Chapter 4 – THE TICKET IN THE GUARD’S POCKET

The room plunged into terrifying stillness.

The guard’s gun didn’t waver. His eyes were cold, professional.

“Who the hell are you?” Luca asked. His voice was a low, dangerous rumble. He slowly stepped in front of Danny, shielding the boy completely.

“My name isn’t important,” the guard said. “Just hand over the boy, and nobody has to get hurt.”

“You work for the Hayes brothers,” Luca stated.

The guard smirked. “They pay significantly better than you do.”

My heart hammered against my ribs. I was standing near the fireplace, holding a heavy brass fire poker behind my back. The guard hadn’t noticed me. I was just the housekeeper. Invisible.

“If you pull that trigger,” Luca said, his dark eyes locking onto the man, “you won’t make it out of this house alive.”

“I’ll take my chances,” the guard replied. “The boy. Now.”

He took a step closer to Marissa, pressing the barrel of the gun toward her head.

Marissa squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the end.

I didn’t think. I just swung.

I brought the heavy brass fire poker down with every ounce of strength I had, striking the guard squarely in the back of the knees.

The man shouted in pain, his legs buckling beneath him.

The gun fired wildly, the bullet shattering a crystal vase on the mantle.

Before the guard could recover, Luca moved.

Luca didn’t pause. He grabbed the dropped gun, sweeping the room to ensure no one else was coming.

“Are you hurt?” Luca asked, looking back at Marissa and Danny.

“We’re okay,” Marissa sobbed, pulling Danny into her arms.

Luca looked at me. The fierce, terrifying intensity in his eyes softened for a fraction of a second.

“Good hit, Emily,” he said softly.

My hands were shaking violently. I dropped the fire poker.

Luca knelt beside the unconscious guard. He began searching the man’s pockets, looking for a phone or a radio.

He pulled out a wallet, tossing it aside.

Then, he reached into the man’s inner breast pocket and pulled out a small, crumpled piece of paper.

Luca unfolded it.

“What is it?” I asked, my voice trembling.

Luca stared at the paper. The color slowly drained from his face.

He stood up, handing the paper to Marissa.

I looked over her shoulder.

It was a train ticket. A one-way ticket to Montreal, dated for tomorrow morning.

But it wasn’t the destination that made my blood run cold.

It was the name printed on the receipt attached to the ticket. The name of the person who had purchased it.

Frank Caruso.

“Frank?” Marissa whispered in absolute disbelief. “Frank bought the ticket for the hitman?”

“He wasn’t hired by the Hayes brothers,” Luca said, his voice turning into ice.

The realization hit me like a freight train.

“Frank didn’t buy the ticket to help the man escape,” I reasoned, my mind racing. “Frank bought the ticket because he’s the one paying him.”

Luca looked at me, realizing exactly what I was saying.

“Frank has been playing us,” Luca growled. “He knew Vanessa’s real identity. He knew who Danny was. And he used it to control my brother.”

“But why?” Marissa cried. “Frank was your father’s best friend!”

“Because my father was going to cut him out of the syndicate,” Luca said, his jaw clenching. “Frank has been stealing from this family for a decade. Michael must have found out. That’s why Michael died.”

The tragedy of it all finally made sense.

Michael didn’t die protecting Danny from Vanessa.

Michael died because Frank killed him to protect his own greed, and used the secret of Danny’s adoption as leverage to keep the family in line.

“Where is Frank?” Luca demanded, turning toward the hallway.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out from the back of the house.

“The library!” Marissa screamed.

Luca racked the slide of his pistol.

“Emily, lock this door,” Luca commanded. “Do not let anyone in.”

He sprinted out of the room.

I slammed the heavy double doors shut and threw the deadbolt.

But as I turned around, I noticed something that made my stomach drop into my shoes.

Danny wasn’t with Marissa.

The back door of the living room, leading into the dark hallway, was wide open.

Danny was gone.

TITLE: The Coat In The Hallway Closet

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