The Shadow On The Film

Luca stopped breathing.

He stared at the photograph of the little boy.

Dark hair. High cheekbones. The exact same stubborn set of the jaw.

The boy in the picture looked to be about six years old.

“Where is he?” Luca demanded, grabbing Frank by the collar of his wet coat. “Where is my son?!”

Frank held up his hands, completely yielding.

“I don’t know! Your father ordered me to take him from the hospital the night Anna died. He said a mafia house was no place for a child.”

“You stole my son?”

“I gave him to a private agency!” Frank cried. “Your father paid millions to keep him hidden in Switzerland. But when your father died last year... the payments stopped.”

Luca let go of Frank, staggering backward.

He looked at the photograph again.

Vanessa was holding the boy.

Vanessa knew.

Suddenly, a sharp click sounded behind us.

We turned around.

Vanessa was standing under a large black umbrella, holding a silver revolver.

She didn't look angry. She looked exhausted.

“I really wish you hadn't dug that up, Frank,” she said softly.

Luca stepped in front of me, shielding my body.

“You have my son.”

“He’s safe, Luca,” Vanessa said, keeping the gun leveled. “He’s at a boarding school in Geneva. He thinks I’m his aunt.”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“Because if the Commission finds out you have an heir, they’ll use him to control you!” Vanessa shouted over the storm. “Your father knew that. Anna knew that. That’s why Anna agreed to give him up that night!”

Reversal.

Anna wasn't fleeing to save herself.

She was fleeing to draw attention away from the baby.

“The bracelet,” I blurted out. “My mother said the driver gave it to her. Frank gave it to my mom to keep her quiet about the birth!”

Frank nodded miserably.

“I did.”

Luca stared at Vanessa.

“You’re not trying to steal my company.”

“I don’t care about your company!” Vanessa cried, lowering the gun slightly. “I’m trying to access the blind trust to pay the men guarding your son in Switzerland! The money ran out, Luca. They’re coming for him.”

Before Luca could process this, Daniel, the security chief, stepped out from the shadows of the hedges.

But he wasn't looking at Vanessa.