Chapter 5 – The Bullet In The Dark Coat

“If I can’t have the empire,” Vanessa screamed, her finger tightening on the trigger, “then the bastard child doesn’t get to live!”

Everything happened in a fraction of a second.

Time seemed to freeze.

I saw the barrel of the gun lock onto Noah, who was huddled helplessly against my knees.

I didn’t think. I didn’t hesitate.

I threw my body over the little boy, turning my back to the weapon.

The gun fired.

A deafening CRACK echoed through the dining room.

I felt a brutal, burning impact tear through the heavy wool of my dark uniform coat, right at my left shoulder. The force of it spun me violently, and I collapsed onto the floor, wrapping my arms tightly around Noah as we fell.

“Rachel!” Noah screamed.

Chaos erupted.

Before Vanessa could fire a second shot, Luca crossed the distance between them like a predator.

He didn’t use a weapon. He hit her wrist with a devastating strike, snapping the bone. The gun clattered to the marble floor.

Vanessa shrieked in pain, collapsing to her knees.

Marco and the Moretti guards instantly aimed their weapons at Carlo and Don Carmine’s men. A bloodbath was seconds away.

“Hold your fire!” Don Carmine bellowed, his voice carrying absolute authority.

The old man slammed his cane into the floor.

He looked at Vanessa, who was sobbing and clutching her broken wrist. Then he looked at Carlo, who stood frozen in horror.

“Your sister just tried to murder a child in front of the Commission,” Don Carmine snarled at Carlo. “The Bellini family has brought shame to the table.”

Carlo fell to his knees beside his sister. He didn’t try to defend her. He looked completely defeated.

But I barely heard them.

The pain in my shoulder was blinding. Warm blood soaked through my coat, dripping onto the pristine marble.

“Rachel!”

Luca dropped to his knees beside me. His hands were shaking violently as he pressed his coat against my bleeding shoulder to stop the flow.

“Look at me, Rachel. Stay with me,” Luca begged, his dark eyes wide with a terror I had never seen in him.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered. “You’re safe.”

I blinked, my vision blurring.

I looked down. Noah was completely unharmed. He was crying, his little hands pressing against my uninjured arm.

“You saved me,” Noah sobbed.

“Always, sweet boy,” I breathed, forcing a weak smile. “Always.”

“Marco! Get the doctor in here right now!” Luca roared over his shoulder.

He looked back down at me. His face was pale.

“Why did you do that?” Luca choked out, his forehead resting against mine. “You could have died.”

“He’s my boy, too,” I whispered, the edges of my vision turning black. “He’s my boy, Luca.”

Luca let out a shattered breath.

He kissed my forehead, his lips lingering against my skin.

“I know,” he whispered fiercely. “I know he is.”

When I woke up, the blinding chandeliers were gone.

I was lying in a massive, soft bed. The room was dark, illuminated only by a small bedside lamp. Heavy velvet curtains were drawn tight against the Chicago skyline.

It was Luca’s master bedroom.

I groaned softly, feeling a tight, pulling pain in my left shoulder. It was heavily bandaged.

“Don’t move.”

A deep, quiet voice came from the shadows.

Luca was sitting in an armchair near the window. He had taken off his suit jacket and tie. His white shirt was stained with my blood. He looked exhausted, as if he had aged ten years in a single night.

“Where’s Noah?” I rasped, my throat dry.

Luca stood up and poured a glass of water from a pitcher on the nightstand.

“He’s asleep in the next room,” Luca said softly, helping me lift my head to drink. “Marco is sitting outside his door. He’s safe.”

I drank the water gratefully, sinking back into the pillows.

“What happened to Vanessa?”

Luca’s expression hardened into cold stone.

“The Commission took her. She will spend the rest of her life in a locked psychiatric facility owned by the syndicate. She will never see the sun again.”

I closed my eyes, a wave of profound relief washing over me.

“And Carlo?”

“He surrendered his claim to Noah,” Luca said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Don Carmine realized that true loyalty is earned, not inherited through blood. The Commission refused to accept my resignation. They told Carlo to step down, and they backed me.”

It was over. The nightmare was truly over.

I looked at Luca. He was staring at me with an intensity that made my heart race.

“You took a bullet for my son,” Luca whispered, reaching out to gently brush a strand of hair from my face.

“I love him,” I said simply.

“I know.”

Luca hesitated. His thumb traced my jawline, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Do you remember what you said to me before you passed out?” he asked softly.

I felt my cheeks flush. “I said he was my boy.”

“Yes.” Luca’s dark eyes searched mine. “And what about his father?”

My breath caught.

Before I could answer, there was a soft knock on the bedroom door.

Marco stepped inside, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

“Boss, I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“What is it, Marco?”

Marco held out a dark wool coat. It was mine. The one I had been wearing when I was shot. It had been cleaned, but there was a neat bullet hole through the shoulder.

“The doctor was cleaning out Rachel’s pockets before he threw the coat away,” Marco said, looking at the floor. “He found something inside. I thought you should see it.”

Luca frowned. He took the coat from Marco.

He reached into the deep pocket and pulled out a small, folded piece of paper.

It wasn’t a receipt. It wasn’t a tissue.

It was a one-way bus ticket to Seattle.

Dated for tomorrow morning.

Luca stared at the ticket. The warmth vanished from his eyes, replaced by a sudden, sharp betrayal.

He looked at me.

“You were leaving?” Luca whispered.