Chapter 3 - THE VINTAGE WATCH IN THE ALLEY
My phone slipped from my trembling fingers, clattering onto the hardwood floor of the study.
Luca immediately stopped. He picked it up, his eyes scanning the bright screen. His jaw tightened so hard a muscle feathered in his cheek.
“The Bellinis,” Luca said, his voice lethal. “Vanessa’s father must have had a team watching your family, waiting to see if you figured out what the necklace meant.”
“My brother,” I choked out, a sob tearing from my throat. “Sam is only nineteen. He doesn't know anything about this! They’re going to kill him!”
“Nobody is dying tonight,” Luca said.
He didn't call for Marcus. He didn't call for his army of guards. He walked to the heavy mahogany bookshelf, pulled a specific leather-bound book, and the entire shelf swung inward, revealing a hidden elevator.
“Get in,” he ordered.
We descended into the private underground garage. Luca bypassed the luxury sedans and tossed me the keys to a nondescript, matte-black SUV.
“I drive faster, but they know my face,” Luca said, pulling a tactical vest from a duffel bag and throwing it over his tailored dress shirt. “You drive. I’ll navigate.”
I had never driven a car worth more than two thousand dollars, but adrenaline erased my hesitation. I slid into the driver’s seat. Luca climbed in the passenger side, loading a heavy magazine into his sidearm.
We tore out of the hidden tunnel and onto the rain-slicked streets of Chicago.
“My mother,” I said, my voice shaking as I gripped the steering wheel. “She worked as a bookkeeper when I was a toddler. She told me the company went bankrupt and the boss died. That’s why we moved to a tiny apartment on the South Side.”
“She was my father’s private accountant,” Luca corrected, his eyes scanning the dark streets. “My father wanted to take the family legitimate. He was building a massive, legal real estate empire to leave to me. But the Bellinis wanted the dirty money. And Frank wanted the power.”
“Why didn't my mother go to the police?” I asked, tears blurring my vision.
“Because Frank owned the police,” Luca said bitterly. “She did the only thing she could. She hid the legitimate accounts, buried the ledger, and disappeared to protect you.”
I took a sharp turn, the tires squealing as we approached my neighborhood.
“Pull into the alley behind your building,” Luca commanded. “Kill the headlights.”
I killed the lights and let the SUV roll silently to a stop behind the rusted dumpsters.
The back fire escape of my apartment building was bathed in the harsh yellow glow of a streetlamp.
“Stay here,” Luca said, opening his door.
“I’m not staying in the car while my brother is up there!” I argued, unbuckling my seatbelt.
Luca turned to me. The mafia boss who terrified the entire city reached out and gently cupped my cheek. His thumb brushed away a tear.
“Emily, I spent sixteen years believing a lie,” Luca said softly. “I will not lose the only person who holds the truth. I will bring Sam back. I promise.”
I nodded, my breath catching in my throat.
Luca slipped into the shadows of the alley. I watched him climb the rusted fire escape with terrifying speed and silence. He reached the second-floor window of my apartment and slipped inside.
For three agonizing minutes, there was absolute silence.
Then, two muffled gunshots echoed from the brick walls.
I screamed, covering my mouth.
A heavy body was thrown out of the second-story window, crashing into the dumpsters below. It was a man in a dark suit, clutching his shoulder.
A second later, the back door of the building kicked open.
Sam stumbled out into the alley, terrified, barefoot, and hyperventilating.
“Sam!” I cried, throwing the car door open.
He ran to me, collapsing into my arms. “Em, they were going to kill me! That guy in the suit just saved my life!”
Luca emerged from the back door a moment later, entirely unharmed. He grabbed the wounded Bellini thug by the collar and dragged him toward the SUV.
“Get in the back,” Luca ordered Sam.
Luca threw the wounded man onto the wet asphalt. He knelt beside him, pressing the barrel of his gun to the man’s kneecap.
“Who sent you?” Luca demanded.
The man spat blood onto the pavement. “Vanessa. She said to burn the apartment and take the kid to the shipping yards.”
Luca didn't flinch. He reached into the man’s coat pocket to check for weapons.
As he pulled his hand back, something metallic caught the streetlamp's light. It fell from the thug’s pocket and clattered onto the pavement.
I gasped.
It was a heavy, vintage silver pocket watch. The glass was cracked, but the intricate engraving on the lid was unmistakable.
Luca stared at the watch. The color drained from his face for the second time that night.
“Where did you get this?” Luca whispered, his voice trembling.
The thug smirked weakly. “Found it in the kid’s bedroom. Thought it might be worth something.”
Luca slowly turned to look at me, holding the watch up in the rain.
“Emily,” Luca said, his voice breaking. “This is the watch my father was wearing the night he was murdered.”
I shook my head, completely bewildered.
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“That’s impossible,” I said. “My mother gave me that watch before she died. She said it belonged to my father.”
TITLE: THE COAT WITH THE HIDDEN LINING
