Chapter 4 - THE BLOOD ON HER HANDS
“Michael?” I gasped, stepping backward.
The man in the center of the elevator froze. His tactical rifle dipped slightly as his eyes locked onto mine.
He was twenty-eight. My flesh and blood. The brother who had told me nine months ago that he had found me a high-paying maid job through a “private agency.”
“Emily?” Michael whispered, his face draining of color. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to be off today.”
“I took an extra shift,” I choked out, feeling my world collapse. “Michael… you’re with them? You set me up?”
Before Michael could answer, the man to his left raised his rifle toward Luca.
Everything happened in a terrifying blur.
Michael slammed his elbow violently into the shooter’s face. The man’s rifle discharged, the bullet sparking off the concrete wall an inch from Luca’s head. At the same moment, Luca fired his stolen handgun, dropping the man on the right.
Michael kicked his own bleeding partner out of the elevator, then grabbed my arm and yanked me inside.
“Get in!” Michael screamed. “All of you!”
Luca didn’t hesitate. He shoved Grace, Lily, and Selena into the metal box, keeping his gun leveled directly at my brother’s chest.
“Push the basement button,” Luca growled. “You try anything, kid, you’re dead.”
“I’m trying to save my sister’s life!” Michael yelled, slamming his hand against the basement button. The heavy metal doors slid shut, sealing us inside.
As the elevator lurched downward, the grim reality of the situation hit us.
Grace collapsed against the metal railing, sliding down to the floor. The blood stain on her blue dress had doubled in size. It was a grazing wound on her side, but it was bleeding heavily.
Luca dropped to his knees beside her, his hands hovering over the wound. The mafia boss, the man who had stared down assassins without blinking, looked utterly terrified.
“Gracie,” Luca whispered, his voice cracking. He ripped off his expensive tuxedo jacket and balled it up, pressing it hard against her side. “Keep pressure on it. You’re going to be okay. I’ve got you.”
Grace hissed in pain, but she reached out, her bloodstained fingers grabbing the lapel of his white shirt.
“You shouldn’t have come for me,” Grace breathed, her eyes unfocused. “Luca… they didn’t just want your territory. They wanted the ledger.”
Luca’s head snapped up. “What ledger? What are you talking about?”
Grace swallowed hard, wincing. “The green leather book your father kept. The one with the real estate deeds and the offshore accounts. Daniel’s father knew I found it.”
Selena, huddled in the corner of the elevator, let out a choked sob.
Luca turned his deadly gaze toward his mistress. “You knew about this?”
Selena shook her head frantically. “Daniel just told me to look for a book! He didn’t tell me what was in it! He just said Grace hid it before she moved out!”
I looked down at Grace. She had been painted as a bitter, estranged wife. Everyone thought she had left Luca because he cheated.
But the truth was unraveling right in front of us.
“You didn’t leave because of Selena, did you?” Luca asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Grace smiled sadly, a tear tracking through her makeup. “You think a woman like her could chase me out of my own home, Luca? I left because I found the ledger in your private safe. And the last entry showed a massive payout to the Rossetti family. I thought… I thought you were selling out your own men. I left to protect Lily.”
Luca looked as if he had been punched in the chest. “Grace, I didn’t write that entry. I’ve been looking for that ledger for three years. I thought my father burned it before he died.”
The elevator hit the basement level with a heavy thud.
“If Luca didn’t write the entry,” Lily said, her voice shaking with fear, “who did?”
Before anyone could answer, the doors slid open.
The underground loading dock was dark, illuminated only by emergency red lights. A black armored SUV sat idling near the exit ramp.
“That’s my transport,” Michael said rapidly, keeping his hands visible. “There are keys in the ignition. Mr. Moretti, take it. I’ll stay behind and hold off the backup.”
“Why are you doing this, Mike?” I cried, grabbing his tactical vest. “Why are you working for the Rossettis?”
Michael looked at me with agonizing guilt. “Because Mom got sick, Em. Her medical bills were drowning us. Daniel Rossetti offered to pay them off if I took a job. I thought it was just security! I didn’t know it was a hit until this morning!”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a heavy set of keys, tossing them to Luca.
“Go,” Michael ordered. “Take the west exit. They blocked the east.”
Luca scooped Grace into his arms. She groaned in pain, her head resting against his chest. He looked at Michael. “If you survive this, kid, you work for me.”
We rushed toward the SUV. I opened the back door, helping Lily climb inside with her massive dress. Selena practically dove into the passenger seat.
Luca laid Grace across the back seat, pressing his jacket against her wound again. “Emily, get in the back with them. Keep pressure on her side.”
I climbed in, my hands shaking as I pressed down on Grace’s wound. The blood was warm and terrifying.
Luca jumped into the driver’s seat. He threw the heavy vehicle into gear, the tires squealing as we rocketed up the ramp toward the west exit.
We burst through the metal gate, tearing into the rainy Chicago streets.
“Where are we going?” Selena cried from the front seat. “The hospitals will be watched!”
“I know a safe house,” Luca growled, weaving violently through the traffic. “Nobody knows about it except me.”
In the back seat, Grace reached out, her weak fingers closing around my wrist.
“Emily,” she whispered.
“I’m here, Mrs. Moretti,” I said, tears blurring my vision.
Grace slowly opened her other hand. Resting in her bloody palm was a heavy silver rosary.
“If I don’t make it,” Grace breathed. “Twist the cross. The key to the ledger is inside.”
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But before I could take it, a massive black truck slammed violently into the passenger side of our SUV.
TITLE: THE CROSS AND THE CRASH
