Chapter 5 - THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS
I screamed and pulled Leo behind me.
A tall man stepped out from the alcove near the washing machines.
Victor Rossi.
The jagged purple scar down his cheek looked even more menacing in the pale moonlight filtering through the mudroom window. He wasn't holding a gun. He was holding a small remote control.
Luca didn't flinch.
He dropped the train tickets and stepped directly between Rossi and us.
“Victor,” Luca said, his voice deadly quiet.
“Luca,” Rossi replied, smiling faintly. “Beautiful engagement party. The champagne is excellent. A bit dry for my taste, but Vanessa always loved the expensive stuff.”
My mind was spinning violently.
Vanessa Rossi.
Vanessa wasn't marrying Luca to steal his money. She was already married to Victor Rossi.
And Leo...
I looked down at the terrified six-year-old gripping my apron.
Leo wasn't Luca’s orphaned nephew.
“He’s yours,” Luca said, his voice tight with a rage I had never heard before.
“Of course he’s mine,” Rossi said smoothly. “My wife and I had to put him somewhere safe when the feds raided our compound in Palermo. Your idiot brother thought he was rescuing an orphan. When he died in that car crash, you took the boy in. How noble of you, Luca. Raising your enemy's son.”
I felt sick.
Vanessa had infiltrated the Moretti family not just to destroy Luca, but to take back her son.
“You could have just asked for him,” Luca said coldly.
“And miss the opportunity to ruin you?” Rossi laughed softly. “Vanessa has spent the last year emptying your private accounts, Luca. By the time you say 'I do' on Saturday, every asset you own will be legally tied to her. And then, tragic widow that she is, she inherits the rest.”
“If she has my money,” Luca said, “why are there train tickets for tonight?”
Rossi’s smile faded.
A flicker of genuine anger crossed his scarred face.
“Because Vanessa is getting sloppy,” Rossi spat. “She left the wire recorder in your study. She let a maid catch her. She panicked. We are leaving tonight because your little housekeeper ruined the timeline.”
Rossi pointed the small remote at Luca.
“This detonates the C4 wired under the dining room table,” Rossi said. “Where twenty-six of your most loyal captains and politicians are currently eating dessert. You make one move, Luca, and I turn your engagement dinner into a crater.”
I stopped breathing.
Luca’s eyes flicked to the remote.
Answer one: We knew why they were leaving tonight.
Open two: Why was Rossi revealing his whole plan instead of just blowing the house?
“What do you want, Victor?” Luca asked.
“I want my son,” Rossi said, holding out his hand. “Send him over. Then you and the maid will sit quietly in this room for twenty minutes while we leave.”
Luca didn't move.
He looked at Leo.
Leo was shaking uncontrollably, his small face buried in my skirt.
“No,” Leo whispered. “He’s a bad man.”
Rossi’s face twisted in rage. “I am your father! Come here!”
“He doesn't know you, Victor,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a dangerous register. “And he’s not going anywhere with you.”
“Then I press the button!” Rossi roared, his thumb hovering over the red switch.
“Do it.”
The voice didn't come from Luca.
It came from the mudroom door.
The deadbolt clicked open.
Vanessa stood in the doorway.
Her red silk dress was torn at the hem. Her makeup was slightly smudged.
May you like
And she was holding a suppressed pistol, aimed directly at Victor Rossi’s chest.
“Press it, Victor,” Vanessa said, tears streaming down her face. “Blow up the house. Because I’m not letting you take him back to that life.”
