Chapter 5 – THE ATTIC DUST

The attic air was thick with dust and the smell of old cedar.

Luca didn’t let the guards go up. It was just him, me, Eleanor, and Grace. We left Vanessa, Marcus, and Clara downstairs under heavy watch.

The single bulb hanging from the ceiling flickered as Luca pulled away the heavy canvas tarp covering the old nursery furniture.

There it was. A beautiful, hand-carved mahogany bassinet.

Luca’s hands hovered over it. For a man who controlled half the city, he looked utterly fragile.

“I bought this for her when we found out she was pregnant,” Luca whispered.

He carefully unzipped the quilted lining along the bottom mattress. He reached his hand inside.

When he pulled it out, he was holding a small, black USB drive.

And a sealed envelope with his name on it.

Grace held my hand tightly as her father tore open the envelope. His eyes scanned the letter. I watched a single tear break loose and fall down his cheek, landing on the paper.

He folded the letter and put it in his pocket. He didn’t share what it said.

But his posture changed. The grief was still there, but the uncertainty was gone. He looked like a man who finally knew exactly what he had to do.

“Emily,” Luca said, turning to me. “Take Grace and Eleanor to the guest suite. Lock the door. Do not come out until I come for you.”

“What are you going to do?” Eleanor asked.

Luca’s eyes were cold, dark obsidian.

“I’m going to clean house.”

We went down the back stairs. As I locked the heavy oak door of the guest suite, I could hear shouting coming from the main floor. The sound of heavy furniture breaking. Vanessa screaming.

Grace covered her ears.

I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the little girl into my lap, rocking her gently. Eleanor sat beside us, her hands still shaking, clutching her daughter’s diary.

“You were very brave tonight, Grace,” Eleanor whispered, kissing the girl’s forehead.

“Is Daddy going to be okay?” Grace asked, her voice muffled against my shoulder.

“Your father is protecting you,” I said softly.

We waited in that room for three hours. The silence that eventually fell over the house was more terrifying than the shouting.

Finally, heavy footsteps approached the door.

A knock. Two short, one long. Luca’s knock.

I unlocked the door.

Luca stood in the hallway. His suit jacket was gone. His tie was missing. There was a smear of blood on his white collar, but his eyes were entirely calm.

“It’s over,” he said.

Answer one: The threat from Vanessa, Marcus, and Clara was neutralized.

Open two: What did Catherine’s letter say? And what happens to Emily now?

We walked back out to the main foyer.

The house was empty. The guests were gone. The guards were stationed outside.

Vanessa, Marcus, and Clara were nowhere to be seen.

“Where are they?” Eleanor asked cautiously.

“Marcus is on a plane to Italy. He will never return to the States,” Luca said flatly. “Clara has been relocated to a retirement facility in upstate New York without access to her bank accounts. And Vanessa…”

Luca paused. “Vanessa is currently in federal custody. The drive contained enough evidence of her embezzlement to put her away for twenty years. I made a deal with the feds. I gave them her network, they leave my family alone.”

Eleanor closed her eyes, letting out a long, shuddering breath. Justice, finally, for her daughter.

But as Luca looked at me, he pulled a small, folded piece of paper from his pocket.

“Emily. Before Catherine died, she wrote something about you in her letter.”

My stomach dropped. “About me? But I didn’t work here when she was alive.”

“I know,” Luca said. He unfolded the paper. “But she knew who you were.”

TITLE: The Uncashed Check

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