Chapter 3 – THE RANSOM IN THE LEATHER BAG

The phone slipped from my trembling hand and clattered against the marble floor.

“They took him,” I whispered, the words choking in my throat. “They took Leo.”

Luca didn’t hesitate. The shock of Vanessa’s betrayal vanished, instantly replaced by the cold, calculating instincts of a mafia Don.

He turned to his head of security.

“Daniel. Lock down the estate. Nobody gets in or out.”

“Yes, boss.”

Luca walked over to me. He gently picked up my phone and handed it back. His dark eyes were fierce, protective.

“I won’t let them hurt your brother, Hannah,” Luca promised. His voice was steady, an anchor in the middle of a hurricane. “Who was on the phone?”

“I don’t know. A man. He said he wants the contents of your father’s lockbox.”

Luca turned slowly toward Vanessa.

She was backed into the corner, looking genuinely terrified. For the first time all evening, her mask had completely slipped.

“You didn’t just empty the vault, did you?” Luca asked quietly. “You hired someone to take the boy.”

“I didn’t!” Vanessa cried, shaking her head violently. “I swear to God, Luca! I just wanted the adoption papers so I could claim the trust! I didn’t hire anyone to kidnap him!”

“Then who has him?”

Vanessa swallowed hard. “My brother.”

Marco, still restrained by the guards, let out a bitter laugh. “Her brother is a degenerate gambler, Luca. He found out Antonio set up a ten-million-dollar trust for the kid. He’s been hounding Vanessa for a cut.”

“Where is he?” Luca demanded.

“I don’t know!” Vanessa sobbed.

Luca reached into his jacket and pulled out his gun. He didn’t point it at her, but the sheer threat of it was enough.

“You have one minute to remember,” Luca said softly.

“He has a safe house!” Vanessa blurted out, tears ruining her expensive makeup. “An old auto body shop in Pilsen. That’s where he operates!”

Luca looked at Daniel. “Get the cars ready. We’re going to Pilsen.”

“I’m coming with you,” I said, stepping forward.

Luca stopped. “Hannah, it’s too dangerous. Stay here.”

“He’s my brother!” I shouted, my fear transforming into pure adrenaline. “I raised him after our parents died. I’m not sitting in a mansion while he’s in danger.”

Luca stared at me. He saw the fierce determination in my eyes, the same stubbornness that had made me refuse the fake resignation letter.

He gave a sharp nod. “Stay close to me.”

Ten minutes later, we were speeding down the wet Chicago streets in a convoy of black SUVs.

I sat in the passenger seat next to Luca. The silence in the car was suffocating.

“Why did your father set up a trust for Vanessa’s child?” I asked, breaking the silence.

Luca kept his eyes on the road.

“My father had many secrets,” Luca said heavily. “Vanessa’s brother owed my father a lot of money. When Vanessa got pregnant, my father saw an opportunity to buy the child and give it to a clean, civilian family. Your parents.”

“He bought a baby to settle a debt?” I felt sick.

“He thought he was saving the boy from a life of crime,” Luca murmured. “He set up the trust to ensure Leo would never have to rely on the syndicate.”

We pulled up to a dark, rusted auto body shop in the Pilsen neighborhood. The rain was falling harder now.

Luca’s men quietly surrounded the building.

Luca handed me a heavy, bulletproof vest from the backseat.

“Put this on,” he ordered. “Do not leave my side.”

I strapped the vest over my maid’s uniform. It felt incredibly heavy, a stark reminder of the violent world I had just been dragged into.

Luca kicked open the side door of the shop.

We moved through the dark, smelling of oil and old tires.

In the center of the garage, illuminated by a single hanging bulb, was a man holding a gun.

Vanessa’s brother, Marcus.

And sitting on a grease-stained chair, his hands tied with zip-ties, was Leo.

“Leo!” I screamed.

“Hannah!” the ten-year-old cried, struggling against his bindings.

Marcus pointed the gun at Leo’s head.

“Not another step, Moretti!” Marcus yelled, his eyes wide and manic. “Where is the lockbox?”

Luca stepped forward, his own weapon aimed perfectly at Marcus’s chest.

“Let the boy go, Marcus,” Luca said calmly. “You’re surrounded. You have no way out.”

“I want the money!” Marcus screamed. “Vanessa promised me a cut!”

“Vanessa is currently locked in my basement,” Luca replied. “She isn’t getting a dime. And neither are you.”

Marcus’s hand shook. He pressed the barrel closer to Leo’s temple.

“I’ll kill him!”

I couldn’t breathe. My little brother was crying, terrified.

“Please!” I begged, stepping out from behind Luca. “He’s just a little boy! Take me instead!”

Marcus laughed, a cruel, ugly sound. “A maid? What good are you?”

Before anyone could react, the heavy metal garage doors at the front of the shop suddenly groaned and began to roll upward.

Headlights flooded the garage, blinding us all.

A sleek black Mercedes pulled in, blocking the exit.

The driver’s side door opened.

A woman stepped out.

She was wearing a sharp, tailored pantsuit. Her silver hair was perfectly coiffed, and she carried a small, elegant leather bag.

Luca lowered his gun, utterly shocked.

“Mother?” Luca breathed.

Antonio Moretti’s widow. The matriarch of the family.

She walked calmly into the crossfire, completely ignoring the guns.

She looked at Marcus, then opened the leather bag and tossed a stack of adoption papers onto the oily floor.

“The trust fund was emptied yesterday, Marcus,” she said smoothly. “By me.”

Marcus stared at her, his jaw dropping.

“Because I always knew Vanessa was a liar,” the matriarch continued, her eyes cold as ice. “And I knew exactly who Leo really belonged to.”

TITLE: The Matriarch’s Velvet Glove

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