Chapter 3 – THE GOLD WATCH

Lily screamed. A piercing, terrifying sound that shattered the remaining fragile peace in the dining room.

“Lily!” Vanessa shrieked, lunging forward.

“Back off!” Julian roared, pressing the barrel harder against the little girl’s temple. He dragged her backward toward the grand arched windows of the dining room. “I will put a bullet in her! I swear to God!”

Vanessa collapsed to her knees, sobbing hysterically. “Julian, please! She’s your daughter!”

“She’s collateral!” Julian snarled, his eyes wild and darting around the room. The shattered gold watch on his wrist caught the light of the chandeliers, a damning reflection of his guilt.

Luca didn’t draw a weapon. He stood completely still, his hands raised slightly, palms open.

“Let the child go, Julian,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a low, lethal register. It wasn’t a request. It was the voice of a Don. “You walk out of here alone, I give you a five-minute head start.”

“Do you think I’m stupid, Luca?” Julian spat. “You’ll have your dogs hunt me down before I reach the city limits. I need leverage.”

He looked at Helen. The elderly woman was shaking so hard she could barely stand, but her eyes never left her granddaughter.

“Throw me the key, old woman,” Julian demanded.

Helen clutched the rusted iron key to her chest. “No.”

“Grandma!” Lily cried, tears streaming down her face.

“Give it to him, Mom!” Vanessa screamed from the floor. “Do you want her to die?!”

I couldn’t stand it. The sight of the child trembling in the arms of a murderer overrode every instinct of self-preservation I had.

“Julian, stop,” I said, taking a slow step forward. “You don’t want the key. You want the money inside the box.”

Julian glared at me over the top of Lily’s head. “Shut up, maid.”

“I’m not just a maid,” I reminded him, forcing my voice to remain steady. “You just told everyone in this room who I really am. I’m Hannah Romano. Heir to the Romano syndicate.”

Luca shot me a warning look, silently begging me to stay back. I ignored it.

“If you kill Luca’s fiancée’s daughter, Luca’s men will hunt you,” I continued, taking another slow step. “But if you take me, you have the ultimate hostage. The Morettis won’t shoot because I’m a civilian, and the remaining Romanos will pay any ransom you ask to get me back.”

Julian hesitated. His eyes narrowed as he weighed the options. A little girl was dead weight. An adult hostage with syndicate ties was a goldmine.

“Hannah, don’t do this,” Helen whispered, crying.

“It’s okay,” I said softly.

I stepped within arm’s reach of Julian.

“Let her go,” I said. “Take me.”

Julian shoved Lily forward. The little girl stumbled and fell into her grandmother’s arms.

In the same second, Julian grabbed my uniform collar, yanked me against his chest, and pressed the hot muzzle of the gun beneath my chin.

“Smart girl,” Julian hissed in my ear. “Move.”

He began dragging me toward the heavy oak doors leading to the foyer.

“Julian!” Luca’s voice cracked like thunder.

Julian stopped at the threshold.

“If you hurt one hair on her head,” Luca swore, his dark eyes burning with a terrifying, absolute promise, “I will dismantle you piece by piece.”

Julian laughed, but it was a nervous, breathy sound. “Goodbye, Luca.”

He dragged me through the foyer and out the front doors into the cold, pouring Chicago rain.

The driveway was lined with expensive cars belonging to the guests. Julian dragged me toward a sleek black Mercedes parked near the fountain.

“Keys!” Julian yelled, fumbling in his pocket with his free hand. He hit the unlock button, and the Mercedes beeped.

He shoved me against the passenger door, keeping the gun trained on my chest. “Get in. You drive.”

I opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat. My hands were shaking so violently I could barely grip the steering wheel. Julian climbed into the passenger seat, never lowering the weapon.

“Start the car!”

I hit the ignition. The engine roared to life.

“Drive through the gates. If any of his guards try to stop us, I’ll shoot you in the stomach.”

I put the car in gear and hit the gas. We sped down the long, winding driveway of the Moretti estate. To my shock, the heavy iron gates were wide open, and the guards were nowhere to be seen.

Luca had ordered them to stand down. He had kept his word to protect me.

We burst onto the main road, the tires kicking up massive sprays of rainwater.

“Where are we going?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“Central Station,” Julian barked. “To the safety deposit boxes.”

“But you don’t have the key,” I pointed out.

Julian smiled, a terrifying, blood-chilling expression.

He reached into his jacket pocket with his left hand.

And pulled out a rusted iron key.

My breath caught. “How… how do you have that? Helen has it!”

“Helen has a fake,” Julian laughed. “I broke into her apartment three months ago while she was at work. I found the real key hidden inside a hollowed-out Bible. I swapped it with a replica I had made.”

I stared at him in horror. He had been playing everyone the entire time.

“Keep your eyes on the road!” he snapped.

We drove in silence for twenty minutes, the rain hammering against the windshield.

But as we neared the downtown district, Julian’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled it out, keeping the gun aimed at me. He glanced at the screen, and his smug expression vanished.

He answered it. “What?”

I couldn’t hear the voice on the other end, but I heard the panic rising in Julian’s breathing.

“No,” Julian said, his voice shaking. “No, that’s impossible. I made sure he was dead.”

A pause.

“Where is he?” Julian demanded.

Another pause.

Julian slowly lowered the phone. He looked at me, his face pale and slick with sweat.

“Change of plans,” Julian whispered. “Turn the car around.”

“What? Why?”

“Turn the damn car around!” he screamed, hitting the dashboard with his gun. “We have to go to your apartment!”

My heart stopped. “My apartment? Why?”

Julian stared out the rain-slicked window, his eyes wide with a terror I had never seen before.

“Because your mother isn’t just a widow,” Julian said, his voice trembling. “And she didn’t just keep you a secret to protect you.”

He turned his head to look at me, and in the flashes of passing streetlights, he looked like a dead man walking.

“She kept you a secret because your father is still alive.”

TITLE: The Father’s Coat

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