Chapter 7 – The Ransom Note
“You set me up, Vanessa!” Daniel spat, struggling against the zip-ties cutting into his wrists. “You told me if I exposed our marriage at the dinner, Luca would break, and we could force a buyout!”
“You were a liability, Danny,” Vanessa sighed, checking her manicure. “You’re too emotional. You kept the maid’s father’s watch. You kept the lighter. You’re messy. It’s much cleaner to tell the police my deranged ex-husband broke in, kidnapped a college student, and I had to shoot him in self-defense.”
Below the grate, Luca placed a hand on my shoulder, signaling me to stay put.
He kicked the grate open.
The heavy iron slammed against the stage floor. Vanessa jumped, spinning around as Luca climbed out of the shadows, his gun leveled directly at her chest.
“Let the girl go, Vanessa,” Luca commanded, his voice echoing in the empty theater.
Vanessa recovered quickly, a wicked smile spreading across her lips. “Luca, darling. So brave. But if you shoot me, my man here snaps little Maya’s neck.”
The bodyguard tightened his grip on Maya. She let out a choked sob.
I couldn’t stay hidden. I climbed up behind Luca, my eyes locked on my sister. “Maya, I’m here!”
“Emily!” she cried out.
“Ah, the maid,” Vanessa sneered. “Did you bring my necklace?”
“I brought it,” I said, stepping out from behind Luca. I held up the string of pearls.
“Toss it,” Vanessa ordered.
I threw it. The necklace skittered across the dusty stage, stopping near Daniel’s bound feet.
Vanessa gestured to her bodyguard. “Get it.”
The giant man let go of Maya with one hand and bent down to scoop up the pearls.
It was the mistake we needed.
Daniel, bleeding and tied to the chair, suddenly threw his weight forward. He kicked his heavy leather shoe square into the bodyguard’s knee. The bone crunched. The giant man roared, dropping the pearls and stumbling backward.
“Get down!” Luca yelled.
I tackled Maya to the floor. Gunfire erupted. The sound was deafening, flashing violently in the dark theater.
When the echoing stopped, the bodyguard was on the floor, clutching his chest.
Vanessa was standing perfectly still, the gun knocked out of her hand, staring down the barrel of Luca’s weapon.
“It’s over, Vanessa,” Luca breathed.
But Vanessa started to laugh. A high, cold sound. She reached into her silk cleavage and pulled out a small, folded ransom note, dropping it onto the stage.
“You think you won because you got the sister?” Vanessa smiled. “Read the note, Luca. While you were sneaking through the basement, my backup team visited your penthouse. Your guards are dead. And Sophie is gone.”
