Chapter 6 - THE FEDERAL DEAL
The roar of the armored SUV echoing in the grand foyer was deafening.
Vanessa froze on the stairs, her silver handgun dangling uselessly at her side. She stared at Luca, her eyes wide with a terror so absolute it completely erased the arrogant socialite facade.
"Luca," Vanessa choked out, taking a frantic step backward up the stairs. "You… you were arrested. My father saw the feds take you!"
Luca didn't answer her. He racked the bolt of the assault rifle with a sharp, intimidating clack. The sound sent a clear, undeniable message. He wasn't here to talk.
He moved with terrifying, predatory speed, closing the distance between the foyer and the stairs.
"Drop the gun, Vanessa," Luca commanded, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that offered no mercy.
Vanessa’s hand shook violently. She looked at the rifle pointed at her chest, then slowly opened her fingers. The silver handgun clattered down the wooden stairs, stopping near my feet.
I kicked it away immediately, grabbing Teresa’s hand and helping the elderly woman stand up.
Luca kept his rifle aimed squarely at Vanessa, his dark eyes burning with a cold, unyielding rage. He had abandoned his engagement to this woman just hours ago, and now she was standing in his home, threatening the lives of the two women who meant the most to him.
"How did you get out?" Vanessa whispered, tears of genuine panic spilling over her perfect makeup. "The FBI had you."
"The FBI works for whoever hands them the biggest fish," Luca said smoothly, stepping onto the first stair. "Arthur thought he could frame me for the shootout at the bank manager’s house. But Arthur doesn't know how to play chess. He plays checkers."
I watched Luca, my mind racing. If Luca was here, wearing an FBI tactical vest, he hadn't escaped custody. He had cut a deal.
"I gave them Vincenzo," Luca revealed coldly. "I handed the feds the offshore accounts proving my uncle stole the money, and I gave them the bank manager who processed the transactions. When the feds realized Arthur was using them to eliminate a rival while protecting a thief… they offered me a temporary immunity deal."
Vanessa’s face went bone-white. The realization that her father’s master plan had just collapsed hit her like a physical blow.
"You're a rat," Vanessa spat, trying to salvage some pride. "You sold out your own uncle."
"My uncle sold out my sister," Luca growled, stepping closer, his imposing height towering over her on the stairs. "He is dead to me. And so is your father."
Luca reached out, grabbing Vanessa roughly by the collar of her expensive trench coat. He didn't hit her, but he pulled her close enough that she whimpered in fear.
"Where is Arthur right now?" Luca demanded.
"I don't know!" Vanessa cried, struggling uselessly against his grip. "He went into hiding after he sent the lawyer to the precinct! He knew you’d come for him if the frame job failed!"
Luca let go of her, shoving her back against the banister.
"Marco!" Luca yelled over his shoulder.
The passenger door of the armored SUV opened, and Marco, Luca’s head of security, stepped out, holding a pair of heavy zip-ties. He rushed up the stairs, grabbing Vanessa by the arms and binding her wrists tightly behind her back.
"Put her in the back of the SUV," Luca ordered Marco. "She’s our insurance policy against Arthur."
Marco dragged a screaming, cursing Vanessa down the stairs and shoved her into the back of the armored vehicle.
Luca finally turned his attention to me and his mother. The terrifying, ruthless mafia boss vanished instantly, replaced by a son desperate to protect his family.
"Mom, are you hurt?" Luca asked, rushing down the stairs and wrapping his arms around Teresa, hugging her tightly.
"I'm fine, Luca. Emma protected me," Teresa wept, clinging to his tactical vest. "She didn't run. She stayed with me."
Luca pulled back and looked at me. His dark eyes were filled with a profound, overwhelming gratitude that made my heart skip a beat. He stepped toward me, his presence magnetic and imposing.
"You stood in front of a gun for my mother," Luca said softly, his voice thick with emotion. "I owe you a debt I can never repay, Emma."
"I didn't do it for a reward, Mr. Moretti," I said quietly, clutching the faded leather journal to my chest. "I did it because it was right."
I held the journal out to him.
"I kept it safe," I said. "This is what you need to destroy Arthur."
Luca took the journal, his hands lingering briefly over mine. His touch was warm and incredibly grounding in the chaos of the ruined mansion.
