Chapter 4 - THE GHOST IN THE HOUSE
I slapped my hand over my own mouth to stop the gasp from escaping.
Leo clung to my leg in the pitch-black shaft, his tiny body trembling.
Through the crack in the stone, I watched Luca stare at the man who had just walked into the room.
Antonio Moretti. The ruthless patriarch who had supposedly succumbed to cancer two decades ago. He looked older, his hair completely white, leaning heavily on a silver-handled cane, but his eyes were sharp and merciless.
“You’re dead,” Luca whispered, taking a step back.
“Death is a very useful tool, Luca,” Antonio said smoothly, walking further into the room. “It provides clarity. It allows a man to see who is truly loyal to him. And clearly, you have lost control of this family.”
Answer one: Vanessa wasn’t acting alone or just for her own family. She was working for Luca’s father, who had been pulling the strings from the shadows for twenty years.
Open one: Why did Antonio fake his death?
Open two: Why did he have his own sister, Sofia, locked up?
“You locked Aunt Sofia in here,” Luca said, his voice vibrating with a rage I had never heard before. “You made the entire family mourn her. You made me mourn my mother. You made me mourn Matteo!”
Antonio sighed, leaning on his cane. “Your mother asked too many questions. Sofia was weak and sentimental. And Matteo? Matteo was a fool who fell in love with a civilian and got her pregnant. He compromised the bloodline.”
My blood ran cold. Antonio had killed his own son to protect his empire. And now he was looking for Leo.
“Where is the maid, Luca?” Antonio asked, glancing around the empty room. “And where is the bastard child?”
Reversal: Antonio didn’t care about Vanessa or the Bellini family’s money. He was using Vanessa to flush out Leo, so he could eliminate the final threat to his absolute control.
“They’re gone,” Luca lied smoothly, his eyes never leaving his father’s face. “You’re too late.”
Antonio smiled. It was a terrifying, hollow expression. “Nothing happens in my city without my permission. Rossi has Sofia at the harbor. If you want to see your beloved aunt alive one last time, you’ll tell me where the boy is.”
Luca didn’t speak. He glanced, just for a fraction of a second, toward the fireplace.
Antonio saw it.
The old man raised his hand, pointing a finger directly at the stone wall hiding us. “Tear it open.”
“Move,” I whispered to Leo.
I didn’t wait to see what happened next. I scooped the six-year-old into my arms and began rushing down the narrow, steep stairs of the hidden shaft. Dust choked my throat, and the air smelled of damp earth and rot.
Above us, the heavy sound of sledgehammers hitting the stone echoed down the tunnel. They were breaking through.
We hit the bottom of the stairs and spilled out into the sprawling, cavernous wine cellar. It was dimly lit by a few emergency bulbs. Racks of expensive vintages stretched out like a maze.
“Rachel, I’m scared,” Leo whimpered, burying his face in my neck.
“I know, buddy. But we have to be brave for your dad. Okay?”
I hurried through the aisles, heading for the heavy iron door that led to the underground garage. If we could just get to the black SUV, we could escape. We could go to the police.
I pushed the iron door open.
The garage was silent. The black SUV was parked exactly where Luca said it would be.
I ran to the passenger side, opening the door and buckling Leo in. “Stay down,” I ordered him. “Do not pop your head up.”
I ran around to the driver’s side, yanking the door open. The keys were in the ignition. I twisted them. The engine roared to life.
I slammed the car into reverse.
Suddenly, a heavy thud shook the vehicle.
I hit the brakes, throwing my arm across Leo.
Standing directly behind the car, blocking the exit ramp, was Vanessa.
She wasn’t wearing her red satin gown anymore. She was wearing a sleek black coat, and in her right hand, she held a suppressed pistol aimed directly at my windshield.
But it was what she was holding in her left hand that made my stomach drop entirely.
It was a delicate gold bracelet with three small charms.
May you like
I reached for my wrist. My pulse pounded. The bracelet my mother had given me before she passed away was gone.
Vanessa smiled, raising the gun. “Get out of the car, Rachel. Or I start shooting.”
