Chapter 4 - THE BLUE TICKET
“What do you mean Henry took her?” Luca’s voice cracked like a whip in the silent bank room.
“We were transferring them to a new vehicle,” Daniel said, breathing heavily. “A black sedan cut us off in the alley. Henry was driving. He pulled a weapon, grabbed Madison, and drove off before we could get a clear shot. He didn't even try for the boy.”
“Keep Leo moving. Do not stop until I call you.”
Luca hung up, grabbing the photograph and the blue train ticket, shoving them into his coat pocket.
He stormed out of the bank.
Henry hadn't taken the boy because the boy wasn't leverage.
Madison was.
Luca drove back to the estate, his mind racing. Henry had worked there for fifteen years. He knew every security blind spot, every hidden camera, every exit.
When Luca arrived, Vanessa was sitting in the dining room, casually eating breakfast as if nothing had happened.
“Good morning, darling,” she smiled, pouring a cup of coffee. “Did you sleep well? I checked your room, but you weren't there.”
Luca walked slowly toward the table.
He didn't yell. He didn't pull a weapon.
He reached into his pocket and dropped the photograph of Vanessa and Henry onto her plate.
Vanessa’s smile froze.
She looked down at the picture of her holding baby Leo, with Henry’s arm around her.
The color completely drained from her face.
“Where is Madison?” Luca asked, his voice dangerously calm.
Vanessa swallowed, her perfect facade cracking.
“I... I don't know what you’re talking about.”
Luca leaned over the table, placing both hands flat on the mahogany surface.
“My mother knew, Vanessa. She knew Henry was your father. She knew Leo was your son. And she left the proof in a lockbox.”
Vanessa backed away, her chair scraping loudly against the floor.
“Luca, please—”
“Where is she?”
Vanessa’s eyes flashed with sudden, desperate venom.
“You think my father is an idiot? He knew Isabella was investigating us! He knew she had that lockbox! We couldn't get the key from Margaret, so we waited. We waited until your mother died, and then we made sure you fell in love with me.”
Luca stared at her.
“And Madison?”
Vanessa let out a sharp, bitter laugh.
“Madison is the only loose end. Her mother was Isabella’s personal nurse, Luca. Did you forget that? Elizabeth Reed was there the night your mother died. She heard Isabella’s final confession.”
Luca froze.
Madison’s mother hadn't just been a random woman. She was the nurse.
“My father took Madison to leverage her mother,” Vanessa spat, stepping backward toward the kitchen door. “Elizabeth has the original copy of your mother’s final will. The one that cuts you out entirely if you marry me.”
Before Vanessa could run, Luca grabbed her by the wrist.
He didn't hurt her, but his grip was iron.
“Daniel is holding your son,” Luca said softly. “If Henry hurts Madison, you will never see Leo again. Call him.”
Vanessa trembled, pulling her phone from her pocket.
She dialed the number.
It rang twice before Henry answered.
“Do you have the will?” Vanessa asked frantically.
“I’m at the nurse’s apartment now,” Henry’s gruff voice echoed through the speaker. “But the girl is being stubborn.”
Luca snatched the phone.
“Henry. This is Luca.”
Silence on the other end.
“If you touch her, I will bury you in the greenhouse.”
Henry laughed softly.
“You’re too late, Mr. Moretti. I already found what I needed in her coat.”
The line went dead.
Luca turned to his security team, who had just entered the room.
“Lock her in the wine cellar. No food, no water.”
He didn't wait for Vanessa’s screams to fade.
He ran to the staff quarters behind the main house. He needed to find Henry’s old room.
He kicked the wooden door open. The room was empty, smelling of cheap tobacco.
Luca tore through the closet. He pulled out a heavy winter coat Henry had left behind.
He reached into the deep pockets.
His fingers brushed against something hard and wooden.
He pulled it out.
It was a beautifully carved wooden rosary.
But the silver crucifix at the bottom was missing.
Luca stared at it. He remembered seeing that exact rosary wrapped around Madison’s wrist when she was cleaning the silver. She had told him it was the only thing her mother had left to give her.
Why did Henry have it?
Luca’s phone buzzed. It was a text from an unknown number.
It was a picture of Madison, tied to a chair in a dark, empty warehouse.
May you like
Beneath it was a message:
Bring the silver key to the old docks. Come alone, or the maid dies.
