on her finger.
Luca knelt beside Daniel.
“You have one chance,” Luca said softly. “You call the driver. You tell him to bring the girl to the front door. If she has a single scratch on her, I will spend the rest of my life keeping you alive in a basement.”
Daniel laughed weakly, a bubble of blood popping on his lips.
“You think I’m stupid? If I give her up, I’m dead.”
“You’re dead anyway,” Anthony stated from his chair.
Daniel glared at the old man. Then, a sickening smile spread across his face.
“Am I? Because the driver isn't one of my guys. He’s a professional. And if I don't radio him the safe word in exactly three minutes, he drives the SUV into the Chicago River with the girl in the trunk.”
My knees gave out. I collapsed onto the floor, clutching Maya’s coat.
“Three minutes,” Daniel taunted, looking at his gold wristwatch. “And the only way you get the safe word is if you open that wall safe right now and transfer the crypto keys to my account.”
Luca stood up, his face an impenetrable mask of fury.
“You’re bluffing.”
“Try me,” Daniel spat. “Watch the clock, Luca. Tick tock.”
Luca looked at Marcus. “Can we jam the radio signal?”
“Not in three minutes, sir. The property is too big. We don't even know where the SUV is parked.”
I looked at Anthony.
The old man was staring at Camille.
“Camille,” Anthony rasped. “Tell him... the safe word.”
Camille shook her head violently. “I don't know it! Only Daniel knows it! He set it up!”
Daniel grinned, revealing bloody teeth. “That’s right, sis. Just me. So open the safe.”
Luca looked at me. The devastation in his eyes broke whatever was left of my heart. He was a man who controlled half the city, and he was completely powerless to save my sister.
But I wasn't.
I stood up.
I walked over to Daniel, who was clutching his knee on the floor.
“Natalie, what are you doing?” Luca asked.
I didn't answer. I reached into the deep pocket of my housekeeping apron.
“You think you’re so smart, Daniel,” I said, my voice eerily calm.
I pulled out a heavy, antique gold watch.
It was a beautiful pocket watch, engraved with the Moretti family crest.
Daniel frowned. “What is that?”
“It’s Anthony’s grandfather’s watch,” I said. “I polish it every Friday.”
I looked down at the bleeding man.
“You said you need the combination to the safe to get the money.”
“Yeah,” Daniel grunted. “And you’re running out of time.”
“No, Daniel,” I said softly. “You are.”
I pressed the latch on the pocket watch. The gold lid popped open.
Inside, tucked behind the glass face, was a tiny, folded piece of paper.
I pulled it out and unfolded it.
It was a string of twelve numbers.
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“The combination to the wall safe isn't in Anthony’s head,” I said, holding the paper up. “It’s been inside this watch the entire time. And you’re not going anywhere near it.”
TITLE: The Pocket Watch That Stopped Time
