Chapter 5 - THE ROSARY
The word hung in the air like a death sentence.
The rosary.
I looked at Luca. The color had completely vanished from his face. For a man who controlled half of Chicago’s underworld, he suddenly looked completely unmoored.
“My mother’s rosary,” Luca breathed, the realization striking him. “It went missing the night Daniel disappeared.”
“Bingo, darling,” Vanessa said over the speakerphone. “Daniel took it. And he hid a very important piece of microfilm inside the silver cross. Tell him to bring it to the old St. Jude’s Cathedral in exactly one hour. Alone. Or the little girl won't see her seventh birthday.”
The line went dead.
I scrambled up from the floor, panic threatening to pull me under.
“We have to call the police,” I said frantically. “She kidnapped Lily!”
“No police,” Luca ordered sharply. “If the cops get involved, Vanessa will panic. She’ll kill the child and disappear.”
“Then what do we do?” I screamed. “We don't even know where Daniel is! How is he supposed to bring her a rosary he stole eight years ago?”
Luca looked at my mother.
“Mrs. Reed,” Luca said, his voice steadying, returning to the commanding tone of a boss. “When did Daniel leave the hidden room?”
My mother wiped her face with a trembling hand. “Two days ago. He said it was finally safe. He said he was going to get the proof he needed to end this.”
Luca looked at me.
“Vanessa is desperate,” Luca said. “She’s sloppy. She didn't realize we found the hidden room. She thinks Daniel is still hiding here, listening to this phone call.”
“But he’s not,” I said. “He’s gone. And Lily is going to die because we can't give Vanessa what she wants!”
“Yes, we can,” Luca said.
He reached into his inner suit pocket.
He pulled out a heavy, silver rosary.
I stared at it. The beads were polished hematite, catching the dim light of the living room. The silver cross at the bottom was thick and heavily engraved.
“You have it?” I gasped. “I thought Daniel stole it!”
“He did,” Luca said quietly. “But he didn't take it with him. He sent it back to me. It arrived in the mail at my private office yesterday morning. No return address. Just a blank envelope.”
A reversal. Daniel had already made his move.
“Why didn't you open the cross?” I asked.
“Because I didn't know there was microfilm inside,” Luca said, his eyes darkening. “I thought it was a message. An apology for running away. I was going to give it to Vanessa as a wedding gift.”
Luca gripped the silver cross in his hands. He applied pressure to the sides.
With a tiny click, the back of the cross popped open, revealing a hollow compartment.
Inside, tucked neatly into the silver casing, was a tiny square of microfilm.
“This is it,” Luca said softly. “This is what Vanessa is willing to kill a child for.”
“What’s on it?” my mother asked, her voice shaking.
“Proof,” Luca said. “Proof of who really tried to kill Daniel eight years ago.”
Luca looked at Marco, who was standing guard by the door.
“Marco. Get the car. We’re going to St. Jude’s Cathedral.”
“Boss,” Marco cautioned. “It’s a trap. Vanessa won't be alone. She’ll have men waiting in the rafters.”
“I don't care,” Luca said, his voice like grinding stone. “She has my niece. And she has the answers I’ve been looking for for almost a decade.”
He turned to me.
“Emma. Stay here with your parents. Marco’s men will guard the apartment.”
“No,” I said immediately.
Luca frowned. “Emma, this isn't a housekeeping dispute. People are going to die tonight.”
“Lily is my niece,” I said fiercely, grabbing my coat from the chair. “I raised her when my sister died. I’m not sitting in an apartment while a psychotic woman holds a gun to her head. I’m coming with you.”
Luca looked at my terrified, determined face. He saw the stubborn set of my jaw. He knew he couldn't stop me without physically tying me down.
“Fine,” Luca said. “But you stay behind me. Do exactly what I say.”
Ten minutes later, we were speeding back toward the city limits of Chicago.
St. Jude’s Cathedral was a massive, gothic structure on the edge of the city. It had been abandoned for years, slated for demolition. The perfect place for a quiet, messy exchange.
Luca parked the SUV two blocks away.
“Marco,” Luca ordered into his radio. “I want snipers on the adjacent rooftops. I want the perimeter locked down tight. Nobody gets out of that church without my permission.”
“Copy that, boss.”
Luca turned to me in the passenger seat. He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a small, compact handgun. He held it out to me.
I stared at it. “I don't know how to use that.”
“Point and pull the trigger,” Luca said flatly. “Keep it in your pocket. Do not pull it out unless someone is about to kill you.”
I took the cold, heavy metal and slipped it into my coat pocket. My hand was shaking so badly I could barely feel my fingers.
We walked toward the massive wooden doors of the cathedral.
The night was entirely silent. No traffic. No sirens. Just the sound of our footsteps on the cracked pavement.
