Chapter 6 – The Greyhound Ticket

The gunshot was deafening inside the concrete vault.

Nathan’s body jerked backward violently, the blue ticket fluttering from his hand to the dusty floor. He collapsed against the metal deposit boxes, sliding down to the ground, a dark red stain rapidly spreading across his white shirt.

“Nathan!” I screamed. Despite everything he had done, despite the lies and the betrayal, he was the father of my child.

“Daddy!” Benjamin shrieked, trying to run toward him, but I tackled my son to the ground, covering his body with mine as the vault exploded into a firefight.

Luca’s men opened fire. Sofia’s guards returned it. The noise was apocalyptic. Sparks showered from the metal walls as bullets ricocheted everywhere. The heavy construction floodlights shattered, plunging the vault into strobing chaos.

I dragged Benjamin under the heavy steel table in the center of the room. I covered his ears, squeezing my eyes shut, praying to God we wouldn’t be hit in the crossfire.

Through the chaos, I heard Sofia screaming orders, followed by the heavy thud of bodies hitting the floor.

And then, just as suddenly as it began, the gunfire stopped.

The air was thick with gray smoke and the acrid smell of cordite. Someone clicked on a heavy tactical flashlight, sweeping the beam across the room.

“Clear,” a gruff voice called out.

I opened my eyes. Sofia’s men were dead or wounded on the floor.

Sofia was on her knees, her hands raised in the air, trembling violently. Two of Luca’s men had rifles pressed against the back of her head.

Luca walked slowly across the room. He didn’t look at his sister. He walked straight to the table, crouched down, and offered his hand to me.

“Are you hurt?” he asked softly, his dark eyes searching my face in the dim light.

“No,” I choked out, pulling Benjamin tighter against me. “We’re okay.”

Luca helped us out from under the table.

I immediately ran to Nathan. He was lying against the wall, his breathing shallow and ragged. Blood was bubbling at the corner of his lips.

“Kate,” he whispered, his eyes rolling back.

“Hold on, Nathan. Don’t close your eyes,” I said, pressing my hands frantically against his chest wound. The blood was warm and slippery. “Call an ambulance!” I screamed at Luca.

“It’s already on the way,” Luca said, standing over us.

Nathan grabbed my wrist with his bloody hand. His grip was surprisingly strong.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped, tears mixing with the blood on his face. “I was greedy. I wanted to be a big man. Like him.” He weakly pointed at Luca.

“Shhh. Save your strength,” I cried.

Nathan looked past me, his eyes finding Benjamin. My son was standing a few feet away, crying silently, terrified of the blood.

“Benny,” Nathan whispered. “Be a good boy for your mom.”

His hand went limp, falling away from my wrist. His eyes fluttered shut, and his chest stopped moving.

“Nathan!” I screamed.

A paramedic unit rushed down the stairs moments later. They pushed me aside, immediately starting chest compressions, shouting medical jargon. They loaded him onto a stretcher and rushed him back up the stairs. I didn’t know if he was dead or alive.

I sat on the vault floor, covered in my husband’s blood, completely numb.

Luca crouched beside me. He reached out and gently wiped a smear of soot from Benjamin’s cheek. Then, he picked up the blue paper ticket from the floor.

He held it out to me.

“This belongs to you, Katherine,” Luca said quietly.

I stared at it. “I don’t want it. It’s cursed money.”

“It is your mother’s money,” Luca corrected him. “She didn’t steal it from my father. My father gave it to her.”

I looked up at him, stunned. “What?”

“Before my father was murdered, he knew a war was coming. He trusted your mother more than his own family. He gave her the bonds to hide, to ensure Sofia and my uncle couldn’t use them to fund their violent takeover.” Luca sighed deeply. “Your mother hid the money to protect my family. And in return, my family brought this nightmare to your door.”

He pressed the blue ticket into my palm and closed my fingers over it.

“Go to the station. Claim your inheritance. Take your son and disappear, Katherine. You are free from the Santoros forever.”

He stood up, signaling his men to drag Sofia away.

“Wait,” I called out. “What will happen to her?”

Luca looked back, his eyes completely hollow. “Justice.”