Chapter 4 – A Coat Left In The Rain

“Lock down the estate!” Luca roared, his calm demeanor vanishing in a split second. “Nobody gets in or out! Check the cameras!”

Marco was already on his radio.

I didn’t wait.

I ran past Marco, out of the study, and sprinted toward the grand staircase.

“Emma! Stop!” Luca yelled.

But I didn’t stop. I knew this house better than the security team. I cleaned it every day. I knew the blind spots. I knew where a six-year-old boy hid when he was scared.

I reached the second floor and ran down the East Wing corridor.

Leo’s bedroom door was wide open. The bed was unmade. His favorite stuffed bear was lying on the rug.

I ran to the window. It was raining hard outside, the heavy drops slamming against the glass.

I looked down at the courtyard.

Nothing.

Then, my eyes caught something near the old greenhouse.

A yellow raincoat.

Small. Child-sized.

It was discarded on the wet grass, near the broken latch of the greenhouse door.

I didn’t wait for security. I ran back down the stairs, through the kitchen, and out the back door into the freezing rain.

“Leo!” I screamed, the wind swallowing my voice.

I reached the greenhouse. The glass was old and foggy.

I pushed the door open. It creaked loudly.

“Leo?” I whispered.

It was dark inside, smelling of damp earth and rotting orchids.

“Emma?”

The tiny voice came from behind a massive clay pot.

I dropped to my knees. “Leo? Honey, it’s me.”

A small boy with dark, curly hair peeked out. His pajamas were soaked. He was shivering violently.

I pulled him into my arms, wrapping him tight. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

“She said we were playing hide and seek,” Leo cried into my shoulder.

My blood ran cold. “Who, sweetie? Who said that?”

“Vanessa,” Leo sobbed. “She said my dad was mad at me and I had to hide outside. She said her friends were coming to pick me up.”

Vanessa.

She hadn’t left the property.

Before I could stand, a shadow moved at the back of the greenhouse.

A man stepped out from the darkness. He wasn’t one of Luca’s guards. He was wearing a dark suit, completely dry.

He was holding a gun.

“Put the kid down,” the man said.

I held Leo tighter. “No.”

The man raised the gun, aiming it at my chest.

“Vanessa wants the kid. And she wants you,” he said. “Walk.”

I looked around desperately. There was no way out.

Then, a heavy thud echoed behind the man.

The man froze, then slowly collapsed forward, hitting the dirt floor face-first.

Behind him stood a tall figure holding a heavy steel pipe.

Lightning flashed, illuminating his face.

I stopped breathing.

It was Marco.

But Marco wasn’t looking at me. He was staring at the gun on the ground.

“Marco,” I breathed. “Thank God.”

Marco dropped the pipe.

He didn’t smile.

He looked at me, his eyes filled with a terrifying emptiness.

“I’m sorry, Emma,” Marco said quietly.

He reached down, picked up the gun, and pointed it directly at me.

“Vanessa promised to pay off my debts,” Marco whispered. “I can’t let you take the boy.”

TITLE: The Rosary Of Betrayal

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