Chapter 8 - THE WAREHOUSE ON 4TH STREET
The rain started falling just as Luca's black SUV pulled up to the abandoned warehouse on 4th Street.
It was a decaying brick building, its windows boarded up with rotting wood. There was no sign, no lights, nothing to indicate it was a medical clinic.
Because it wasn't.
Luca stepped out of the vehicle. Four heavily armed men from his syndicate stepped out of the cars behind him.
"No noise," Luca ordered quietly. "I want them alive."
He walked to the heavy metal side door. It was locked.
One of the men stepped forward with a pair of bolt cutters and snapped the heavy padlock.
Luca pushed the door open and stepped into the darkness.
The smell hit him immediately. Antiseptic mixed with mold and stale blood.
He moved silently down a long, concrete hallway. Faint light spilled from a room at the far end.
Luca signaled for his men to wait. He walked toward the light alone.
Inside the makeshift office, sitting at a metal desk, was a man in his late sixties. He was wearing a stained white doctor's coat, counting stacks of hundred-dollar bills.
Dr. Arthur Vance.
"You're short fifty," a woman's voice said from the corner of the room.
Vanessa stepped out of the shadows. She was no longer wearing the red silk gown. She wore a dark trench coat, her hair tied back severely.
Around her wrist, catching the harsh light of the exposed bulb, was a thick gold bracelet with a massive emerald clasp.
Luca’s mother’s bracelet.
"I'm not short," Dr. Vance sneered. "I kept the kid quiet for three days, just like you asked. I even forged the transfer papers for the old woman. That costs extra."
"You idiot," Vanessa hissed. "The kid ran away! He's probably back at the estate right now. If Luca finds out—"
"If Luca finds out, you tell him I acted alone," Vance said, stuffing the money into a briefcase. "I'm leaving for Mexico tonight anyway."
"You're not going anywhere," Vanessa said coldly.
She pulled a small silver handgun from her coat pocket and aimed it directly at the doctor's chest.
Vance froze. "Vanessa, put the gun down. Your father wouldn't—"
"My father is dead!" Vanessa screamed. "And his debts are drowning me! I am this close to securing the Moretti trust. I just needed the old woman gone and the kid locked up! You ruined everything!"
"I didn't ruin anything," Vance spat. "I did your family's dirty work thirty years ago! I gave Maria Moretti the fatal dose so your father could take over the docks! You owe me!"
A cold metallic click echoed through the room.
Vanessa spun around.
Vance dropped his briefcase.
Luca stepped into the doorway, his pistol aimed directly at Vanessa's head.
"Hello, Vanessa," Luca said softly.
Vanessa’s face went completely white. The gun in her hand began to shake violently.
"Luca," she gasped. "I... I can explain."
"You just did," Luca replied.
He didn't look at her. He looked at the doctor.
Vance backed against the wall, holding up his hands. "Moretti... listen to me. I was threatened. Her father—"
"My mother trusted you," Luca said, his voice breaking for the first time. "She was terrified of doctors. But she trusted you."
"Luca, please!" Vanessa cried out. "I love you! I did this for us! To protect our future!"
Luca finally looked at her.
He lowered his gun.
Vanessa let out a massive sigh of relief, thinking she had manipulated him one last time. She lowered her own weapon.
"Thank God," she whispered, taking a step toward him. "Luca, we can handle this quietly. No one has to know."
Luca stared at her.
"Take off the bracelet."
Vanessa stopped. She instinctively covered the gold jewelry on her wrist.
"Luca, it's just a trinket. I bought it in—"
"Take it off," Luca roared, the sound vibrating off the concrete walls.
Vanessa scrambled to unfasten the clasp. Her fingers slipped, but she finally got it open. The heavy gold bracelet dropped to the floor with a clatter.
"Good," Luca said softly.
He stepped aside.
From the dark hallway behind him, Agnes Miller walked into the room.
Vanessa stared in shock.
Agnes looked at the doctor who had killed her dearest friend. She looked at the woman who had tried to lock her away in a foreign country.
Then she walked over and picked up the gold bracelet from the floor.
She looked at Vanessa.
"You told me I dropped my fork because I was too old and useless to function," Agnes said quietly.
Agnes held out her hand. It was trembling slightly, but her grip on the bracelet was iron-clad.
"I may drop a fork, Miss Bellini. But I never dropped my loyalty to this family."
Agnes turned to Luca.
"I want them gone, Luca. Out of our city."
Luca nodded.
He raised his hand. His men flooded into the room.
"Take them," Luca ordered. "Empty the Bellini bank accounts. Take their properties. Leave them on the street with absolutely nothing."
Vanessa screamed as the men grabbed her arms, dragging her toward the door.
"Luca! You can't do this to me! We're engaged!"
Luca didn't even look back as she was pulled into the darkness.
May you like
He walked over to Agnes and gently placed his arm around her fragile shoulders.
"Let's go home, Agnes," he said.
