Chapter 5 - THE VESCARI LEGACY
“We need to leave. Right now,” Adrian commanded, sweeping Leo up into his arms in one fluid motion.
Leo, usually shy around adults, simply wrapped his little arms around Adrian’s neck, completely unbothered. It broke my heart to see how natural they looked together. How much they shared the same dark hair, the same strong jawline.
I followed them back to the SUV, my mind reeling. Victor Vescari had been close enough to my son to slip a heavy gold watch into his backpack. It wasn’t just a gift. It was a message.
I can touch him whenever I want.
The drive out of the city was a blur of high speeds and tense silence. We bypassed my neighborhood completely, heading up into the secluded mountains outside the city limits. We finally passed through massive wrought-iron gates that opened into a heavily fortified private estate.
Once inside the massive stone house, Adrian’s staff immediately took over. A kind older woman named Maria gently coaxed Leo into the kitchen for warm cookies.
I stood in the center of a sprawling, fire-lit library, crossing my arms to stop myself from shaking.
“Why didn’t he just take him?” I asked, staring at the gold watch sitting on the mahogany desk. “If your father was at the daycare, why leave the watch? Why leave Leo?”
Adrian poured a glass of amber liquid from a crystal decanter and handed it to me. His knuckles were white.
“Because my father doesn’t just steal things. He dominates them,” Adrian explained quietly. “He wants to break you first. He left the watch to prove that your security means nothing. He wants you to willingly surrender custody, terrified that if you don't, you'll meet the same fate as your sister.”
The glass slipped from my fingers, shattering onto the Persian rug.
“You said her crash was an accident,” I breathed. “You said Julian was driving drunk.”
Adrian closed his eyes. When he opened them, the raw torment in his gaze made me take a step back.
“Julian was driving,” Adrian said, his voice cracking. “But he wasn’t drunk, Tessa. He was terrified. He was trying to get your sister out of the state because he found out my father had ordered a hit on her.”
I covered my mouth to muffle a scream.
“My father sabotaged the brakes on Julian’s car. He didn’t know his own son was behind the wheel that night. He thought it was just your sister. He killed his own son to ‘cleanse’ the Vescari bloodline of an ordinary woman.”
The room spun. Everything I thought I knew was a lie wrapped inside a nightmare.
Suddenly, small footsteps echoed against the hardwood floor. Leo ran into the library, holding a piece of drawing paper.
“Look, Mommy!” Leo smiled, oblivious to the heavy atmosphere. “I drew a picture of the nice man who gave me the shiny clock today.”
My hands shook as I took the paper from my son.
It was drawn in crayon. A tall man with a cane. But next to him, Leo had drawn another figure. A man with a scar over his eye.
I showed the drawing to Adrian. His face hardened into stone.
“That’s not just a bodyguard,” Adrian said, staring at the scarred man. “That’s Marcus. My father’s executioner.”
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Adrian looked toward the massive bay windows, out into the dark, sweeping forest.
“They’re not waiting for a custody battle,” Adrian realized, his voice hollow. “They’re coming to finish the job.”
