Chapter 8 - THE LEDGER IN THE ASHES
The tear gas was blinding and suffocating, but Luca moved with the precision of a man who had trained in darkness.
I pressed my face into my shoulder, coughing violently as the edges of the gas cloud brushed past us. Enzo pulled me back against the cold brick wall, shielding me as he aimed his shotgun into the haze.
Through the thick white smoke, the sounds of brutal, close-quarters combat echoed.
The heavy thud of fists. The clatter of assault rifles hitting the wet stone floor. The panicked screams of mercenaries who couldn't see the monster tearing them apart.
Within thirty seconds, it was over.
The smoke began to clear, pulled away by the draft from the sewer grate.
The four mercenaries were unconscious on the ground.
And Luca was standing over Dominic Silva.
Dominic was coughing, his eyes streaming with tears, scrambling backward like a cornered rat until his spine hit the rusted iron grate of the sewer exit.
Luca didn't hold a gun. He held the small, ceramic blade Dominic had used to kill the guards upstairs.
“You poisoned my mother while she lay helpless in a bed,” Luca said, his voice a chilling, hollow rasp. “You orchestrated a bomb that nearly tore my brother in half. And you stole the food from children’s mouths.”
Luca knelt down, grabbing Dominic by the lapels of his ruined suit, pulling him close.
“I should cut your throat right here.”
Dominic choked, tears of pain and gas streaming down his face. But even in defeat, the arrogant snake couldn't resist striking one last time.
“Go ahead,” Dominic wheezed, a bloody smile cracking his lips. “Kill me. But it won't change the truth, Luca. The forged letter is already gone.”
Luca froze. “What?”
Dominic laughed, a wet, rattling sound. “I mailed the letter to the head of the Commission three hours ago. By tomorrow morning, the Five Families will read it. They will declare you a bastard. They will strip you of the Moretti name, and they will slaughter you and your brother.”
My stomach plummeted.
If the Commission believed the forged letter stating Luca’s mother was a mistress, the empire would collapse entirely. The Morettis would be hunted.
Luca’s grip on the ceramic blade tightened until his knuckles turned white.
“You’re bluffing,” Enzo said, stepping forward, his shotgun aimed at Dominic’s chest.
“Am I?” Dominic sneered. “The envelope is sitting in Carmine’s mailbox right now. You’ve lost, boys. You won the fight, but you lost the war.”
Luca raised the blade. He was going to end it.
“Wait!” a voice called out.
We all turned.
Evelyn Hayes walked slowly through the clearing smoke, pulling the wet rag from her face. She looked exhausted, her gray hair plastered to her forehead, but her eyes were sharp and clear.
She walked directly up to Dominic.
She looked down at the man who had fired her, threatened her son, and murdered her patient.
“You mailed an envelope to Carmine today?” Evelyn asked quietly.
Dominic glared at her. “Yes, you stupid old woman. The letter your precious Caroline was too weak to destroy.”
Evelyn reached into the deep pocket of her worn trench coat.
“Was it a thick, manila envelope?” she asked. “With a red wax seal?”
Dominic’s bloody smile faltered. “How do you know that?”
Evelyn pulled a thick, manila envelope from her pocket. The red wax seal was unbroken.
Dominic’s eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated terror.
“No,” he choked out. “That’s impossible. I put it in the outgoing mail safe in the study.”
Evelyn nodded.
“You did,” she said simply. “But you forgot something, Dominic. You forgot who cleans the study.”
She turned and looked at me.
My heart skipped a beat.
I looked at Evelyn, then at the envelope in her hand.
“I didn't take it,” I stammered, confused.
“No, you didn't,” Evelyn smiled gently. “But your mother did.”
Luca stood up, staring at me. “Your mother?”
I was completely lost. “My mother hasn't been in this house in two years!”
Evelyn shook her head. “Not your mother, Maria. My mother.”
She looked at Dominic.
“Twenty years ago, you threatened my life, Dominic. But you didn't know I had an older sister. A sister who worked as the head housekeeper for the Moretti estate for ten years before she retired.”
I gasped.
“Aunt Rosa,” I whispered.
My Aunt Rosa had been the head housekeeper here before she passed away. She was the one who had recommended me for the job.
“Rosa knew everything,” Evelyn said. “She knew you were a traitor. She couldn't expose you without proof, but she spent years subtly moving things, watching your habits. She told Maria to take this job because she knew Maria would be invisible to you.”
Evelyn handed the envelope to Luca.
“I asked Maria’s mother to get a message to Maria last week. To watch the outgoing safe. But Maria’s mother was moved to the care facility before she could tell her.”
Evelyn looked at Dominic.
“So, I came myself. I took the envelope off the mail cart in the hallway while you were busy giving your engagement speech.”
Dominic stared at the envelope in Luca’s hand.
His final trump card. His insurance policy. Gone.
He let out a pathetic, broken sob, collapsing onto the wet stones.
Luca didn't look at the defeated man anymore. He didn't need to kill him. Dominic Silva was dead in every way that mattered.
Luca looked at Evelyn.
Then he looked at me.
“Maria,” Luca said softly.
“Yes, sir?” I replied, my voice shaking with awe.
“Call the police. Tell them we caught the man who has been embezzling from the children’s charity.”
I smiled.
“Yes, sir.”
Luca turned to Evelyn.
“Mrs. Hayes,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “It’s time to go upstairs. We have a lot to talk about.”
May you like
But before we could move, a heavy, metallic clank echoed from the sewer grate behind Dominic.
Someone was opening the heavy iron door from the outside.
