Chapter 3 – THE MECHANIC’S SHADOW

I stared at the crayon handwriting.

Don’t trust Marco.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

Marco was Luca’s most trusted man. He had been the one driving Sofia seven months ago when the brakes “failed.” He walked away with a concussion. Sofia lost her legs.

And Marco was the one who had just handed Luca that auto shop receipt.

He was framing my family.

I rushed to the window.

We were on the second floor. Too high to jump.

I needed to find Luca. I needed to show him this drawing.

Suddenly, the lock clicked.

The door opened.

Marco stood there.

He wasn’t wearing his suit jacket anymore. He wore a dark sweater, and he held a silencer-equipped pistol by his side.

“Time to go, Emily,” he said quietly.

“Where?” I backed away.

“Mr. Moretti thinks it’s best if you leave the property quietly. He doesn’t want Sofia to see you get arrested in the morning.”

“You’re lying,” I said, my voice trembling but defiant. “Luca wouldn’t send you with a gun to fire a maid.”

Marco smirked.

“You’re too smart for your own good. Just like your father.”

I froze.

“You knew my father?”

“Frank Carter was a good mechanic,” Marco said, stepping into the room and closing the door. “But he asked too many questions. When I needed a car rigged six years ago, he did the job. But he felt guilty.”

My blood turned to ice.

Six years ago. Luca’s wife.

“You killed Luca’s wife,” I whispered.

“No. Bellini ordered the hit. I just made sure the brakes didn’t work. But your old man kept a copy of the work order. He hid it in a safety deposit box. He tried to blackmail Bellini.”

The silver key.

“That’s why my father died,” I choked out. “It wasn’t a heart attack.”

“He had a weak heart. The poison just sped it up,” Marco said coldly. “Now, grab your coat.”

He raised the gun.

I looked wildly around the room.

My eyes landed on a heavy brass lamp on the nightstand.

I didn’t think. I just moved.

I grabbed the lamp and threw it as hard as I could at Marco’s face.

It struck his shoulder. He stumbled backward, the gun firing with a muffled pfft.

The bullet shattered the mirror behind me.

I bolted out the door and sprinted down the hallway.

“Luca!” I screamed. “Luca!”

I reached the grand staircase just as Marco grabbed my hair from behind.

I screamed in pain as he pulled me backward.

“Shut up,” he hissed, raising the gun to the back of my head.

“Let her go.”

We both froze.

At the bottom of the stairs stood Luca.

He was holding a pump-action shotgun.

And it was pointed directly at Marco’s chest.

“You found the receipt too convenient, didn’t you, Marco?” Luca said, his voice deadly calm.

Before Marco could react, a small figure stepped out from behind Luca.

It was Sofia.

And in her hand, she was holding a delicate, diamond bracelet.

“I found this in Marco’s car today, Daddy,” Sofia said. “It’s Vanessa’s.”

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