Chapter 4 – THE DIAMOND CONNECTION

Marco’s grip on my hair loosened.

He stared at the diamond bracelet in Sofia’s small hand.

“Boss, the kid is confused,” Marco stammered.

“Put the gun down, Marco,” Luca commanded, cocking the shotgun. The heavy metallic clack echoed through the mansion.

Marco slowly lowered the pistol and let go of me.

I stumbled forward, running down the stairs until I was behind Luca.

I was shaking violently.

Luca didn’t take his eyes off his bodyguard.

“Why was Vanessa’s bracelet in your car, Marco?” Luca asked softly.

Marco swallowed hard.

“She must have dropped it. I drive her all the time.”

“You drive her all the time,” Luca repeated. “And yet, earlier today, she told Lorenzo the doctor that she hadn’t left the house in three days. But Sofia found that bracelet in the footwell of your personal vehicle. The one you keep parked in the staff lot.”

Marco backed up a step.

“And then there’s the matter of this,” Luca continued, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket.

It was the child’s drawing of the butterfly.

“Sofia slid this under my office door ten minutes ago,” Luca said.

Sofia looked up at me.

“I made two copies,” she whispered. “One for you, one for Daddy.”

I felt a rush of immense love for this brave little girl.

“Marco,” Luca said, his voice dripping with venom. “You rigged the car. You crippled my daughter. Because Vanessa and her father paid you to.”

Marco’s face twisted into a snarl.

“You were getting soft, Luca! The Bellinis offered me a million in cash and a seat at the table. All I had to do was make sure the kid was out of the picture so Vanessa could control the trust!”

“You’re a dead man,” Luca said.

Marco suddenly reached into his pocket.

“No, I’m an insured man.”

He pulled out a small, black remote detonator.

My breath hitched.

“There’s a pound of C4 wired to the main gas line in the basement,” Marco smiled. “You shoot me, my thumb slips off this button. The whole house goes up.”

Luca froze.

He looked at Sofia, then at me.

The stakes had just shifted entirely.

“Let me walk out the front door,” Marco said. “I get in my car, I drive away. When I’m ten miles out, I leave the detonator on the side of the road.”

Luca slowly lowered the shotgun.

He had no choice. He wouldn’t risk Sofia’s life.

Marco grinned, backing toward the front door.

“Smart move, boss.”

He reached for the doorknob.

But as he opened the massive oak door, he stopped dead in his tracks.

Standing on the front porch was Dr. Lorenzo Bianchi.

And he wasn’t alone.

Two heavily armed men in black tactical gear flanked the doctor.

Lorenzo stepped inside, looking completely unfazed by Marco’s detonator.

“Good evening, Marco,” Lorenzo said in perfect, unaccented English. “I believe you have something that belongs to the FBI.”

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