“The union ledgers,” Luca muttered, his jaw clenching. “Dominic needs them to prove he didn’t steal the money two years ago. He needs them to overthrow me with the Commission.”
“Daddy, I’m scared,” Oliver whimpered, clutching my apron.
Luca crouched down and pulled Oliver into a tight hug. “You are safe, buddy. I have twenty men surrounding this house. Nobody is getting in.”
He stood up and looked at me. “I’m going to the rail yard.”
“I’m coming with you,” I said immediately.
“Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous.”
“She’s my mother!” I yelled, tears finally spilling over my cheeks. “She is the only family I have left! I am not sitting in a mansion while she gets a bullet to the head!”
Luca stared at me. He saw the fierce, desperate fire in my eyes.
“Fine,” Luca said. “But you stay in the car. And you do exactly what I say.”
He turned to his head of security. “Put Oliver in the basement safe room. Lock it down. Do not open that door for anyone but me.”
Ten minutes later, we were tearing through the rain-slicked streets of Chicago in a heavily armored SUV.
The silence in the car was suffocating. I stared out the window at the blurred city lights, praying to a God I hadn’t spoken to in years.
“Emily,” Luca said quietly from the driver’s seat.
I looked at him.
“My wife’s name was Clara,” he said softly, his eyes fixed on the road. “She was a school teacher. She hated this life. She hated the violence. She stayed because she loved me, and because she wanted to protect Oliver.”
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
“I failed her. I let Vanessa into our lives because she was the daughter of a powerful boss. I thought it would bring peace to the families. Instead, it brought a murderer into my home.”
“You didn’t know,” I whispered.
“I should have,” Luca replied bitterly. “But I will not fail you. Your mother is innocent in all of this.”
We pulled up to the abandoned rail yard. The rusted train cars loomed in the darkness like metal skeletons.
Two black sedans were parked near the center tracks, their headlights cutting through the pouring rain.
Standing in front of the cars was a tall man in a dark trench coat. Even from a distance, I could see the thick silver scar on his jaw.
Dominic.
And kneeling in the mud beside him, with a gun pressed to her head, was my mother.
“Mom!” I screamed, lunging for the door handle.
Luca locked the doors from the driver’s console. “Stay here.”
He grabbed a heavy metal briefcase from the backseat and stepped out into the rain.
« Dominic ! » La voix de Luca résonna dans la cour déserte. « J’ai les registres. Laissez partir cette femme. »
Dominic sourit. « Pas si vite, petit cousin. D’abord, tu me donnes la mallette. Ensuite, on parlera de Vanessa. »
« Vanessa est votre problème maintenant », rétorqua Luca en s’approchant lentement d’eux.
« En fait », gloussa Dominic en s’écartant pour révéler le coffre ouvert d’une des berlines.
J’ai eu un frisson d’effroi.
Vanessa Bellini était allongée dans le coffre, ligotée et bâillonnée.
« Vanessa n’était pas qu’une simple espionne, Luca, cria Dominic par-dessus la pluie. C’est elle qui a volé l’argent du syndicat il y a deux ans. Elle m’a piégé pour que tu m’exiles, lui laissant ainsi le champ libre pour t’épouser. »
Luca s’arrêta de marcher.
« Ce n’est pas moi qui ai causé l’accident de ta femme, Luca », dit Dominic, son sourire s’effaçant. « C’est Vanessa. Mais il y a quelque chose que tu ignores encore. »
Dominic fouilla dans son manteau et en sortit une petite enveloppe imperméable.
« Vanessa n’a pas simplement repoussé le pied de Clara hors de la pédale de frein », hurla Dominic. « Elle a été payée pour le faire. »
Il jeta l’enveloppe sur le sol boueux.
«Ouvre-le, Luca ! Regarde le virement bancaire ! Regarde qui a payé ta belle fiancée pour assassiner ta femme !»
