Chapter 11 - THE OFFICER'S BADGE
"Salvatore," Luca snarled, his voice vibrating with absolute fury.
"I told you, Luca," Salvatore's voice echoed through the cold, steel vault. "My men bow to whoever writes the checks. The FBI agents who arrested me at your estate? They work for me. They brought me straight to the bank manager."
I backed against the wall, my chest heaving in panic.
We were locked in a subterranean airtight vault. There was no cell service. No way out.
"You're a dead man, Bellini!" Luca roared, slamming his fists against the titanium door.
"I'm a survivor," Salvatore corrected smoothly. "I accessed the box yesterday to remove Thomas Bennett's evidence. The only thing left was the tape, and I knew your little maid wouldn't be able to resist fetching it."
The intercom clicked.
"The oxygen in that vault will last approximately four hours for two people. Goodbye, Luca. Give my regards to Giovanni."
The speaker went dead.
Total silence returned, heavy and suffocating.
I slid down the cold brass wall and pulled my knees to my chest.
"We're going to die in here," I whispered, the reality crashing over me.
Luca didn't panic.
He walked over to me, knelt, and took both of my hands in his.
His hands were warm, steady, and incredibly strong.
"Olivia, look at me."
I raised my tear-filled eyes to meet his.
"You are not going to die in a bank vault," Luca promised, his voice an anchor in the terrifying dark. "Your father gave his life to save mine. I swear on his soul, I will get you out of here."
He stood up and began systematically examining the vault walls, running his hands over the seams of the metal plates.
"There's always a secondary ventilation shaft," Luca muttered, his eyes scanning the ceiling. "Federal regulations require it."
He found it in the far corner. A small, reinforced steel grate near the ceiling.
"I need a tool," Luca said. "Something strong enough to pry the bolts."
I scrambled to my feet.
I looked at the contents of Box 814 scattered on the table.
I picked up my father's silver police badge.
It was heavy, solid metal, with a sharp, pointed star at the top.
I handed it to him.
Luca looked at the badge, then at me, a profound understanding passing between us.
He used his jacket to grip the sharp edges of the star and wedged it beneath the steel bolts of the ventilation grate.
He pulled.
The muscles in his back and arms strained against his tailored shirt.
With a loud screech of metal, the first bolt snapped.
Then the second.
He ripped the grate off the wall.
"It's narrow," Luca said, looking into the dark shaft. "I can't fit. But you can."
I stared at the terrifyingly small tunnel.
"I can't leave you," I panicked.
"You have to," Luca commanded gently. "Crawl through. It leads to the main lobby HVAC. When you drop down, run. Don't look back. Find Daniel. Tell him what happened."
He hoisted me up by my waist.
I grabbed the edge of the shaft and pulled myself in.
The metal was freezing. It smelled of dust and old air.
I looked back down at him.
"Luca," I said, tears spilling down my cheeks.
He looked up at me, his dark eyes softer than I had ever seen them.
"Go, Olivia. Live."
I crawled.
I crawled until my knees bled and my hands were raw.
I navigated the maze of ductwork in pitch darkness, fueled entirely by adrenaline and the desperate need to save the man I realized I loved.
Finally, I saw light ahead.
I kicked through the flimsy aluminum vent cover and dropped onto the carpet of the bank lobby.
The room was dark. The manager was gone.
I ran to the front doors, grabbed a heavy brass stanchion, and smashed the glass.
I triggered the bank's silent alarms.
Within ten minutes, the street was flooded with police, but more importantly, Daniel's black SUVs tore onto the curb.
Daniel sprinted through the broken glass, fully recovered, holding a blowtorch.
"Where is he?!" Daniel shouted.
"The vault!" I screamed.
It took them forty agonizing minutes to cut through the titanium door.
When the heavy metal finally swung open, thick smoke from the torches cleared.
Luca was sitting on the floor, holding my father's bent police badge.
He looked up, exhausted but unharmed.
He saw me, dropped the badge, and stood up.
I ran into the vault and threw my arms around his neck, burying my face in his chest.
He wrapped his arms around me, holding me so tightly my feet left the floor.
"I told you," he whispered into my hair. "We survive."
Daniel stepped forward, his face grim.
"Boss. The FBI convoy transporting Salvatore never made it to holding. They vanished."
Luca didn't look surprised.
He slowly pulled back from our embrace, his eyes darkening with absolute resolve.
"He's running," Luca said. "But he can't hide."
Luca reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, blinking GPS tracker.
"What is that?" Daniel asked.
May you like
Luca smiled coldly.
"I slipped it into his jacket pocket back at the estate, right before I let the FBI take him."
