Chapter 5 - THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS
Detective Vance looked down at Arthur Harris’s hands.
The lawyer immediately tried to hide his right hand under his leg, but a SWAT officer grabbed his wrist, yanking it up into the harsh light. A clear, dark smear of blue ink stained his index finger and thumb.
“You forged it,” Vance said, his face hardening.
“Vanessa made me!” Arthur screamed, struggling against the zip-ties. “She came to my townhouse two hours ago! She dictated the entry and forced me to write it in Claire’s old diary! She said if I didn't frame Luca, she would release the embezzlement files!”
Luca shook off the officers who were holding his arms. Vance didn't stop him.
“Vanessa set a trap,” Luca said, his voice echoing in the cavernous room. “She wanted me arrested tonight. She needed me in police custody.”
“Why?” I asked, my heart pounding. “She already drained the accounts. She has the money. Why does she need you in jail?”
Luca’s dark eyes met mine, and the sheer terror I saw in them made my blood run cold.
“Because the trust funds require a twenty-four-hour hold for international transfers,” Luca said rapidly. “If I'm out here, I can freeze the accounts by morning. But if I'm sitting in a jail cell without a phone…”
“She gets away with forty million dollars,” Vance finished, signaling his men to lower their weapons.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s not just the money. When she broke into Noah’s room tonight, she didn't just take the adoption decree. Daniel said she tore the room apart.”
I looked at Luca. “Noah’s passport was in his bedside table. Did Daniel say if it was still there?”
Luca grabbed his radio. “Daniel! Check Noah’s room. Is his passport missing?”
A tense second passed.
“Boss,” Daniel’s voice cracked over the radio. “The passport is gone. And sir… there’s something else.”
“What?”
“Noah isn't in the panic room.”
The floor seemed to drop out from beneath me.
“What do you mean he isn't in the panic room?!” Luca roared. “You took him down there yourself!”
“I did, sir! I locked the heavy doors. But the emergency override was triggered from the outside. The steel doors opened, and he ran out. The cameras show him running into the west wing hallway, but then the feed cuts out.”
“Vanessa has an accomplice inside the house,” Luca realized, his face turning a sickly shade of pale. “Arthur told us she was working for someone in my family. Someone who gave her the security protocols.”
“Who?” I demanded, turning to Arthur. “Tell us right now, or I will let Luca kill you!”
Arthur sobbed, his head falling forward. “It was Marco. Your brother, Luca. Marco is alive.”
The name sucked the air out of the room.
“Marco died in a boating accident five years ago,” Luca said, stepping toward Arthur, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were white. “I identified his personal effects.”
“He faked it,” Arthur choked out. “Marco hated that your father left the empire to you. He hated that you went legitimate while he wanted the street money. He orchestrated Claire’s crash to break you. He hired Vanessa to infiltrate your life. And tonight, he’s taking your son.”
“They’re kidnapping Noah,” I gasped, the room spinning.
Luca didn't say another word. He sprinted out of the warehouse, throwing himself into the driver’s seat of the SUV. I ran after him, pulling myself inside just as he slammed the truck into reverse.
The drive back to the estate was a blur of flashing police lights, as Detective Vance and his SWAT team followed right behind us.
When we burst through the shattered front gates of the mansion, the estate was in total darkness. The power had been cut.
Luca threw the truck in park on the front lawn and kicked the door open, his gun drawn. “Daniel!”
Daniel emerged from the shadows of the porch, bleeding from a cut above his eye. “They ambushed us in the dark, Boss. It’s Marco. He has six men with him. They’re heavily armed.”
“Where is my son?” Luca demanded.
“They dragged him into the grand foyer. They’ve barricaded the front doors. Marco said if we breach the house, he kills the boy.”
I let out a ragged sob, pressing my hand over my mouth.
Luca turned to the house. His massive, beautiful home had become a fortress holding his only child hostage.
“Detective Vance,” Luca said, his voice devoid of all emotion. It was the voice of a man who was preparing to die. “Set up a perimeter. Do not let anyone leave this property.”
“Moretti, wait,” Vance warned. “We have negotiators—”
“This isn't a negotiation,” Luca said. He looked at me. “Eleanor. Four years ago, I promised Claire I would protect our son with my life. I am going to keep that promise tonight.”
“I’m coming with you,” I said, stepping forward.
“No.”
“He is my grandson, Luca! You cannot ask me to wait out here in the dark while my daughter's murderers hold him!”
Luca looked at my fierce, tear-stained face. He reached out and gently squeezed my shoulder.
“There is an old prohibition tunnel beneath the greenhouse,” Luca whispered, pointing toward the glass structure in the garden. “It leads directly up into the library, behind the bookshelves. It bypasses the main security grid.”
He handed me a heavy flashlight.
“I will breach the front to draw their fire. You go through the tunnel. When you get into the library, lock the heavy oak doors from the inside. They won't expect anyone to come from behind.”
I gripped the flashlight, my knuckles white. “Bring him back to me, Luca.”
“I will,” he promised.
Luca turned and walked directly toward the front doors, raising his weapon.
I ran through the pouring rain toward the greenhouse, the mud ruining my Sunday dress. I found the hidden iron grate beneath the potting soil, pulled it open with all my remaining strength, and descended into the dark tunnel.
I walked for what felt like miles in the damp earth, my heart pounding in my ears. Finally, my light hit a wooden ladder.
I climbed up, pushing against a hidden panel. The bookcase in the library swung open with a quiet click.
I stepped into the dark library.
And froze.
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Sitting in Claire’s blue armchair, illuminated by a single flash of lightning outside the window, was Vanessa Whitmore.
And she was pointing a gun directly at my chest.
