Chapter 2 - THE ADDRESS
The study went perfectly still. The only sound was the crackle of the fire burning in the hearth.
Luca Moretti stared at the man in the gray suit, the small, yellowed piece of paper trembling slightly between his fingers.
“Alive,” Luca whispered, the word sounding more like a curse than a question.
“Yes, sir,” the man said, shifting nervously between the two massive security guards. “My name is Thomas Vance. I’m a private investigator. Your fiancée hired me three months ago.”
“Why would Vanessa hire an investigator to find my father’s consigliere?” Luca asked, his voice dangerously low. “Salvatore Rossi died in a warehouse fire eleven years ago. I identified the body myself.”
Vance swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “She didn’t hire me to find him, Mr. Moretti. She hired me to track down the ownership of a blind trust that holds forty percent of the Moretti family’s legitimate assets. When I finally cracked the shell companies last week, the paper trail led to that address.”
He pointed a trembling finger at the yellowed paper in Luca’s hand.
“I didn't know who Salvatore Rossi was until I ran the name,” Vance continued quickly. “I brought the file to Miss Bellini this afternoon. That’s when she gave me the watch. She said it was the final piece of proof she needed, but she told me to destroy the file and forget I ever saw the name.”
“And the argument in the pantry?” Luca asked, his dark eyes flicking to me for confirmation.
“I told her I wasn't a hitman,” Vance blurted out, sweat beading on his forehead. “She wanted me to go to that address tonight and... handle the situation before you officially took over the family assets after the wedding. When I refused, she threatened to tell you I was a rival spy trying to sabotage your engagement.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. Vanessa wasn't just trying to cover up a theft. She was trying to order a murder on her own wedding day.
Luca looked at the address written on the yellowed paper.
1420 West Elm. Apartment 4B.
It was a decaying neighborhood on the edge of the city limits. A place where ghosts could easily hide.
“Daniel,” Luca said, not looking up from the paper.
The head of security stepped fully into the room.
“Lock this man in the basement,” Luca ordered. “If he’s lying, I’ll deal with him myself. If he’s telling the truth, he stays there until I figure out what to do with him.”
“Wait! I gave you the information!” Vance protested as the guards grabbed his arms. “We had a deal!”
“We didn't have a deal,” Luca said coldly. “Take him down.”
The heavy study doors clicked shut, leaving Luca and me alone in the quiet room.
Luca walked over to the mahogany desk and slowly sank into his leather chair. He placed the gold pocket watch on the wood, staring at it as if it were a bomb waiting to detonate.
“Eleven years,” Luca murmured, rubbing a hand over his face. “I mourned that man like a second father.”
“Mr. Moretti,” I said softly, gripping my bandaged wrist. “If Salvatore Rossi is alive... why did he fake his death?”
Luca looked up at me. The ruthless, untouchable mafia boss was gone. In his eyes, I saw only a profound, exhausted confusion.
“Salvatore was the only man who knew where my father hid the family ledgers before he died,” Luca explained quietly. “When the warehouse burned, we thought the ledgers burned with him. If he’s alive... it means he stole them. He betrayed my father.”
He stood up suddenly, the grief hardening into cold, absolute resolve. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a heavy black pistol, checking the magazine before sliding it into his shoulder holster.
“I’m going to that address,” Luca said.
“Alone?” I asked, panic rising in my chest. “Sir, if he betrayed your family, he could be dangerous. You should take Daniel.”
“If Daniel comes, it becomes official syndicate business,” Luca said grimly. “If the Commission finds out Salvatore is alive and holding the ledgers, they will order a hit. I need to know why he did it before I sign his death warrant.”
He walked toward the door, then stopped, turning back to look at me.
“Hannah,” Luca said, his voice softening slightly. “Go to your room. Lock the door. Do not speak a word of this to Vanessa, or anyone else.”
“I won’t,” I promised.
He nodded once, slipped out the private side door of the study, and disappeared into the night.
I didn't go to my room. My heart was pounding too fast, and the adrenaline was screaming through my veins.
I walked back into the main hallway. The engagement dinner was winding down. I could hear the string quartet playing a soft, melancholy tune in the dining room.
I headed toward the kitchens, intending to hide in the back pantry until my shift officially ended.
But as I passed the grand staircase, I heard a sharp, hushed voice coming from the second-floor landing.
It was Vanessa.
I pressed my back against the wall, holding my breath.
“I don't care what it takes!” Vanessa hissed into her cell phone, pacing back and forth on the plush carpet. “Vance is compromised. Luca took him to the study. If Luca finds out about the address, the entire plan is ruined.”
May you like
A pause as she listened to the person on the other end.
“Then you get to Elm Street before he does,” Vanessa ordered, her voice laced with pure venom. “Burn the apartment to the ground. And make sure the old man is inside it when you do.”
