Chapter 7 – THE ROSARY ON THE MARBLE FLOOR

The air in the foyer turned to ice.

“Her brothers?” Luca repeated, his voice dropping to a terrifyingly calm register. “The Hayes brothers are on my property?”

“They breached the west gate ten minutes ago,” the bleeding guard gasped. “They took the guest house. Vanessa walked right in. She told them she had the boy.”

My stomach plummeted.

Vanessa had sacrificed herself again. She had offered herself to her brothers to buy Luca time to secure the main house.

“Secure the perimeter!” Luca roared to the remaining guards. “Nobody gets near Marissa or Danny. Emily, stay with them.”

Luca drew his weapon and sprinted out the front doors into the pouring rain.

I couldn’t stay behind. I had judged Vanessa too harshly. I had let my pride blind me to the quiet agony she was living every single day.

“Lock the doors!” I yelled to Marissa, grabbing the heavy fire poker I had dropped earlier.

I ran out into the storm, chasing after Luca.

The rain was blinding, plastering my uniform to my skin. The sprawling estate was dark, but the lights of the guest house flickered in the distance.

I reached the edge of the manicured lawn just in time to see Luca kick open the front door of the guest house.

I followed him inside, staying low behind the heavy wooden doorframe.

The living room of the guest house was completely destroyed. Furniture was overturned.

Standing in the center of the room were two massive men in dark suits. The Hayes brothers.

And kneeling on the floor between them, bleeding from a cut on her forehead, was Vanessa.

“You lied to us, Caroline,” the older brother, Marcus, snarled, holding a gun to her head. “You don’t have the boy. You just came here to die.”

“I came here to buy time,” Vanessa spat, looking up with fierce, defiant eyes. “He’s safe. And you’ll never touch him.”

“Let her go,” Luca commanded, stepping fully into the room, his gun aimed perfectly at Marcus’s chest.

Marcus laughed, an ugly, grating sound.

“Ah, the great Luca Moretti,” Marcus mocked. “You really fell for it, didn’t you? You brought this whore into your home, thinking she actually loved you.”

Luca didn’t flinch. “I said, let her go.”

“If you shoot me, my brother shoots her,” Marcus countered, gesturing to the younger brother standing behind Vanessa.

The younger brother raised his weapon.

I was standing in the shadows of the hallway. They hadn’t seen me.

I remembered what Vanessa had done for Danny. I remembered how she had deliberately alienated herself just to keep him safe from this exact moment.

I gripped the heavy brass fire poker.

I didn’t hesitate. I swung it as hard as I could, striking the younger brother squarely in the back of the knees.

He shouted in pain, his legs buckling. His gun fired wildly into the ceiling.

The distraction was all Luca needed.

Luca fired twice. Two perfect, lethal shots.

Marcus dropped his weapon and collapsed to the floor.

The younger brother tried to scramble up, but Luca was already across the room, driving the butt of his pistol into the man’s temple. He hit the floor, unconscious.

The room fell silent, save for the sound of the rain beating against the windows.

Luca dropped his gun and fell to his knees in front of Vanessa.

He gently pulled her into his arms.

“I’ve got you,” Luca whispered, burying his face in her wet hair. “I’ve got you, Caroline.”

Vanessa began to sob, clutching the lapels of his ruined jacket.

“I’m sorry,” she wept. “I’m so sorry I lied to you, Luca. I didn’t want to hurt you. I just wanted to save my son.”

“You saved him,” Luca promised, holding her tight. “And you saved me. You don’t ever have to lie again. You’re home.”

I stood in the doorway, tears mixing with the rain on my face.

It was over. The Hayes brothers were neutralized. Frank was caught. Danny was safe.

But as Vanessa pulled away from Luca to wipe her eyes, something fell from her pocket and clattered onto the hardwood floor.

It was a beautiful, antique silver rosary.

Luca stared at the rosary, his breath catching in his throat.

He slowly reached out and picked it up.

“Where did you get this?” Luca asked, his voice trembling.

Vanessa looked confused. “Frank gave it to me. He said it was collateral. He said if I ever tried to run, he would send it to the police.”

“Why would this rosary matter to the police?” I asked, stepping into the room.

Luca looked up at me, his eyes filled with a fresh, devastating horror.

“Because this rosary belonged to my mother,” Luca whispered. “And she was wearing it the night she was murdered fifteen years ago.”

TITLE: The Family At The Dinner Table

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