Chapter 4 - THE HEAVY GOLD BRACELET
The drive to the docks was a blur of neon lights and freezing rain.
I sat in the passenger seat of Luca’s armored SUV, shivering violently despite the blasting heat. I had stripped off my white apron, wearing only my simple black dress, feeling entirely out of place next to the heavily armed mafia boss behind the wheel.
“Why my mother?” I asked quietly, staring out the window at the dark ocean approaching. “Of all the people he could have used for leverage… why target a maid’s family?”
Luca kept his eyes on the slick road, his jaw clenched tight.
“Matteo is smart,” Luca said. “He knows I have fifty men guarding my assets, my lieutenants, and my accounts. But he also knew you were serving dinner tonight. He knew you were observant. He engineered this whole night so you would expose Sophia.”
I turned to look at him. “He wanted me to find the locket?”
“Yes,” Luca said. “If Matteo had just sent a ransom note, I would have sent an army to burn the city down. He needed me off-balance. He needed me to realize Sophia betrayed me first, so I would isolate myself from my own security.”
Luca slowed the SUV as we approached Pier 4.
The midnight ferry was a massive, rusted vessel swaying gently in the dark water. The docks were completely empty, shrouded in thick coastal fog.
“Stay close to me,” Luca ordered, unholstering his weapon as he cut the engine. “Do exactly what I say. If shooting starts, you drop to the ground and cover your head.”
I nodded, my throat too dry to speak.
We stepped out into the freezing rain. The wind whipped off the water, cutting through my thin dress like a knife.
We boarded the ferry. It was completely deserted. The engines were humming, but there was no crew in sight.
Luca moved with terrifying precision, sweeping the lower deck, his gun raised, checking every shadow.
“Matteo!” Luca’s voice boomed over the empty deck, echoing into the fog. “I’m here! I came alone with the girl! Show yourself!”
Silence.
We climbed the metal stairs to the upper passenger cabin.
The glass doors were unlocked. Luca pushed them open, leading me inside.
The cabin was dimly lit, rows of empty vinyl seats stretching back into the gloom.
But sitting in the very center row, illuminated by a single overhead bulb, was a small figure.
“Mom?!” I screamed, breaking away from Luca and sprinting down the aisle.
“Mia, wait!” Luca yelled.
I didn’t care. I reached the figure and fell to my knees, sobbing in relief.
But as I reached out to touch her, my heart stopped completely.
It wasn’t my mother.
It was a mannequin. Dressed in my mother’s favorite floral cardigan.
“No,” I whispered, stumbling backward. “No, no, no.”
Luca ran up behind me, his gun aimed into the shadows. He saw the mannequin and let out a vicious curse in Italian.
“It’s a distraction,” Luca growled, grabbing my arm to pull me away. “We have to get off this boat.”
But before we could take a step, a heavy metallic clank echoed through the cabin.
I looked down at the mannequin’s wrist.
Resting over the sleeve of the cardigan was a heavy gold bracelet. It was thick, intricately carved with lions, and gleamed dully in the low light.
Luca froze. His eyes locked onto the bracelet.
“That’s impossible,” Luca breathed, the color draining from his face.
“What is it?” I asked, terrified by the sudden vulnerability in his voice.
“That bracelet,” Luca said, his voice trembling. “It belonged to my father. He gave it to Matteo the day he turned eighteen. Matteo swore he would never take it off.”
Luca reached out tentatively and picked the heavy gold band off the mannequin’s wrist.
As he lifted it, a small folded piece of paper slipped from underneath it and fluttered to the floor.
I bent down and picked it up.
I opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
It was old, slightly faded. It showed two women sitting on a park bench, laughing.
One of the women was unmistakably Elena. Luca’s beautiful, tragic wife.
The other woman was my mother. Evelyn Carter. Looking ten years younger, healthy, and vibrant.
My mind short-circuited.
“Luca,” I whispered, holding the photo out to him. “My mother knew your wife.”
Luca took the photo. He stared at it, his breathing becoming shallow.
“That park,” Luca said, pointing to the background of the image. “That’s the private garden behind the Oakwood Care Center. The place your mother lives.”
“My mother didn’t live there ten years ago,” I said, my voice rising in panic. “She was the head nurse there.”
Luca slowly turned his head to look at me. The realization hitting him was like a physical blow.
“Elena was secretly visiting the Oakwood Care Center before she died,” Luca whispered. “And your mother was her nurse.”
Suddenly, the loud blast of the ferry horn shattered the silence.
The engines roared to life, violently vibrating the metal deck beneath our feet. The boat began to pull away from the dock.
“We’re moving,” I panicked.
“Drop your weapons, Luca.”
The voice came from the shadows at the back of the cabin.
We both spun around.
Stepping into the dim light was a man holding a shotgun, aimed directly at my chest.
It wasn’t Matteo.
It was Marcus. Luca’s massive head of security.
May you like
“Marcus?” Luca said, stepping in front of me, shielding me with his body. “You’re behind this?”
“Put the gun on the floor, Boss,” Marcus said coldly, racking the shotgun. “Sophia pays well, but she’s an idiot. I’m the one who orchestrated this night. And you’re both going to die on this boat.”
