Chapter 6 - THE CHILD’S DRAWING
The drawing was crumpled and old, drawn in bright crayon on cheap construction paper.
It was a picture of a little girl in blue scrubs, holding the hand of a tall man in a dark suit.
Anna’s drawing from when she was five years old.
Luca looked at the drawing, then at Anna and Matteo hiding beside him.
He had spent seven years mourning the past. He wasn’t going to let grief steal the future.
He looked at me.
“Your father saved my wife’s legacy,” Luca whispered. “I will not let his wife die.”
Luca stood up from behind the bar, his hands raised in surrender.
“Don’t shoot!” Luca yelled.
Victor grinned, a predator tasting blood. “Smart man, Luca. Toss the card.”
“Let the woman go first,” Luca demanded.
Victor scoffed. “I don’t think you’re in a position to negotiate.”
“I’m in the only position,” Luca said coldly. “If you shoot her, I’ll crush this card under my heel. The Commission will have it by morning.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
He calculated the risk.
He shoved my mother forward.
She stumbled, falling to her knees near the center of the ruined dining room.
“Mom!” I cried, rushing out from behind the bar.
I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her tightly against my chest. She was trembling violently, but she was unhurt.
“Get her back,” Luca ordered me softly.
I pulled my mother toward the service hallway, shielding her with my body.
Luca held up the tiny white memory card.
“The deal is done, Victor. Take it and get out of my city.”
Luca tossed the bead across the marble floor.
It slid, stopping exactly at Victor’s expensive leather shoes.
Victor bent down and picked it up.
He examined the white paint, the small metallic contacts.
He let out a deep, victorious laugh.
“You always were weak, Luca,” Victor sneered. “You gave up your empire for a maid’s mother.”
Victor put the card in his pocket.
Then he raised his gun and pointed it directly at Luca’s chest.
“Did you really think I’d leave witnesses?”
Anna screamed. Matteo lunged forward.
But Victor pulled the trigger.
Click.
Nothing happened.
Victor frowned. He pulled it again.
Click. Click.
The gun was jammed.
Victor looked down at his weapon in confusion.
Then, the captured security chief standing next to Victor slowly lowered his hands.
The chief reached into his own jacket, pulled out a second gun, and pressed it directly against Victor’s ribs.
“The boss told me to remove the firing pin from your spare before I let you in, Victor,” the security chief said calmly.
Victor froze.
Luca straightened his suit jacket, brushing a piece of glass off his lapel.
“You think my own men would betray me?” Luca asked, walking slowly toward Victor. “You think I didn’t know Vanessa was snooping through my safe for six months?”
Luca stopped inches from Victor’s face.
“I let you into my home tonight so the Commission could see exactly who broke the peace.”
Suddenly, the massive front doors of the mansion opened again.
Five elderly men in immaculate tailored suits walked into the foyer.
They were the heads of the Commission.
Victor’s face went entirely white.
“No,” Victor whispered.
“Yes,” Luca said. “And by the way, Victor. That white bead you just put in your pocket? It’s not a memory card.”
Luca held up the actual memory card in his left hand.
“That was just a breath mint.”
Victor’s men immediately dropped their weapons. They knew better than to fight the Commission.
Two enforcers grabbed Victor by the arms, dragging him away.
Vanessa was sobbing hysterically as she was pulled out behind her father.
The threat was gone.
The house was quiet.
I held my mother, crying tears of sheer relief.
Luca walked over to us.
He knelt down in the glass-covered marble.
He looked at my mother.
“Clara,” Luca said gently. “It’s time to tell Emma the truth.”
May you like
My mother looked at Luca, tears streaming down her face.
Then she reached into her canvas tote bag and pulled out a faded, silver-framed photograph.
