Chapter 6 - THE CONFESSION BEHIND THE GOLD BRACELET
I stared down at the heavy gold bracelet resting by my shoes.
My mind spun in terrified circles. Helen had helped Luca’s mother escape? Helen, the quiet, obedient housekeeper, had orchestrated a prison break from a high-security psychiatric facility?
“You’re insane,” I spat, clutching Leo against me. “Helen was at the mansion all day yesterday.”
“Was she?” Marco asked, his eyes gleaming with malicious delight. “Think carefully, Lily. Who asked for the afternoon off to visit her son’s grave?”
My stomach dropped into my shoes.
Helen had taken yesterday afternoon off. She told me she was going to the cemetery to bring fresh flowers to David’s headstone.
“She wasn't at the cemetery,” Marco said, pacing slowly in front of us. “She was at the St. Jude facility. She used her old clearance—the clearance my brother gave her twenty years ago when she was just a lowly maid—to walk right out the back door with Isabella Moretti.”
Luca looked at me, his eyes wide with shock. “Helen saved my mother?”
“Helen ruined my plans,” Marco sneered. “Without Isabella locked up, I have no leverage over the trust fund. Which means I need a new hostage.”
He snapped his fingers.
From the shadows, six armed men stepped into the light, raising assault rifles.
Daniel instantly stepped in front of Luca, raising his pistol, but they were hopelessly outgunned.
“Give me the boy, Lily,” Marco ordered, holding out his hand.
“No!” I screamed, curling my body entirely over Leo to shield him. “Take me! Leave him alone!”
“You’re useless to me,” Marco sighed. “Luca won't sign over the syndicate for a maid. But he’s a sentimental fool. He won't let a child die in front of him. Hand him over.”
“I’ll kill you myself, Marco,” Luca roared, stepping in front of me, shielding both me and Leo with his own body. “If you touch a hair on his head, I will tear you apart.”
Marco laughed. “Brave words for a dead man.”
He raised his hand to signal his men to fire.
I squeezed my eyes shut, holding my breath, waiting for the deafening crack of gunfire.
But it didn't come.
Instead, a shrill, piercing voice rang out from the catwalk above us.
“Drop the guns, Marco!”
Everyone froze. Marco looked up. Luca looked up.
Standing on the rusted metal walkway thirty feet above the warehouse floor, wearing a drenched trench coat and holding a detonator in her hand, was Vanessa.
“What is this, Vanessa?” Marco demanded, his voice turning deadly. “Get down here.”
“I’m not playing your game anymore, Marco,” Vanessa shouted, her mascara running down her face in dark streaks.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, remote control.
“There is enough C-4 strapped to the support columns of this warehouse to bring the entire roof down on our heads,” Vanessa screamed, her hand trembling. “Tell your men to drop their weapons, or we all die right now.”
The reversal was so jarring I could barely process it. Vanessa, the woman who had crushed my fingers hours ago, the woman who had tormented me for months, was saving our lives?
“You’re bluffing,” Marco scoffed.
Vanessa didn't hesitate. She pressed a button on the remote.
A massive explosion rocked the far end of the warehouse. A pillar of fire shot into the air, blowing out the back wall and sending a shower of sparks raining down on the concrete. The ground shook so violently I was thrown backward, clutching Leo tightly.
Marco’s men panicked, lowering their weapons and backing away from the flames.
“I’m not bluffing!” Vanessa screamed, tears streaming down her face. “Let them go, Marco! Let them walk out the front door, or the next charge brings the roof down!”
Marco’s face contorted in absolute fury. He looked at Vanessa, then down at Luca.
“You think this saves you?” Marco hissed at his nephew.
“It saves us tonight,” Luca said, his voice cold as ice. He grabbed my arm, hauling me to my feet. “Daniel, cover us.”
We backed away toward the open door, Daniel keeping his gun trained on Marco.
“Run, Lily!” Vanessa screamed from the catwalk.
We didn't need to be told twice. We ran out into the pouring rain, diving into the SUV. Daniel slammed it into gear, and we tore away from the docks just as a second, smaller explosion echoed behind us.
I sat in the backseat, trembling violently, holding Leo as he finally began to cry.
Luca turned around in the passenger seat. He didn't look triumphant. He looked terrified.
“Why did she do that?” I choked out. “Why did Vanessa save us?”
Luca stared out the windshield into the dark, rainy night.
“She didn't do it to save us,” Luca whispered, reaching into his pocket.
He pulled out a small, folded photograph—the same one Vanessa had shown him earlier that day.
“Look closer at the photo, Lily.”
I leaned forward, squinting in the dim light of the car. It was the picture of Luca’s father, Helen, and Clara Bellini.
But this time, I saw what I had missed before.
Clara Bellini wasn't just standing next to Luca’s father. She was holding a baby. A baby wrapped in a pink blanket.
“Vanessa is my half-sister,” Luca said quietly. “My father had an affair with her mother. Marco has been holding that secret over her head her entire life. He threatened to kill her if she didn't marry me and keep the money in the family.”
My jaw dropped.
Before I could speak, Luca’s phone buzzed. It was a text message from an unknown number.
May you like
Luca read it aloud, his voice shaking.
“I bought you time. But Marco already sent men to the safe house. He found your mother.”
