Chapter 7 - The Traitor In The Garden
Daniel’s radio crackled on his shoulder.
“The house is secure,” a voice buzzed. “No cops.”
Daniel was the mole.
The man paid by the rival families to dismantle the Morettis from the inside.
“Put the gun down, Vanessa,” Daniel ordered. “Or I shoot him right now.”
Vanessa hesitated, her hand trembling.
She dropped the silver revolver into the mud.
Daniel kicked it away.
“You’ve been a real pain, Miss Bellini,” Daniel sneered. “Hiding the kid’s location. Pretending to be the greedy fiancée so nobody would look too closely at the trust fund. Clever. But the game is over.”
He looked at Luca.
“Hand over the ledgers from the box, boss. They contain the account numbers for the Swiss trust.”
Luca didn't move.
“You’re not getting my son.”
“I don't want your son,” Daniel laughed. “I want the money. Once I drain the trust, the kid is just a civilian.”
“You’ll kill him anyway to tie up loose ends,” Vanessa snapped.
Daniel shrugged.
He took a step closer, raising his weapon.
“Ledgers. Now.”
I was standing behind Luca, out of Daniel’s direct line of sight.
My left shoulder screamed in pain, but my right hand was free.
I looked down at the mud.
The heavy iron shovel Frank had used was lying across the edge of the grave.
Right by my foot.
I thought of my mother, sitting alone in that nursing home, clutching a silver bracelet she didn't understand.
I thought of the little boy in Switzerland, waiting for an aunt who might never come back.
“Hey, Daniel,” I said, stepping out from behind Luca.
Daniel glanced at me, annoyed. “Shut up, maid.”
I kicked the handle of the shovel with all my might.
The heavy iron head popped up from the mud.
Luca, with the reflexes of a man raised in a warzone, didn't hesitate.
He grabbed the handle mid-air and swung it like a baseball bat.
The iron cracked against Daniel’s wrist.
The gun went flying into the darkness.
Daniel screamed, dropping to his knees.
Luca grabbed him by the throat and slammed him face-first into the mud, pressing his knee into the traitor’s back.
“Frank!” Luca yelled. “Tie him up!”
Frank scrambled forward with his belt.
Luca stood up, breathing heavily in the rain.
He looked at Vanessa.
She was staring at him, soaked and shivering.
“You protected him,” Luca said softly. “All these years. You protected my boy.”
Vanessa finally broke.
Tears spilled down her cheeks, mixing with the rain.
“I promised Anna I would,” she sobbed. “I loved her, Luca. She was my best friend.”
Suddenly, the piercing sound of sirens cut through the night air.
Red and blue lights flashed against the mansion walls.
“The police?” Vanessa panicked. “If they find the ledgers—”
“They won't,” Luca said.
May you like
He looked at me.
“Maggie. Take the box.”
