Chapter 6 - THE ORPHANAGE
Daniel’s phone beeped.
He looked at the screen. “Neighbor confirmed. Your mom is fine, Julia. She was watching TV. No sign of Chloe anywhere near the apartment.”
I let out a sob of relief, clutching my injured shoulder as the adrenaline crashed.
They had bluffed.
“They wanted you paralyzed with fear so you wouldn’t chase them,” Luca said, staring at the flashing red dot on his computer monitor.
The GPS tracker in the fake watch was moving rapidly south.
“Are they heading for O’Hare?” Daniel asked, pulling on a tactical jacket.
“No,” Luca said, his brow furrowing as he watched the screen. “They’re bypassing the highway entirely. They’re heading deep into the South Side.”
Teresa walked closer, squinting at the map.
“Luca,” she whispered. “That’s St. Jude’s parish.”
Luca froze.
“Why would Vanessa go to an abandoned Catholic parish at eleven o’clock at night with millions of dollars in stolen bearer bonds?”
“We’re going to find out,” Luca said.
He turned to me.
“Julia, you stay here with Teresa. Keep the doors locked.”
“No.”
The word left my mouth before I could stop it.
Luca stopped. He looked at me, surprised.
“She threatened to burn my mother alive, Mr. Moretti,” I said, my voice shaking but resolute. “She shoved me. She broke your aunt’s heart. I am not sitting in a guest room waiting to see what she does next.”
Luca studied my face.
For the first time all night, the ghost of a smile touched his lips.
“Daniel,” Luca said, not taking his eyes off me. “Get the car.”
Twenty minutes later, the black SUV cut its headlights as we rolled to a stop half a block from St. Jude’s Parish.
The sprawling brick building next to the church used to be an orphanage, closed down years ago.
Vanessa’s black sedan was parked outside, idling in the rain.
Luca and Daniel slipped out of the SUV, moving silently toward the rusted iron gates. I followed closely behind them, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Through the cracked stained-glass window of the old rectory, a dim light flickered.
Luca peered inside.
He went completely rigid.
“Boss?” Daniel whispered.
Luca didn’t answer. He just stepped back, his face pale.
I peeked through the glass.
Inside the dusty, abandoned room, Vanessa was standing with her sister, Chloe.
But they weren’t alone.
Standing across from them were three heavily tattooed men wearing leather jackets. The leader had a jagged scar across his throat.
“The Rossi family,” Daniel breathed. “The biggest rival syndicate in Chicago.”
Vanessa wasn’t stealing the money to run away and live in luxury.
She was handing the stolen bearer bonds directly to the scar-faced man.
“Here,” Vanessa said, her voice carrying through the broken window. “Two million in bonds. This clears my father’s debt. We’re done.”
The Rossi boss laughed. “Not quite, princess. The debt was three million. You’re short.”
“I’ll have the rest tomorrow!” Vanessa pleaded. “Once I marry Moretti, I’ll have access to all of it!”
“I don’t like waiting,” the man growled.
He snapped his fingers.
One of his thugs stepped out of the shadows.
He was dragging a little boy by the arm.
The boy couldn’t have been more than six years old. He was wearing faded pajamas, clutching a worn teddy bear, and sobbing silently.
When the boy looked up into the dim light, my breath caught.
He had dark, wavy hair.
May you like
And unmistakable, piercing dark eyes.
He looked exactly like Luca.
