Chapter 7 - THE ROSARY
The SUV tore through the empty Chicago streets toward the private airstrip on the edge of the city.
“Your father made the bracelet?” Luca asked, keeping his eyes on the road.
“Yes,” I said, examining the silver braid under the dome light. “The 714 stamp is his signature. But why would he make a secret compartment bracelet for the woman who kidnapped my brother?”
“Because he wasn’t working for her,” Luca pieced it together. “He was working for Daniel. Daniel has been playing both sides for twelve years. He used your father’s skills to forge the custody documents, and he used Vanessa as the legal front.”
It made terrifying sense. My father had been trapped. Forced to hide the boy, forced to build the fake ring, forced to make the bracelet that hid the contract.
When the stroke took his speech, he lost his ability to tell anyone the truth.
“We have to stop that plane,” I said, gripping the dashboard.
The private airstrip came into view. Through the chain-link fence, we saw a sleek white Gulfstream jet sitting on the tarmac. The engines were whining, preparing for takeoff.
Standing near the stairs of the jet was Vanessa.
She was dragging a teenage boy by the arm.
Julian.
He was fifteen now. He was tall, thin, and wearing a dark hoodie. He was fighting her, trying to pull his arm away, but two armed guards pushed him toward the stairs.
Luca didn’t wait for the gate to open. He drove the heavy SUV straight through the chain-link fence, tearing the metal apart.
The guards spun around, raising their rifles.
Luca slammed on the brakes, turning the SUV sideways to block their line of sight.
“Stay in the car,” Luca ordered.
He kicked his door open and stepped out into the blinding lights of the tarmac.
“Let him go, Vanessa!” Luca’s voice echoed over the roar of the jet engines.
Vanessa screamed in frustration. She grabbed Julian, pulling a small silver pistol from her coat and pressing it to the boy’s temple.
“Back off, Luca!” she shrieked. “I have the legal rights to him! If you shoot me, my lawyers release the documents to the commission. You lose everything!”
Luca didn’t raise his gun. He slowly walked forward, his hands empty.
“You don’t have the documents, Vanessa,” Luca said calmly.
He nodded toward me.
I stepped out from behind the SUV, holding up the silver bracelet.
Vanessa’s eyes widened in horror. She instinctively reached for her wrist. It was bare.
“You left it on the desk at the orphanage,” I shouted. “We have the contract. You have nothing.”
For a second, the shock paralyzed her.
That was all Julian needed.
The boy threw his elbow backward, striking Vanessa perfectly in the ribs. She stumbled, dropping the gun.
Julian broke free and ran toward us.
“Julian!” Luca yelled, running to meet him.
The mafia boss fell to his knees on the wet tarmac, catching the teenager in his arms. He held his son tightly, burying his face in the boy’s shoulder, sobbing openly.
Julian hugged him back, his tall frame shaking. “Dad. You found me.”
I watched them, tears blurring my vision. My brother. He was alive. He was safe.
But the moment of peace shattered instantly.
A gunshot rang out.
The bullet struck the pavement inches from Luca’s knee.
Daniel emerged from the shadows of the hangar. He was bleeding from a cut on his forehead from the fire, his face twisted with pure rage.
He raised his gun, aiming directly at Luca’s back.
“How many times do I have to kill you tonight, Boss?” Daniel spat.
Luca pushed Julian behind him, shielding the boy with his body. He reached for his holster, but Daniel had the drop on him.
I didn’t think. I reacted.
I reached into my pocket. My hand closed around the heavy silver pocket watch my father had hidden in the grave.
I pulled it out and hurled it as hard as I could directly at Daniel’s face.
The heavy silver watch struck him squarely in the bridge of his nose.
Daniel stumbled backward, crying out in pain, his gun firing blindly into the air.
Luca didn’t waste the opening. He drew his weapon and fired two precise shots.
Daniel collapsed onto the tarmac, the gun slipping from his fingers. He didn’t move again.
Vanessa screamed, falling to her knees near the plane.
The silence that followed was absolute, broken only by the whine of the jet engines powering down.
Luca stood up, breathing heavily. He looked at Daniel’s body, then at Vanessa, who was sobbing hysterically.
Then, he turned to me.
Julian peered around his father. The teenager’s bright green eyes locked onto mine.
“Emma?” Julian whispered.
“Leo,” I cried, using the name I had known him by.
He ran toward me. I caught him, hugging him so tightly I thought my heart would burst. He was so much taller, so much older, but he still smelled like the boy I had read bedtime stories to.
“I missed you,” Julian cried into my shoulder. “She locked me away, Emma. She told me you and Dad were dead.”
“We’re right here,” I promised, stroking his hair. “We’re never leaving you again.”
Julian pulled back slightly. He reached into his hoodie and pulled something over his head.
It was a cheap wooden rosary.
He placed it in my hand.
“Dad Reed gave this to me the night she took me,” Julian said softly. “He told me that as long as I held onto it, you would eventually find me.”
I looked at the wooden beads. My father had kept his promise. He had protected this boy the only way he could.
Luca walked over and placed a heavy, warm hand on my shoulder.
May you like
“It’s over,” Luca said quietly.
“No,” I looked up at him, wiping my tears. “It’s not over. We have to go back to the hospital. My dad deserves to know his son is safe.”