"With this, and the confession from the bank manager, Arthur Bellini will spend the rest of his life in a federal supermax prison," Luca said grimly.
"Then let's take it to the FBI," I urged. "You said you have an immunity deal."
"The deal only stands if I deliver Arthur," Luca corrected, shaking his head slowly. "The feds want the head of the snake. If I don't hand Arthur over to them by sunrise, they void the deal and I go back in the cell for the shootout at Union Station."
"But Vanessa said he went into hiding!" Teresa panicked. "Chicago is massive! You’ll never find him before sunrise!"
"I don't have to find him," Luca smiled, a dark, calculated expression crossing his face. He looked out the shattered front doors toward the city skyline. "He’s going to come to me."
Luca pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. He put it on speaker so we could hear.
The line rang twice before a gruff, paranoid voice answered.
"Who is this?" Arthur Bellini demanded.
"Hello, Arthur," Luca said smoothly.
Silence echoed on the line for a long, agonizing second.
"Luca," Arthur hissed, the shock evident in his voice. "How are you making a phone call from a federal holding cell?"
"I'm not in a cell, Arthur. I’m standing in my foyer," Luca replied calmly. "And I have your daughter zip-tied in the back of my SUV."
Arthur swore violently in Italian. "If you touch a hair on her head, Moretti, I will slaughter everyone you love!"
"She’s unharmed. For now," Luca lied, his voice entirely devoid of mercy. "But I also have the journal. And the photograph. The feds are currently raiding your safe houses based on the intel I just gave them."
"You gave them nothing!" Arthur roared in a panic. "You don't have the leverage!"
"I have enough to bury you," Luca said coldly. "But I'm willing to make a trade."
"What kind of trade?" Arthur asked suspiciously.
"You want the journal destroyed so the Commission in New York doesn't find out you murdered a Moretti to steal money," Luca offered. "And you want your daughter back. I want you to walk away from Chicago forever. Hand over the port contracts, surrender your territory to me, and leave the country."
Arthur laughed, a harsh, desperate sound. "You want me to surrender my empire for a notebook?"
"I want you to surrender it for your daughter’s life," Luca corrected, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper.
Arthur hesitated. The arrogant mob boss was cornered, and he knew it.
"Where?" Arthur finally growled.
"The old Bellini steel mill on the South Side," Luca commanded. "In one hour. You come alone. If I see a single one of your men, I put a bullet in Vanessa’s head, and I hand the journal to the feds."
Luca hung up the phone before Arthur could respond.
He turned to me and his mother.
"Marco is going to take you both to the airstrip," Luca said quickly. "My private jet is fueled and waiting. You’re flying to the safe house in Montreal until this is over."
"No, Luca!" Teresa cried, grabbing his arm. "It’s a trap! Arthur will never come alone! He’ll bring an army to that steel mill!"
"I know he will, Mom," Luca smiled softly, kissing her forehead. "That’s exactly what I’m counting on."
He gently pried her hands off his vest and handed her to Marco.
"Keep them safe, Marco," Luca ordered. "If I don't call you by 6:00 AM, you disappear."
"Yes, Boss," Marco nodded grimly, guiding a weeping Teresa toward a secondary town car parked outside.
I stood perfectly still, watching him prepare to walk into a suicide mission. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs. I had only known this man as a quiet, intimidating boss for seven months. Tonight, I had seen the depth of his loyalty, the ferocity of his protection, and the agonizing grief of a brother seeking justice.
I couldn't just walk away and let him die.
"Mr. Moretti," I said, stepping toward him as he turned toward the armored SUV where Vanessa was held.
Luca stopped, looking back at me. "Emma, you need to go with Marco. Now."
"You said Arthur is going to bring an army," I said, my voice trembling but resolute. "You can't fight an army alone, even with an assault rifle."
"I won't be fighting them alone," Luca said, a fierce, dangerous glint in his dark eyes.
May you like
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black remote detonator.
"I told you Arthur doesn't know how to play chess," Luca smiled, flipping the safety cover off the detonator. "He thinks I’m meeting him at the steel mill to negotiate. He doesn't know I wired the entire foundation of that mill with C4 three years ago, waiting for the day he finally crossed the line."
