Chapter 4 - THE MECHANIC'S DAUGHTER
The rain lashed against the kitchen windows, casting fractured shadows across the stainless-steel counters.
Luca stood blocking the doorway, his hand still resting on the weapon beneath his jacket. He didn't move. He didn't blink.
"Step inside, Sterling," Luca commanded.
The lawyer hurried out of the storm, dripping water onto the pristine tile floor. He looked terrified. Arthur Sterling had handled the Moretti family’s legitimate legal affairs for a decade, but he rarely showed up at the estate unannounced at midnight.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Moretti," Sterling stammered, wiping his wet glasses. "I wouldn't have come like this, but I intercepted a file transfer from Vanessa Bellini’s father’s firm. They were running a deep background check."
"On me?" Luca asked coldly.
"No." Sterling pointed a trembling finger at me. "On her."
I shrank back against the kitchen island. "Me? Why would they care about me? Miss Vanessa already knew about my mother's clinic."
"They weren't looking at your mother's medical bills, Rachel," Sterling said, setting his wet briefcase on the counter. He popped the latches. "They were looking at your father."
The air left my lungs.
"My father died when I was six," I whispered. "He was a mechanic."
Sterling pulled out a thick, water-damaged manila folder and slid it across the marble counter.
"Your father, David Morgan, was a mechanic, yes. But he didn't just fix regular cars. He was the head mechanic for the Rossi family garage."
Luca went completely still.
Even I knew the name Rossi. Everyone in Chicago knew the name. They were the rival faction, the family that had been locked in a cold war with the Morettis for twenty years.
"He was a civilian," I said, my voice shaking. "He just fixed engines."
"He fixed the engines of the cars they used for jobs," Luca said quietly, staring at the file. He looked up at me, his eyes searching my face. "Did you know this?"
"No! I swear to you, Mr. Moretti. My mother never spoke of his work. He died in a garage fire when I was little."
"It wasn't a random fire," Sterling said softly. "The Bellini family lawyers found the old police reports. The fire was arson. Covered up by the Rossis to tie up loose ends. But that's not why Vanessa's father is pulling these files."
"Then why?" Luca demanded.
Sterling pulled a second document from his briefcase. It was a photocopy of a heavily redacted contract.
"Because of this. Four years ago, a mechanic at that exact same Rossi-controlled garage was paid forty thousand dollars in cash by a shell company."
"For what?" I asked.
"To tamper with the brake lines of a 2020 Mercedes SUV," Sterling said.
The silence in the kitchen was absolute. The only sound was the rain beating against the glass.
Luca's face drained of color.
A 2020 Mercedes SUV.
The car Caroline Moretti had died in.
"My God," I whispered, covering my mouth.
"Vanessa's family owns the shell company," Sterling explained rapidly, his eyes darting to Luca. "The Bellinis paid for the sabotage. They orchestrated Caroline's death so Vanessa could slide in, marry you, and merge their family's wealth with your empire."
Luca didn't shout. He didn't move.
He just stared at the piece of paper. The paper that proved his wife hadn't died in an accident. She had been murdered by the woman he had almost married tonight.
"Why pull Rachel's file, then?" Luca asked, his voice entirely devoid of emotion.
"Because the mechanic who cut the brakes four years ago," Sterling said, looking at me with pity, "was your older brother, Michael Morgan."
The floor seemed to tilt beneath me.
"No," I gasped, grabbing the edge of the counter to stay standing. "No, Michael hasn't lived in Chicago in years. He moved to Seattle. He sends me postcards."
"He lied to you, Rachel," Sterling said gently. "He never left Chicago. He took up your father's old mantle at the Rossi garage. The Bellinis found out. Vanessa realized that if you ever talked about your brother to Luca, the connection might be made. That's why she was so desperate to fire you tonight. You were a loose end she didn't know existed until this week."
I looked at Luca. I expected to see rage. I expected him to pull his gun and kill me right there in the kitchen. My blood was tied to the man who murdered his wife.
Instead, Luca looked at me with a strange, tragic understanding.
"You didn't know," he said softly.
"I didn't," I sobbed, tears streaming down my face. "I swear on my mother's life, Mr. Moretti. I haven't seen Michael in five years. I thought he was working in construction."
Luca walked around the counter. He didn't reach for his weapon. He reached out and placed a steady, grounding hand on my shoulder.
"Breathe, Rachel."
"I have to leave," I panicked, pulling off my apron. "I have to get out of your house. Your men—they'll think I'm a spy. They'll think I set you up."
"Nobody touches you," Luca said, his voice ringing with absolute authority. "You saved my daughter tonight. You stood between her and a weapon. You are under my protection."
He turned to the lawyer. "Sterling. How long until the Bellinis realize you intercepted this file?"
"By morning," the lawyer said, wiping his brow. "As soon as their IT department logs on, they'll see the bounce-back. Vanessa's father will know we have the proof of Caroline's murder."
"Which means they will try to strike first," Luca said. His eyes darkened, the mafia boss fully awakening. "They will come for Ava. And they will come for Michael, to silence the only witness."
"Mr. Moretti, please," I begged. "My brother is a fool, but he's my blood. Don't kill him."
Luca looked at me. "I don't want to kill him, Rachel. I want him to testify to the Five Families. I want him to confess publicly that the Bellinis broke the truce."
Before I could answer, my cell phone buzzed in my apron pocket.
It wasn't a number I recognized.
I hesitated, then answered it. "Hello?"
"Rachel," a voice rasped on the other end.
My blood ran cold. I hadn't heard that voice in five years.
"Michael?"
"Listen to me very carefully, Rach," my older brother panted. It sounded like he was running. Sirens wailed faintly in the background of the call. "You need to get out of that house right now."
"Michael, where are you? Luca’s men are looking for you to protect you!"
"Don't trust them!" Michael shouted, his voice cracking with panic. "Luca doesn't know the whole truth! The Bellinis paid me to cut the brakes, yes. But they didn't act alone!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Caroline Moretti was going to leave Luca, Rach! She had a lover. She was taking the kid and running away. The hit wasn't just Vanessa's idea to steal Luca. Someone inside the Moretti family wanted Caroline dead to stop her from taking the girl!"
The room spun. "Who?"
"I don't know the name!" Michael coughed violently. "But I have the proof. Caroline left a diary. I took it from the car before the police arrived. I hid it. I was going to use it for blackmail if they ever came after me."
"Where is it?" I demanded.
"It's buried in the greenhouse behind the old Rossi garage. You have to get it to the cops, Rach. Do not give it to Luca. If the traitor in his family finds out we know, they'll kill you and the girl!"
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed over the phone.
"Michael!" I screamed.
"They found me," he choked out. "Run, Rach. Protect the kid."
A gunshot rang out through the speaker.
Then, dead silence.
I dropped the phone. It clattered against the marble floor.
Luca stared at me. "Rachel? What did he say?"
Before I could answer, a small, terrified voice came from the doorway.
"Daddy?"
We all turned.
Ava was standing in the shadows of the kitchen hallway.
And in her hands, she was holding the old, worn leather saddle.
"Daddy," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I found a hidden zipper under the flap."
May you like
She reached inside the saddle and pulled out a small, tarnished silver rosary.
"It was hidden with the note," Ava cried. "And Daddy... it's covered in blood."