Luca pushed the heavy wooden doors open. They groaned loudly on rusted hinges.
Inside, the cathedral was cavernous and pitch black, illuminated only by a few industrial work lights set up near the altar.
Standing in the center of the aisle, illuminated by the harsh white light, was Vanessa.
She was still wearing her stunning red engagement gown, but the elegant facade was gone. She held a suppressed pistol in her right hand.
And standing next to her, clutching a ragged stuffed bear and crying softly, was Lily.
“Lily!” I screamed, stepping forward.
Vanessa instantly raised her gun, aiming it squarely at Lily’s head.
“Ah-ah,” Vanessa chided, her voice echoing through the empty church. “Not another step, Emma.”
Luca stepped in front of me, shielding my body with his own.
“I’m here, Vanessa,” Luca said, his voice booming through the cathedral. “Let the child go.”
Vanessa smirked. “Where is Daniel?”
“Daniel isn't coming,” Luca said calmly. “He sent me.”
Vanessa’s smile vanished. “Then this was a waste of time. I told him to bring the rosary.”
Luca reached into his pocket and held up the silver rosary.
Vanessa’s eyes locked onto it like a starving animal.
“Toss it to me,” she demanded.
“Let the girl walk first,” Luca countered.
Vanessa laughed. “Do I look stupid, Luca? Give me the rosary, or I blow her brains out right here on the holy ground.”
Luca didn't hesitate. He tossed the silver rosary.
It landed on the marble floor halfway between us, sliding to a stop near the pews.
Vanessa kept her gun aimed at Lily as she slowly walked forward. She crouched down, keeping her eyes on Luca, and picked up the silver cross.
She applied pressure to the sides. The cross popped open.
She saw the microfilm inside.
A look of pure, triumphant victory washed over her face.
“Finally,” Vanessa breathed.
“You have it,” Luca said coldly. “Let her go.”
Vanessa stood up. She looked at Luca. Then she looked at the little girl trembling beside her.
“I’m sorry, darling,” Vanessa said smoothly. “But I can't leave loose ends.”
She raised the gun, aiming it at my niece.
“No!” I screamed, pulling the gun from my pocket and aiming it wildly.
But before anyone could pull a trigger, a voice echoed from the shadows behind the altar.
“Vanessa.”
Vanessa froze.
The voice was deep, raspy, and achingly familiar to Luca.
A man stepped out from the darkness behind the altar. He was wearing a dark jacket, his face weathered and scarred by eight years of hiding.
But his eyes were exactly the same as Luca’s.
It was Daniel Moretti.
“Put the gun down, Vanessa,” Daniel said, stepping into the light. He was holding a heavy shotgun, aimed directly at her chest.
Vanessa didn't lower her weapon. She smiled.
“Daniel,” she said, her voice dripping with poison. “You finally came out of your hole.”
“I came for my daughter,” Daniel said, his voice thick with emotion as he looked at Lily.
Luca stared at his brother. The brother he had mourned for nearly a decade.
“Daniel,” Luca breathed.
Daniel looked at Luca. A profound sadness crossed his face.
“I’m sorry, Luca,” Daniel said. “I couldn't tell you. I couldn't risk it.”
“Risk what?” Luca demanded. “Why did you run? Who were you hiding from?”
Vanessa laughed aloud. It was a hysterical, manic sound that bounced off the vaulted ceilings.
“He didn't tell you?” Vanessa mocked, looking at Luca. “He didn't tell you what’s on the microfilm?”
Luca looked at his brother. “Daniel, what is it?”
Daniel lowered the shotgun a fraction of an inch. He looked at Luca with a grief so deep it seemed to age him ten years in a single second.
“The microfilm is a recording, Luca,” Daniel whispered. “A recording of a meeting eight years ago. Between the Bellini family and the man who orchestrated the hit on me.”
“Who?” Luca roared.
Vanessa raised the rosary, dangling the silver cross from her manicured fingers.
“It was your father, Luca,” Vanessa smiled.
The silence in the cathedral was absolute.
“Your father ordered the hit on Daniel,” Vanessa said, enjoying every second of Luca’s shattered reality. “He wanted you to inherit the syndicate, not your soft, weak little brother. He paid my family to wipe Daniel out.”
A reversal that destroyed the foundation of Luca Moretti’s life.
His own father.
Before Luca could process the betrayal, the massive wooden doors of the cathedral slammed open behind us.
Dozens of armed men poured into the church.
But they weren't Marco’s men.
They were wearing the insignia of the Bellini family.
And walking at the front of the pack, holding a gold-plated walking cane, was Vanessa’s father, Don Bellini.
“Well done, Vanessa,” the Don said, his voice echoing with absolute authority.
May you like
He looked at Luca, then at Daniel, and finally at me.
“Kill them all,” the Don ordered. “And bring me the child.”
