Chapter 2 – THE MEN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH

Valentina reached into the silk lining of her red gown and pulled out a small, crumpled photograph. Her hands were shaking so violently she nearly dropped it.

Luca snatched the picture from her fingers.

I stayed on the floor, holding my sister’s hand, but I could see the image from where I knelt. It showed three older men sitting around a dark mahogany table.

“The Chicago Syndicate Council,” Luca said, his voice flat. He looked up at Valentina. “They’ve been retired for five years.”

“They aren’t retired,” Valentina sobbed, her makeup running down her cheeks. “They’ve been rebuilding. And Daniel doesn’t own a legitimate construction company, Luca. He’s their chief money launderer.”

Caroline stared at Daniel, her eyes wide with horror. The charming, sophisticated businessman she had loved for two years was a ghost.

“Daniel?” Caroline asked, her voice breaking. “Is this true?”

Daniel didn’t answer her. He just glared at Valentina, his posture shifting from a panicked fiancé to something cold and calculating.

“The Council demanded Caroline as collateral,” Valentina confessed, speaking entirely to Luca. “They knew you would never agree to merge our territories. So they sent Daniel to court her. To marry her. Once they were married, Caroline would be their hostage. If you moved against the Council, they would kill her.”

“So you agreed to the engagement?” Luca asked, his anger barely contained.

“I was trying to buy time!” Valentina pleaded. “I found out Daniel was already married. I offered Rebecca a million dollars to leave, hoping it would ruin the engagement naturally. But when Rebecca told me she was pregnant… I panicked. I knew if the Council found out Daniel had a pregnant wife, they would kill Rebecca to clean up his loose ends.”

She pointed to the plane ticket in my hand.

“I kept her hidden here to protect her. And I bought that ticket to smuggle Caroline out of the country tonight, during the reception.”

It was a staggering reversal. Valentina hadn’t been acting out of malice or greed. The arrogant, cruel woman who had poured champagne on me was a desperate mother trying to stop a massacre.

Daniel finally laughed. It was a dry, hollow sound.

“You really thought you could outsmart them, Val?” Daniel sneered.

Luca stepped directly into Daniel’s personal space. The height difference wasn’t much, but Luca’s presence consumed the room.

“The wedding is off,” Luca said quietly. “Take your Council and stay out of my city. If I ever see you again, I’ll bury you under your own construction sites.”

Daniel didn’t flinch. He slowly raised his left arm and checked his watch. An expensive, heavy gold chronograph.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to cancel anything, Luca,” Daniel said, tapping the glass of his watch. “The Council knew Valentina was getting cold feet. They knew she might try to run.”

Luca’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

“My men didn’t stay at the hotel downtown,” Daniel smiled. “They’re already here.”

Before Luca could reach for his weapon, a massive explosion shook the foundation of the mansion.

The blast didn’t come from a bomb. It came from the power grid. Every single light in the sprawling estate went pitch black.

The heavy blackout curtains in the bedroom plunged us into absolute darkness.

Rebecca screamed, squeezing my hand in terror. Downstairs, the forty wedding guests erupted into panicked shrieks.

“Marco!” Luca barked in the dark.

“I’m here, boss,” Marco’s voice replied from the doorway.

“Get Caroline and Valentina to the panic room in the library. Emily, disconnect that IV. We have to move your sister.”

“I can’t see anything!” I cried, fumbling blindly for the medical tape on Rebecca’s arm.

Suddenly, a small, blinking red light illuminated the darkness near the doorway.

It was coming from Caroline’s wrist.

“Caroline,” Luca said sharply. “Your bracelet. Take it off.”

“Daniel gave this to me,” Caroline whispered, her voice trembling in the dark as the red light pulsed. “He said it was a custom diamond piece.”

“It’s a GPS tracker,” Valentina realized with horror. “That’s how his men knew exactly when to cut the power. He’s been tracking our movements inside the house.”

Caroline ripped the diamond bracelet off her wrist and hurled it against the hardwood floor. The delicate platinum shattered, and the red light died.

But it was too late.

Heavy, tactical footsteps were already pounding up the grand staircase.

“They’re on the second floor!” Marco yelled, racking the slide of his handgun.

“Move!” Luca commanded.

I yanked the IV needle from Rebecca’s hand. She cried out, but I pulled her up, throwing her arm over my shoulder.

We spilled out into the pitch-black hallway just as the beams of tactical flashlights swept across the landing.

“Hold your fire!” a voice commanded from the top of the stairs.

The tactical lights blinded us. I shielded my eyes, expecting to see Daniel’s mercenaries.

But the voice didn’t belong to Daniel.

It belonged to the man holding the flashlight.

Marco.

Luca’s loyal head of security had his gun raised. And he was pointing it directly at Luca’s chest.

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