Chapter 6 - THE SILVER BRACELET
The ride to my apartment took twelve minutes.
Luca drove his own car. He didn’t say a word, his grip tight on the steering wheel.
When we walked into my small, cramped apartment, the first thing I saw was Leo.
My little boy was sitting on the rug, perfectly safe, eating a bowl of cereal while two of Luca’s massive security guards stood awkwardly by the door.
“Mommy!” Leo jumped up and ran to me.
I dropped to my knees and hugged him so hard he squeaked. Tears poured down my face.
“I’m here, baby. I’m right here.”
My mother emerged from the kitchen, looking pale and terrified.
She saw Luca standing in the doorway.
Her hands started to shake.
“Mr. Moretti,” she whispered.
“Sarah,” Luca said gently. He didn’t sound like a mafia boss. He sounded like a man begging for the truth. “I read the ledger. I know what my mother asked you to do.”
My mother closed her eyes, a single tear tracking down her wrinkled cheek.
“I’m sorry, Luca. She made me swear on my life.”
“Where is he?” Luca’s voice cracked. “Where is the boy you hid?”
My mother looked at me. Then she looked at Leo.
For a terrifying second, my brain short-circuited. Leo? No, the timeline doesn’t make sense.
My mother walked into her bedroom. She came back carrying the small wooden box.
She opened it and pulled out the heavy silver hospital bracelet.
She handed it to Luca.
Luca looked at the engraving.
He stopped breathing.
He slowly looked up, his eyes locking onto the man standing by the front door.
Daniel. The head of security.
Daniel stood completely still, his hands resting on his tactical belt.
“It’s you,” Luca whispered.
Daniel didn’t look surprised. He just looked impossibly tired.
“I’ve known since I was eighteen, Boss,” Daniel said quietly. “Sarah told me when I joined the military.”
I stared at them in absolute shock.
Daniel was Luca’s younger brother. The brother everyone thought died the night their father was murdered.
And my mother had raised him in secret before he joined the military and eventually returned to protect the brother who didn’t even know he existed.
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But Daniel’s next words changed everything.
“But that’s not the biggest secret in the ledger, Luca.” Daniel pointed at the small leather book. “Turn to the last page.”
