Chapter 6 – THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TRAIN TICKET

The cold wind coming off the Chicago River suddenly felt like ice against my skin.

“Poisoned?” Luca whispered, the word tearing out of his throat.

For ten years, Luca had believed his father died in a violent shootout. He had built his entire reputation, his entire ruthless empire, on avenging a war that was a lie.

“Bring the ledger to the safe house,” Luca ordered Daniel, his voice vibrating with a terrifying, contained rage. “We are going to war.”

He hung up the phone.

I looked at the train ticket in my hand.

“Vanessa wasn’t trying to steal the Bellini trust tonight,” I said, the realization hitting me with terrifying clarity. “She already knew she wasn’t a Bellini. She was trying to get rid of my mother because my mother is a nurse.”

Evelyn gasped, covering her mouth.

“Mom,” I turned to her. “Ten years ago, when Dante died. Did you see his medical file? Did you know?”

Evelyn fell against the concrete pillar, sobbing.

“I suspected it,” she wept. “When I saw the toxicology report they leaked to the press, the symptoms didn’t match gunshot trauma. It looked like heavy metal poisoning. I tried to tell Richard, but Vanessa’s mother threatened to kill you if I spoke up.”

Luca stared at Evelyn.

“You knew my father was murdered by his own doctor, and you stayed silent?”

“I had an eleven-year-old daughter!” Evelyn cried. “They had guns, Luca! I had nothing! I traded my silence for Maggie’s life!”

Luca clenched his fists. For a terrible second, I thought the mafia boss was going to turn his wrath on my mother.

Instead, he let out a long, shuddering breath and ran a hand through his dark hair.

“You protected my sister,” Luca said softly. “I cannot judge a mother for that.”

He turned to his men. “Get Evelyn to the secure compound. Put six men on her door. Nobody gets in.”

As the guards escorted my mother away, Luca turned to me.

“We have hours before Vanessa’s mother realizes her daughter has been captured,” Luca said. “She will rally her loyalists. She will try to strike first.”

“What do we do?” I asked, gripping the ruby bracelet on my wrist.

“We take away her army,” Luca said. “The Commission only follows strength. If we prove Vanessa’s mother assassinated the former Don, the other families will abandon her.”

We rushed to the safe house, a highly fortified penthouse in downtown Chicago.

Daniel was waiting in the study, the medical ledger sitting on the mahogany desk.

Luca ripped the ledger open. The pages detailed years of slow poisoning, signed off by Dr. Aris, a chief physician on the Bellini payroll.

“This is all the proof we need,” Luca said, his eyes burning. “I am going to execute her myself.”

But as I looked at the open ledger, something caught my eye.

Tucked into the back binding of the book was a thick, silver necklace.

It was broken at the clasp.

I reached out and picked it up.

“Luca,” I said, my voice trembling. “I know this necklace.”

Luca looked at it. “It’s a standard silver chain.”

“No, it’s not,” I said, flipping the pendant over.

Engraved on the back was a small, distinct emblem: A viper wrapped around a rose.

“This belongs to the event planner,” I whispered. “The woman who organized your engagement dinner tonight.”

Daniel swore violently.

“The event planner?” Luca demanded. “Chloe? She’s been working for my family for five years!”

“She dropped this in the kitchen tonight,” I explained, the puzzle pieces slamming together. “I tried to hand it back to her, but she snatched it away and looked terrified.”

Luca’s face went completely pale.

“Daniel,” Luca said, his voice dropping an octave. “Where did Chloe source the wine for the dinner tonight?”

Daniel checked his tablet frantically. “She used a private vendor. A vineyard owned by Vanessa’s mother.”

The realization hit all of us at exactly the same time.

Vanessa’s mother didn’t care about the engagement. She didn’t care about Vanessa.

The engagement dinner was a trap.

“She poisoned the champagne,” Luca breathed.

He looked at me, horror dawning in his eyes.

“Margaret… forty of my top capos, my lieutenants, my entire command structure… they all drank that champagne tonight.”

Before Luca could give the order to call the paramedics, his cell phone rang.

It was his underboss, calling from the mansion.

Luca put it on speaker.

“Boss,” the man gasped, his voice ragged and weak. “We’re bleeding… everyone is collapsing… she locked us in…”

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