Chapter 2 – THE LEDGER

The word ledger hung in the air like a live grenade.

Luca’s hand slowly fell away from his holstered gun, but the tension in his broad shoulders didn’t dissipate. He stared down at the trembling boy on the floor. Leo looked no older than twelve, dressed in a faded, oversized hoodie and torn jeans. His knuckles were scraped raw, and a dark purple bruise was blooming across his left cheekbone.

“Arthur Bellini sent a child to rob me?” Luca asked, his voice dangerously low. He looked up at his Uncle Carlo, who was leaning heavily against the doorframe, catching his breath.

“I found him in the study, Luca,” Carlo explained, wiping sweat from his forehead. “He had bypassed the electronic lock on the main door. He was already working on the wall safe behind the painting. If I hadn’t walked in when I did, he might have cracked it.”

I stood frozen near the shattered crystal on the floor, my broom forgotten. I had cleaned Luca’s study every day for three years. I knew exactly which painting Carlo was talking about. It was a massive, heavy oil portrait of Luca’s grandfather. I had always assumed the safe behind it held cash or jewelry.

“How did you get past my security detail outside?” Luca demanded, turning his terrifying gaze back to the boy.

Leo swallowed hard, shrinking back against the marble floor. “I… I climbed the trellis on the east wall. The guards don’t look up there. There’s a blind spot near the second-floor balcony.”

Luca’s jaw clenched. The fact that a twelve-year-old had found a flaw in his multi-million-dollar security system was infuriating, but the reason why he was there was far more alarming.

Luca crouched down, bringing himself to eye level with the terrified child.

“Leo,” Luca said smoothly, suppressing the intimidation in his voice. “Do you know what a ledger is?”

Leo nodded quickly. “It’s a book. With numbers in it.”

“And Arthur Bellini told you exactly which book to steal?”

“He said it was black leather. He said it had the names of all the cops on your payroll.” Leo’s voice cracked. “He told me if I didn’t bring it to him tonight, he was going to hurt my little sister.”

My heart broke. I took a step forward before I could stop myself, the protective instinct overriding my fear of the mafia boss in the room.

“Mr. Moretti, he’s just a kid,” I said softly. “He was coerced.”

Luca didn’t look at me, but his posture softened slightly. He reached out and gently gripped Leo’s shoulder.

“Arthur Bellini is a coward who hides behind children,” Luca said quietly to the boy. “Where is your sister now?”

“She’s at a foster home on the South Side,” Leo whimpered, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “Arthur’s men watch the house. They said they’d take her if I failed.”

Luca stood up, his dark eyes turning flat and cold. The empathy he had shown the child vanished, replaced by the calculating, ruthless syndicate leader.

“Carlo,” Luca ordered. “Take ten of our best men. Go to that foster home. If you see anyone affiliated with the Bellini family within a five-block radius, put a bullet in their kneecaps and bring the girl here.”

Carlo nodded grimly and turned to leave.

“Wait,” Luca added, his voice dropping to a lethal octave. “Take Leo with you. Keep him in the armored SUV. Once you secure the girl, bring them both back to the estate. They’re under my protection now.”

Carlo nodded again, grabbing Leo gently by the arm and leading the stunned, grateful boy out of the dining room.

Once the heavy doors clicked shut, Luca turned to me. The silence in the room was suffocating.

“Natalie,” he said, rubbing his temples. “I need you to go to the study and lock the door from the inside. Do not let anyone in until I get there.”

“Yes, sir,” I said quickly, dropping the broom and hurrying toward the hallway.

I practically ran to the study, my heart pounding in my chest. I slipped inside and locked the heavy oak door behind me, leaning against it to catch my breath.

The room was dark, lit only by the moonlight filtering through the tall windows. The massive oil painting of Luca’s grandfather had been swung open on hidden hinges, revealing the sleek, modern steel safe embedded in the wall.

Leo had been right. He had bypassed the first layer of security.

I stood in the center of the room, my mind racing. Arthur Bellini had murdered Luca’s brother. He had tried to steal a ledger containing the names of corrupt police officers. He was declaring war on the Moretti family, and he was using Vanessa to get inside the house.

Suddenly, a soft, metallic click echoed in the quiet room.

I froze.

The sound hadn’t come from the door. It had come from the wall safe.

I slowly turned around.

The heavy steel door of the safe was slightly ajar.

Panic seized my chest. Carlo had said he caught Leo trying to break into the safe. He hadn’t said the boy succeeded.

I took a hesitant step forward, my hands trembling as I reached out to pull the heavy steel door open completely.

The safe wasn’t empty.

There were stacks of banded cash, velvet jewelry boxes, and several manila folders.

But sitting right in the center, perfectly illuminated by the moonlight, was a thick, black leather book.

The ledger.

I reached out, my curiosity overriding my common sense. I pulled the heavy book from the safe and opened it to the first page.

The names were written in neat, precise handwriting. Next to each name was a date and a staggering sum of money.

Officer Thomas Vance. $50,000.

Detective Miller. $75,000.

Judge Harrison. $100,000.

I flipped the page, my eyes scanning the massive web of corruption Luca had built to protect his empire.

But as I reached the bottom of the third page, my blood ran completely cold.

There, written in the same neat handwriting, was a name I recognized. A name that made my breath catch in my throat and my knees go weak.

It was the name of the detective who had investigated my father’s hit-and-run death five years ago. And next to his name, written in bright red ink, was a payout of two hundred thousand dollars.

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