Chapter 6 – THE TWO PLANE TICKETS

The silence in the parlor was deafening.

Pier 44. He’s taking him out of the country.

If Leo got on that freighter, Gabriel would never see his son again. And Elias would still destroy the Moretti family, piecemeal, from the shadows.

Gabriel stared at his phone, his face completely drained of color. For the first time since I had known him, my powerful, untouchable husband looked helpless.

“He’s gone,” Gabriel whispered. “If Elias has him at the docks, he’s surrounded by thirty armed men. We can’t breach that.”

“Yes, we can,” I said.

He looked up at me, his eyes hollow. “Claire, you don’t understand military tactics. Pier 44 is a choke point. My men would be slaughtered.”

“I don’t need military tactics,” I said, walking to the table and grabbing the leather ledger. “I need a distraction.”

I turned to Antonella. “Nonna, do you trust me?”

The old woman stood perfectly straight. “With my life, Claire.”

“Good. Gabriel, call your men. Tell them to converge on Pier 44 but stay out of sight. Do not engage until I give the signal.”

“Until you give the signal?” Gabriel grabbed my arm, his grip desperate. “Claire, stop. I am not letting you go near those docks.”

With his free hand, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a crisp, white envelope. He shoved it against my chest.

“Take this. Please.”

I looked down. Through the unsealed flap, I saw two first-class plane tickets.

Chicago to Rome.

Passenger: Claire Moretti.

Passenger: Antonella Moretti.

Answer One: He had always planned to send us away to safety before the final confrontation.

Open Two: Was he planning to sacrifice himself at the docks?

“You were going to send us away tonight,” I realized, my chest tight.

“The flight leaves in two hours,” Gabriel said, his voice breaking. “My men will escort you to O’Hare. You and Nonna will be untouchable in Italy. I’ll go to the docks alone. I’ll trade my life for Leo’s.”

I stared at the man who had humiliated me hours ago. The man who had let another woman hold my hand, all to convince his enemies that I meant nothing to him.

He loved me enough to let me hate him, as long as I lived.

I took the envelope from his hand.

And I tore it in half.

Gabriel gasped. “Claire—”

“I took a vow,” I said fiercely, dropping the torn tickets onto the floor. “For better or for worse. For richer or for poorer. In sickness and in health. You don’t get to break that vow just because you’re scared.”

I stepped closer, pressing my hand flat against his chest, right over his racing heart.

“I am a Moretti. I’m not running.”

Gabriel closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against mine. A ragged breath escaped his lips. For a brief second, he let himself be vulnerable, leaning his weight into me.

Then, he opened his eyes. The helplessness was gone, replaced by the cold, calculating fire of a mob boss.

“What’s the plan?” he asked.

“Isabella,” I said.

Ten minutes later, we were in Gabriel’s armored SUV, speeding through the dark streets toward the lakefront. Antonella stayed behind at the estate, guarded by ten of Gabriel’s best men.

I sat in the passenger seat, my phone pressed to my ear. It rang four times before Isabella answered.

“Claire?” she whispered frantically. “I told you not to—”

“Isabella, listen to me,” I cut in. “Your father is moving Leo to Pier 44. He shot my uncle.”

A sharp intake of breath. “Oh my god.”

“Gabriel has the proof of your grandfather’s murder of Mayor Higgins,” I said, letting the words sink in. “If it goes to the FBI, your father rots in a cage. We want to trade the ledger for the boy.”

“He won’t believe you,” Isabella said. “He’ll shoot Gabriel on sight.”

“He won’t shoot Gabriel,” I said, looking out the window at the looming cranes of the shipyard in the distance. “Because Gabriel isn’t bringing him the ledger. You are.”

Silence on the line.

“Me?”

“You want to be free of him, Isabella? This is your chance. You drive to Pier 44. You tell Elias you stole the ledger from Gabriel’s house tonight. You tell him Gabriel is broken, that he trusted you with everything.”

“Why would my father believe I stole it?”

Answer One: We had to give Elias a reason to believe Isabella had betrayed us completely.

Reversal: We had to make it look real.

“Because,” I said coldly, “when you walk up to your father, you’re going to have Gabriel’s blood on your hands.”

Isabella gasped. “What?”

“Meet us at the warehouse on 5th Street in ten minutes,” I ordered. “Come alone.”

I hung up the phone.

Gabriel glanced at me from the driver’s seat, his grip tight on the steering wheel.

“My blood?” he asked quietly.

I reached into the console and pulled out his hunting knife.

“Elias needs to believe she fought you for the ledger,” I said, my voice steady even though my hands were shaking. “It has to look real.”

Gabriel didn’t hesitate. He held out his left arm, rolling up his sleeve.

“Do it.”

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