Chapter 8 – THE CHILD’S NECKLACE AT THE DOCKS
“They took him?” My voice shattered the quiet of the warehouse.
Luca ran his hands through his hair, pacing the concrete floor. “They hit our car near the bridge. I fought them, Rose. I swear to God I fought them. But there were too many. They pulled Leo from the backseat and drove off.”
I felt my knees give out. Clara’s son. The boy I had seen for exactly three minutes, the boy who called me Auntie Rose. He was in the hands of a man who wanted him dead.
“Why didn’t they kill him right there?” I asked, desperation clawing at my throat.
“Because Dominic needs the Commission to bless it,” Luca explained bitterly. “He can’t kill a Moretti child without proof that the boy is his, or proof that I’ve committed treason against the family. He’s taking Leo to the Commission meeting tonight to demand the seat as Boss.”
“Then we go to the meeting,” I said, standing up.
“Rose, no. It’s a sit-down of the five families. If I walk in there, they’ll shoot me on sight. Dominic has already told them I’m a traitor.”
“You have the ledger,” I reminded him, pointing to the black book in his hands. “You have the diary. That’s proof Dominic is lying.”
Luca shook his head, utterly defeated. “It’s not enough. Adelaide will testify against me. The grandmother’s word holds more weight than paper. We’ve lost, Rose.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, broken silver chain. Dangling from it was a tiny wooden cross.
“They ripped this off Leo’s neck when they grabbed him,” Luca whispered, tears finally falling. “I failed Clara. And I failed you.”
I looked at the broken necklace.
A memory flashed in my mind. The Sunday dinner. The way Adelaide had looked at me when she defended me against Vivian.
“She gave up the only thing that belonged entirely to her. And tonight, you’re offering her mother’s bedroom to another woman.”
Adelaide hadn’t defended me because she loved me. She had defended me because she needed me to stay in the house until she found the diary. She needed me blind.
But I wasn’t blind anymore.
“We haven’t lost,” I said, snatching the broken necklace from his hand. “Adelaide only has power because the Commission believes she’s loyal to the family’s traditions. She expects you to walk in there and beg.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you’re not walking into that meeting,” I said, my voice hardening into steel. “I am.”
Luca stared at me as if I had lost my mind. “You? A wife can’t address the Commission. They’ll kill you.”
“I am the woman who funded this family when your accounts were frozen,” I said, remembering Adelaide’s own words. “I hold the master ledger. And I hold the proof that Dominic’s claim is built on a lie. They will listen to me.”
Luca grabbed my arms. “I won’t let you risk your life.”
“You don’t have a choice!” I yelled, pushing him back. “That is my sister’s son! He is my blood! You hid him from me for five years, Luca. You owe me this.”
Luca looked at me, seeing me truly for the first time. Not as the quiet florist. Not as the patient wife.
He nodded slowly. “The meeting is at the old Italian Club downtown. In one hour.”
“Give me your gun,” I demanded.
Luca hesitated, then pulled his heavy pistol from his waistband and placed it in my hand.
I slid it into my coat pocket, right next to the ledger and the diary.
“If I’m not out in twenty minutes,” I told him, “burn the house down.”
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