Chapter 3 – The Blood On The Blue Lunchbox

The gunshot was deafening.

It echoed off the crystal chandeliers, shattering a vase of white roses on the dining table.

Women screamed. Men scrambled across the polished floor.

I squeezed my eyes shut, holding Frank as tightly as I could, waiting for the burning impact of the bullet.

But the pain never came.

Instead, there was a heavy metallic CLANG.

I opened my eyes.

Frank had swung his heavy, metal lunchbox in a wide, desperate arc, smashing it directly into the gunman’s wrist just as he fired.

The bullet tore into the ceiling, raining plaster dust down on the dining table.

The gunman cursed in pain, dropping his weapon.

In that split second of chaos, Luca moved.

He didn’t hesitate. He tackled the disarmed waiter to the floor, driving his elbow into the man’s jaw with brutal precision.

Luca’s own security guards finally sprang into action, opening fire on the remaining Bellini men.

The dining room became a war zone.

I dragged Frank behind a heavy oak serving credenza, pulling his head down into my chest.

“Stay down, honey, stay down!” I sobbed, covering his ears to block out the deafening roar of gunfire.

Frank was shaking uncontrollably.

His eyes were wide with sheer terror, but his arms were wrapped tightly around my waist, trying to protect me.

“Ruth!” he shouted over the noise. “Ruth, they’re breaking the plates!”

Even now, even in the middle of a mafia shootout, his beautiful, damaged mind was worried about me getting in trouble for the broken china.

“It’s okay, Frank,” I cried, pressing my face into his gray hair. “It’s going to be okay!”

The gunfire stopped as suddenly as it had started.

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the room, broken only by the whimpers of the guests hiding under the tables.

“Clear!” one of Luca’s guards shouted.

I slowly peered over the edge of the credenza.

Vanessa’s men were all on the floor, either unconscious or groaning in pain, surrounded by Luca’s heavily armed security team.

Luca stood in the center of the room, breathing heavily, blood smeared across his white dress shirt.

He had Vanessa pinned against the wall by her throat.

Her red satin gown was covered in white plaster dust, and the cruel, arrogant smirk was completely gone from her face. She looked terrified.

“You came into my house,” Luca snarled, his voice vibrating with lethal fury. “You threatened my mother. And you tried to murder the people who work for me.”

Vanessa clawed at his hand, gasping for air.

“Luca… please…”

“It’s over, Vanessa,” Luca said coldly. “Your family is finished. The commission will see the photograph.”

Frank let out a soft groan beside me.

I turned to him, my heart pounding.

“Frank? Honey, are you hurt?”

He shook his head, his hands trembling as he reached for his blue lunchbox.

It had been knocked to the floor during the struggle. The lid was open, and the sandwich he had so carefully made for me was lying on the carpet, ruined in the dust.

Frank stared at the crushed sandwich.

Tears welled up in his confused eyes.

“I ruined your supper, Ruth,” he whispered, his chin quivering. “I’m sorry. I tried to keep it safe.”

“Oh, my sweet man,” I choked out, grabbing his face and kissing him all over. “You saved my life. I don’t care about the sandwich.”

But as I reached down to pick up the lunchbox, I noticed something tucked beneath the wax paper at the bottom of the tin.

It wasn’t food.

It was a piece of stiff, glossy paper with a barcode printed on it.

I pulled it out, my brow furrowing in confusion.

It was a first-class, one-way train ticket to Montreal, Canada.

It was dated for tonight.

Leaving in exactly two hours.

And the name printed on it was Vanessa Bellini.

I stood up slowly, clutching the ticket.

“Mr. Moretti,” I said, my voice shaking.

Luca turned slightly, still holding Vanessa against the wall.

I held up the train ticket.

“She wasn’t going to stay and marry you,” I whispered. “She was planning to flee the country tonight.”

Luca’s eyes narrowed. He snatched the ticket from my hand and looked at the date and time.

Then he looked back at Vanessa, his expression turning into something truly terrifying.

“You already had a bag packed, didn’t you?” Luca murmured. “You were going to take the watch, destroy the evidence, and disappear before I even realized what was missing.”

Vanessa squeezed her eyes shut, sobbing.

But I looked down at my husband, who was still kneeling on the floor.

“Frank,” I asked gently. “Where did you find this ticket?”

Frank blinked, looking confused. “The lady dropped it.”

“Where, honey?”

Frank pointed toward the front of the mansion.

“By the front gate,” Frank said softly. “When Jean brought me in the car. The lady was standing by the gate, talking to a man in a black coat. She dropped the paper. I picked it up to put in my box so it wouldn’t blow away.”

Luca froze.

He slowly released Vanessa’s throat, letting her slide down the wall.

“You were talking to a man at the gate tonight?” Luca asked, his voice deadly quiet.

Vanessa let out a dark, breathless laugh.

“You think I came here without a backup plan, Luca?” she spat, wiping blood from her lip.

She looked directly at me.

And the malice in her eyes made my blood run cold.

“I knew the old man saw me in the library,” Vanessa sneered. “I knew he might remember. So I sent my men to take care of your little insurance policy.”

My stomach plummeted.

“What are you talking about?” I whispered.

Vanessa smiled, a twisted, evil grin.

“Where do you think I was transferring the Moretti funds, Ruth?” she laughed. “I couldn’t use my own name. I used yours. The police are already on their way to your house to arrest you for embezzlement.”

I couldn’t breathe.

But then, Vanessa delivered the final, crushing blow.

“And just to make sure you cooperate,” she whispered, “my men are waiting at your house right now. With your daughter.”

My entire world stopped.

Sarah.

My beautiful, twenty-six-year-old daughter.

She was coming over to our house tonight to have dinner with Frank while I worked late.

Frank let out a sudden, agonizing cry.

He grabbed his head with both hands, his eyes rolling back in terror.

“Sarah!” he screamed. “They have my little girl!”