Chapter 5 – THE SILK SCARF

The idea of going to Vanessa Bellini for help was terrifying.

But Luca was right.

Arthur had played her family too.

He had orchestrated the hit on my father and blamed the Bellinis to start a turf war.

Marco picked us up on the dark county road.

We drove in silence to a luxury high-rise in downtown Chicago.

Luca used a private elevator code he clearly still remembered from his engagement.

We stepped out directly into Vanessa’s penthouse.

The lights were on.

Vanessa was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, pouring a drink.

She turned around, dropping her glass when she saw us.

It shattered on the marble floor.

“How did you get in here?” she demanded, backing away.

“You need to listen to me, Vanessa,” Luca said, stepping into the room.

“I’m calling the police!” she yelled, reaching for her phone. “You’re wanted for kidnapping that child!”

Luca tossed the black leather ledger onto her glass coffee table.

Vanessa froze.

“What is that?”

“Thomas Mitchell’s real ledger,” Luca said. “The one you thought your father killed him for.”

Vanessa stared at the book.

“Arthur Pendelton killed Thomas,” Luca continued. “Arthur killed him, stole your father’s shipment to make it look like a dispute, and planned to let our families slaughter each other.”

Vanessa looked up, her eyes narrowing.

“Why should I believe you?”

I stepped forward.

I reached into my pocket and placed the gold signet ring next to the ledger.

“Because my brother watched Arthur hand my dad cash the night before he died,” I said quietly. “And Arthur dropped this.”

Vanessa recognized the ring immediately.

She slowly walked over and picked it up.

She saw the dried blood.

“Arthur,” she whispered, her sophisticated mask finally cracking. “That snake.”

“He used you,” Luca said. “He pushed for our engagement to keep you close while he destroyed your father’s business.”

Vanessa clenched her jaw.

“What do you want, Luca?”

“I want the name of the federal judge your father bought last year,” Luca said. “The one outside of Arthur’s payroll.”

Vanessa laughed bitterly.

“You want me to hand over our only protection?”

“I want you to help me end Arthur,” Luca corrected. “You give me the judge. I give the judge the ledger. Arthur goes down, my father goes down, and your family gets immunity for cooperating.”

Vanessa stared at him.

“And you?” she asked. “You’d be handing over your own father.”

“My father killed my mother,” Luca said, his voice devoid of any emotion. “He died to me tonight.”

Vanessa looked at the ledger, then at the ring.

She reached for a pen and wrote a name and address on a cocktail napkin.

“Judge Harrison,” she said, handing it to Luca. “He’s at his lake house in Wisconsin. If you can get the ledger to him before Arthur’s cops catch you, he’ll issue federal warrants.”

“Thank you,” Luca said.

We turned to leave.

But Vanessa called out.

“Sarah.”

I stopped.

Vanessa walked over to the hallway closet.

She pulled out a thick, expensive cashmere blanket.

She walked over to Ben, who was shivering against my leg.

She didn’t smile, but she wrapped the blanket around his small shoulders.

“It’s cold outside,” Vanessa said softly.

It was the first time I realized she wasn’t entirely a monster.

She was just a woman trying to survive in a world built by ruthless men.

“Thank you,” I said.

We hurried back to the elevator.

The drive to Wisconsin took two hours.

The sun was just beginning to rise over the frozen lake when we pulled up to the judge’s cabin.

Luca knocked on the door.

An older man in a bathrobe answered, looking alarmed.

Luca held up the ledger.

“Judge Harrison. My name is Luca Moretti. I have evidence of federal corruption, murder, and racketeering.”

The judge stared at the black book.

He opened the door wider.

“Come inside.”

We sat in his living room for three hours while the judge reviewed the pages, made phone calls on a secure line, and authorized the warrants.

By 9:00 AM, the Amber Alert for Ben was canceled.

Arthur Pendelton was arrested at his office.

Luca’s father was taken into custody at his estate.

It was over.

The nightmare was actually over.

I sat on the judge’s sofa, holding a sleeping Ben, tears of exhaustion rolling down my face.

Luca walked over and sat beside me.

He looked incredibly tired, but the heavy darkness that had always surrounded him was gone.

“You’re safe now, Sarah,” he said softly.

“What happens to you?” I asked.

He looked at his hands.

“I’m giving up the family businesses. I made a deal for immunity in exchange for the ledger. I’m walking away with nothing.”

“You’re walking away with your soul,” I told him.

He looked at me, a genuine, warm smile touching his lips.

“I have one more promise to keep,” Luca said.

He reached into his pocket.

He pulled out the Family Appreciation Breakfast invitation Ben had given him the night before.

“It’s Friday morning,” Luca smiled. “I believe I have a story to listen to.”

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