Chapter 6 - THE SILVER BRACELET
They threw me into the back of the van. I landed hard on the ribbed metal floor next to Marco.
The doors slammed shut, plunging us into darkness. The engine roared, and the van sped away.
"Lily?" my father's voice trembled.
"Dad!" I scrambled up, throwing my arms around his frail shoulders. He felt so small, so fragile.
"I'm here, Dad. I'm right here."
Marco groaned, shifting his weight against the side of the van. His hands were zip-tied behind his back, blood trickling down the side of his face.
"Lily," Marco gasped. "Are you hurt? Where is my mother?"
"She's alive," I whispered, fighting back a sob. "Richard locked her in the basement vault. He took the ledger, Marco. He has everything."
Marco cursed violently in Italian, throwing his head back against the metal wall.
"I underestimated him," Marco said, his voice thick with self-hatred. "I thought he was just a corporate raider. He's a monster."
My father patted my arm gently, his eyes wide and confused in the dim light.
"Lily, sweetheart? Why are these men so angry? I told them I don't have the files."
My heart broke. His dementia made the past and present blur together.
"It's okay, Dad," I soothed, holding his freezing hands.
"They want the password, Lily," Marco said quietly. "To the offshore account. Does your father remember it?"
I looked at my dad. "Dad, do you remember the bank account? The one you set up with Antonio?"
My father frowned, rubbing his forehead. "Antonio? He makes the best sauce. Tuesday nights. We always meet on Tuesday nights."
He was lost in the past.
The van took a sharp turn, throwing us to the side.
I caught myself on the floor, my hand brushing against something cold and metallic in the dark.
I picked it up.
It was a heavy silver bracelet, engraved with a delicate rose pattern.
I recognized it immediately.
"This is Serena's," I whispered, holding it up. "She was wearing it at the tasting tonight."
Marco squinted at it in the gloom. "She stole that from my mother's jewelry box three months ago. She claimed she bought it vintage."
"Serena is in the van," I realized. "She must be sitting in the front passenger seat."
A desperate plan began to form in my mind.
"Marco," I whispered, shuffling closer to him. "Turn around."
He turned his back to me. I reached into my apron pocket. I still had the small, sharp paring knife I used for peeling garlic in the kitchen.
I began sawing at the thick plastic zip-ties binding his wrists.
"Richard is going to kill us once he realizes my dad can't remember the password," I whispered, sawing frantically. "We have to fight back."
"If he stops the van, I'll take the driver," Marco said, his voice low and deadly. "You grab your father and run."
"No. We stay together."
The zip-tie snapped.
Marco rubbed his bleeding wrists, taking the small knife from my hand.
Suddenly, the van slammed on its brakes.
We lurched forward as the vehicle came to a complete stop.
The engine cut off.
"Get ready," Marco whispered, positioning himself by the rear doors.
The handles clicked.
The doors swung open, revealing the abandoned docks of the East River. The freezing wind whipped off the water.
Richard stood there with a gun in his hand. Serena stood beside him, clutching her expensive coat tight against the cold.
"End of the line," Richard smiled. "Bring out the old man."
Marco didn't hesitate.
He launched himself out of the van like a loaded spring, tackling Richard to the concrete.
The gun fired into the air, a deafening crack that echoed across the water.
Serena screamed, stumbling backward.
One of Richard's thugs lunged into the van to grab me, but I swung my arm, smashing Serena's heavy silver bracelet directly into his eye.
He roared in pain, falling backward onto the pavement.
"Dad, run!" I screamed, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the van.
We scrambled toward the stacks of shipping containers, hiding in the dark shadows.
Out on the dock, Marco was fighting like a man possessed, trading brutal blows with Richard.
But a second thug appeared from the front of the van, raising a steel pipe.
He swung it hard, hitting Marco in the ribs. Marco collapsed, gasping for air.
Richard stood up, wiping blood from his lip. He picked up his gun and pointed it directly at Marco's head.
"Enough," Richard panted.
He looked toward the shipping containers.
"Lily! Come out here with your father, or Marco dies right now!"
I squeezed my father's hand. I couldn't let Marco die for us.
I stepped out of the shadows.
"Stop," I yelled. "I'm here."
Richard smiled, keeping the gun trained on Marco.
"Good girl. Now, ask him for the password. Or the CEO gets a bullet."
I looked at my father. He was terrified, staring at the gun.
"Dad," I pleaded, tears streaming down my face. "Please. Think. The money you hid with Antonio. What was the password?"
My father looked at me, his eyes suddenly clearing with a startling, heartbreaking lucidity.
"I didn't hide the money for Antonio, Lily," my father said softly.
May you like
He looked directly at Richard Hale.
"I hid the money from your father, Richard. Because that money belongs to the people he stole it from."
