Chapter 5 - THE CHILD'S COAT
The silence in the small apartment was suffocating.
"Dead?" I whispered, my mind rejecting the information. "If he's dead, who took my son?"
Luca stared at the torn photograph, his jaw clenched so hard a muscle jumped in his cheek.
"Marcus Bellini supposedly died in a boat explosion in Miami three years ago," Luca explained, his voice tight with suppressed rage. "It was right after my father passed away. The Bellini syndicate was crumbling, and Marcus faked his death to escape his debts."
He looked at me, the terrifying puzzle finally snapping together in his mind.
"Vanessa wasn't just stealing to fund her lifestyle. She was funneling the Moretti money to her father. She was rebuilding his empire right under my nose."
"And now he has Leo," I sobbed, gripping my mother's hand. "Luca, it's 11:15. Pier 4 is forty minutes away. He wants me there at midnight."
"He doesn't want you, Nora," Luca said, his eyes darkening. "He wants leverage. He knows Vanessa is compromised. He knows Anthony failed to get the real necklace back. He's using your son to force a trade."
"A trade for what?"
"For the three million dollar emerald necklace," Luca said, patting his jacket pocket where the velvet box still rested. "And for my silence."
Luca turned to his security chief. "Daniel, stay here with Mrs. Williams. Lock this place down. Nora, come with me."
We sprinted back to the armored SUV. The rain began to fall, slicking the Chicago streets as Luca drove with reckless precision toward the industrial docks on Lake Michigan.
"Luca," I said, my voice trembling in the dark interior of the car. "If he realizes we know he's alive... will he kill Leo?"
"I won't let that happen," Luca swore, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. "I promise you, Nora. We are getting your son back tonight."
We arrived at Pier 4 at 11:50 PM.
The docks were abandoned, shrouded in freezing rain and fog. Massive shipping containers loomed like metal mountains in the dark.
Luca parked the SUV out of sight. He reached into the back seat and pulled out a heavy tactical vest. He strapped it over his white dress shirt, then pulled two extra magazines for his handgun.
He looked at me. I was shivering in my thin uniform, my bandaged hand throbbing violently.
Luca took off his heavy black suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders. The residual heat from his body offered a tiny shred of comfort in the freezing night.
"Stay directly behind me," Luca ordered. "If shooting starts, you drop to the ground and do not move. Understood?"
"Yes," I whispered.
We moved silently through the labyrinth of shipping containers. The only sound was the rain hitting the metal roofs and the distant crashing of waves against the pier.
At the end of the dock, illuminated by a single, flickering halogen light, stood Marcus Bellini.
He looked exactly like the torn photograph, just slightly older. He held an umbrella in one hand, and a heavy revolver in the other.
And standing beside him, shivering in his pajamas, was Leo.
"Mommy!" Leo cried out when he saw me step into the light.
"Leo!" I screamed, lunging forward, but Luca caught my arm, holding me back.
"Ah, Luca," Marcus smiled, a cold, reptilian expression. "I see you brought the help. How touching."
"Let the boy go, Marcus," Luca said, his voice booming over the rain. His gun was drawn, aimed squarely at Marcus's chest. "You have no quarrel with him."
"I have a quarrel with anyone who gets in my way," Marcus sneered. "Vanessa was supposed to marry you on Saturday and merge our accounts. Instead, she's currently bleeding in the back of my car because of this little maid."
Marcus pulled Leo closer, pressing the barrel of the revolver against my son's small shoulder.
My heart stopped.
"The velvet box, Luca," Marcus demanded. "Toss it over. And the gold watch Anthony dropped. I want both."
Luca didn't hesitate. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the velvet box containing the real emerald necklace.
"I have the necklace," Luca said loudly. "But Vanessa has the watch. She fled before my men could find it."
Marcus frowned, his eyes narrowing. He realized his daughter had lied to him about recovering the evidence.
"Throw the box," Marcus ordered.
Luca tossed the small velvet box. It landed on the wet wooden planks halfway between them.
"Leo, go pick it up," Marcus instructed the terrified boy.
Leo looked at me, crying. I nodded frantically.
Leo let go of Marcus, ran forward, and picked up the box. He turned and sprinted toward me.
I fell to my knees, catching him in my arms, burying my face in his wet hair.
"I got you," I sobbed. "I got you."
"Now, the fun part," Marcus chuckled, raising his revolver, aiming directly at Luca. "I get to kill the great Luca Moretti and take back my city."
Marcus pulled the trigger.
Click.
The gun didn't fire.
Marcus froze. He looked down at his revolver in confusion.
Luca smiled, a terrifying, predatory grin.
May you like
"You should really check your daughter's pockets before you rescue her, Marcus."
Before Marcus could react, Luca raised his gun and fired a single, deafening shot.
