Chapter 5 - THE DIAMOND NECKLACE
The heavy steel gates of the Moretti estate loomed in the darkness, illuminated by the harsh glare of the SUV’s headlights.
“Stop the car!” I screamed at Leo, banging my good hand against the bulletproof glass partition separating the front and back seats. “He said the West Loop! Stop!”
Leo didn't even turn around. He pressed a button on the console, and the internal locks clicked heavily into place. I was trapped in the back with Adrian’s five-year-old son, Elias, who was trembling against my side, still clutching the gold pocket watch.
The gates swung open. The SUV glided down the long, sweeping driveway and stopped abruptly at the grand entrance.
The back doors were thrown open by two heavily armed guards.
“Get out,” one of them barked, pointing a suppressed handgun at my chest.
I wrapped my arms protectively around Elias, holding him tight. “Don't touch him.”
They dragged me out of the car, forcing me up the marble steps and into the grand foyer. The house was completely silent. The engagement party guests were long gone, the lavish decorations standing as a mocking reminder of the nightmare that had unfolded.
Standing at the top of the grand staircase, looking like a queen who had just reclaimed her throne, was Vanessa.
She had changed out of her silk dress into a sharp, dark pantsuit. Around her neck, glittering under the massive crystal chandelier, was a heavy diamond necklace. It was a Moretti family heirloom, usually worn only by the matriarch of the family.
She had already claimed it.
“Bring them to the study,” Vanessa ordered coldly.
The guards shoved me forward. We walked into Adrian’s study, the same room where this entire nightmare had begun hours ago.
Vanessa walked behind his massive mahogany desk and sat down in his chair, running a manicured hand over the leather.
“You really thought Adrian could protect you, Olivia?” Vanessa sneered. “Adrian is a romantic. He thinks with his heart. I think with power. Half his security team has been on my payroll for two years. I was just waiting for the right moment to take control.”
“Where is he?” I demanded, glaring at her. “Where is Adrian?”
Vanessa smiled, a thin, cruel stretch of lips.
“Dead, most likely,” she said casually, examining her fingernails. “I told the men at the orphanage not to come back until they put a bullet in his head.”
My stomach plummeted. Adrian couldn't be dead. He was a force of nature.
I looked down at Elias. The little boy was staring at Vanessa. He didn't know she was his mother. He only knew she was the woman who had sent men with guns to his room.
Vanessa followed my gaze. She looked at Elias with absolute disgust.
“Take the watch from him,” Vanessa ordered the guard.
The guard stepped forward, violently ripping the gold pocket watch from Elias’s small hands. The boy whimpered, burying his face in my apron.
“That’s his father’s,” I spat at her.
“His father is gone,” Vanessa said, dropping the heavy gold watch into a desk drawer. She stood up, walking slowly around the desk until she was standing inches from me.
“You ruined my engagement dinner, Olivia. And for that, you and the bastard child are going to disappear. The guards will take you to the old docks. You’ll be in a shipping container bound for the bottom of Lake Michigan before dawn.”
She reached out, grabbing my injured, bandaged hand and squeezing it violently.
I screamed in agony, my knees buckling as fresh blood soaked through the white gauze.
Vanessa laughed. “Take them away.”
The guards grabbed my arms, dragging me and a crying Elias toward the door.
But before we could cross the threshold, the heavy wooden doors of the study burst open, smashing one of the guards violently in the face.
Standing in the doorway, bleeding from a cut on his forehead, his suit ruined and a high-powered assault rifle in his hands, was Adrian.
Vanessa shrieked, stumbling backward against the desk.
Adrian didn't hesitate. He fired a three-round burst, dropping the remaining guard instantly.
He lowered the rifle, stepping over the bodies, his eyes locked entirely on Vanessa.
“You missed,” Adrian said, his voice a low, terrifying rumble that shook the walls.
Vanessa scrambled backward, her hands wildly searching the top of the desk for a weapon. She found nothing.
“Adrian, please!” she cried, the false bravado instantly shattering. “They forced me! The guards, they turned on you!”
Adrian ignored her lies. He walked slowly toward her, an unstoppable force of vengeance.
I pulled Elias into the corner of the room, shielding his eyes from the violence.
Adrian stopped right in front of Vanessa. He reached out, grabbing the heavy diamond heirloom necklace around her neck.
“You don't deserve this,” Adrian growled, ripping the necklace from her throat. The heavy clasp broke, diamonds scattering across the floor like frozen tears.
Vanessa collapsed to her knees, sobbing hysterically, begging for her life.
Adrian raised his rifle, aiming it directly at her head.
“Daddy, no.”
The small, quiet voice echoed through the silent study.
Adrian froze. He slowly turned his head.
Elias had stepped out from behind my apron. He was looking at Adrian, not with fear, but with a profound, innocent sadness.
It was the first time Elias had spoken. The first time he had acknowledged Adrian as his father.
Adrian stared at his son. His finger trembled on the trigger. He looked at Vanessa, sobbing on the floor, and then back at the boy who had already witnessed too much violence for one lifetime.
Slowly, agonizingly, Adrian lowered the rifle.
“You live,” Adrian whispered to Vanessa, his voice filled with absolute disgust. “Because my son will not see his father become a murderer.”
Adrian turned his back on her, walking toward me and Elias. He dropped the rifle, falling to his knees and pulling Elias into a tight, desperate embrace.
But as Adrian hugged his son, I saw Vanessa’s eyes shift.
She wasn't looking at Adrian in gratitude. She was looking at the floor near the fallen guard.
May you like
Her hand darted out, grabbing the guard's dropped handgun.
“Adrian, look out!” I screamed.
