Chapter 5 - [THE RED LASER IN THE WINE CELLAR]
The red laser dot rested perfectly over Luca’s heart.
Julian Bellini stood in the doorway of the wine cellar, impeccably dressed in a navy blue tuxedo, looking as calm as a man ordering a cocktail. He didn't look surprised that we had survived the fire; he looked mildly inconvenienced.
“I have to admit,” Julian sighed, stepping fully into the damp cellar and letting the heavy iron door click shut behind him. “I didn't expect the old coal chute trick. I thought my sister would have suffocated in the first two minutes. She always was a mouth-breather.”
“Julian, please!” Vanessa sobbed, crawling backward in the dirt until she hit the ancient wooden wine racks. “I did everything you asked! I kept the Morettis distracted! I didn't tell them about the poison!”
“You left a paper trail, Vanessa,” Julian said coldly, not taking his eyes off Luca. “You pawned the ring instead of melting it down. You kept the chauffeur alive because you were too squeamish to finish the job. You’re weak.”
Luca stood perfectly still, his body shielding me and Arthur. His own gun was drawn, but Julian had the drop on him. In the narrow confines of the cellar, a shootout would be a bloodbath.
“You burned a mechanic alive,” I said. The words tore out of my throat before I could stop them. I stepped out from behind Luca, my hands balled into fists. “My father found your tampered brakes, and you murdered him.”
Julian’s eyes flicked to me. A cruel, amused smile touched his lips.
“Ah. The little orphan maid,” Julian mocked. “Thomas Hayes was a nuisance. He was too loyal to the Morettis. He found the brake lines I cut, so I had to improvise. I used Vanessa to slip the poison into the old man’s scotch, and then I locked your daddy in his garage and tossed a match. It’s nothing personal, sweetheart. Just business.”
Tears of pure, blinding rage blurred my vision. He spoke about my father’s agonizing death like he was swatting a fly.
“Why?” Luca demanded, his voice a low, lethal rumble. “My father brought your family into the syndicate. He gave you power. He gave you a seat at the table. Why betray him?”
Julian’s smile vanished. His eyes hardened into black stones.
“Because your father was going soft, Luca!” Julian spat. “He wanted to go legitimate! He was liquidating the offshore accounts, buying up real estate, trying to turn the syndicate into a corporate board! He was going to cut the Bellinis out of the underground trade entirely.”
Julian took a step forward, the laser dot holding steady on Luca’s chest.
“We are wolves, Luca. We don't play by corporate rules. Your father wanted to put us on a leash. So I put him in the ground. And once you’re dead, the Bellini family absorbs the entire empire.”
“You’re a coward, Julian,” Arthur said quietly, leaning heavily on his wooden cane.
Julian laughed sharply. “I’m the man holding the gun, old man.”
“A gun doesn't make you a man,” Arthur replied, his voice completely steady. “It just makes you loud.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed. He shifted his aim. The red dot moved from Luca’s chest directly to Arthur’s forehead.
“Let’s see how loud you are when I blow your brains out,” Julian sneered.
“No!” I screamed.
Everything happened in a fraction of a second.
Julian’s finger tightened on the trigger.
But Arthur Bennett, the seventy-year-old chauffeur with a bad knee, didn't cower. With lightning speed born of thirty years surviving the mafia underworld, Arthur kicked his heavy wooden cane upward.
The solid oak shaft cracked violently against Julian’s wrist just as the gun went off.
PFFT!
The suppressed gunshot hit the stone ceiling, showering us in dust.
Luca lunged forward, tackling Julian into the massive, floor-to-ceiling wine racks. Hundreds of heavy glass bottles shattered instantly, raining dark red wine over them like blood.
The two men grappled violently in the dirt. Julian was younger, but Luca fought with the unrestrained fury of a son avenging his murdered father. Luca slammed his fist into Julian’s jaw, but Julian managed to bring his knee up, kicking Luca in the ribs and throwing him backward.
Julian scrambled in the dirt, his hand closing over the grip of his dropped pistol. He raised it, aiming directly at Luca’s head.
I didn't think. I just moved.
I grabbed a heavy, unbroken bottle of vintage Cabernet from the bottom rack. I lifted it over my head with both hands and brought it down with all my strength against the back of Julian Bellini’s skull.
The thick glass shattered on impact.
Julian let out a choked gasp. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed face-first into the dirt, entirely unconscious.
I dropped the broken bottleneck, my hands shaking violently, chest heaving.
Luca slowly pushed himself up from the ground. He wiped the dirt and wine from his face, staring at Julian’s unconscious body, and then at me.
“Remind me,” Luca panted, a dark, breathless respect in his eyes. “Never to make you angry, Olivia.”
Arthur let out a long sigh of relief, retrieving his cane from the floor.
“He’s out cold,” Arthur said. “But we can’t stay down here. If Julian isn't back upstairs soon, his men will come looking for him.”
“We tie him up,” Luca ordered. “We leave him in the vault. Then we go upstairs to the dining room and expose the Bellini family to the Commission.”
“Luca, wait,” Vanessa whimpered from the corner. She was trembling, looking at her brother’s body. “You can’t just walk upstairs. Julian wasn't acting alone. He couldn't have pulled this off without proof.”
Luca frowned. “Proof of what?”
“Proof that your father was going legitimate,” Vanessa said, tears streaking her makeup. “Julian needed evidence to convince the other families to turn a blind eye to the assassination. He found your father’s private ledger. The ledger with all the clean accounts.”
Arthur went rigidly still. “The blue ledger?”
Vanessa nodded rapidly. “Yes! The blue leather book. Julian kept it. It’s his insurance policy.”
“Where is it?” Luca demanded, grabbing Vanessa by the arm.
“It’s in Julian’s coat pocket,” Vanessa cried. “But he isn't wearing it! He checked his heavy winter coat at the coatroom upstairs when we arrived!”
Luca looked at Arthur. “If Julian’s men find that ledger, they’ll destroy it. We need it.”
“I’ll get it,” I said instantly.
Luca turned to me, his eyes wide. “Olivia, no. It’s too dangerous. His men are upstairs.”
“I’m the maid,” I said, looking down at my uniform. “Nobody looks twice at the maid in the coatroom. I can walk right past the guards.”
Luca hesitated, but he knew I was right. He reached into his pocket and handed me a small, heavy object.
May you like
The brass garage key.
“Get the ledger,” Luca said softly. “Lock the coatroom door behind you. Do not let anyone see you.”
