Chapter 7 - THE CHIEF AND THE CHILD'S DRAWING
The glaring police spotlight pinned us against the brick wall of the alley like insects on a board.
Luca tightened his grip on Grace, who had passed out in his arms. Lily pressed herself against my back, shivering so hard her teeth chattered. I stood frozen, clutching the child’s drawing Selena had just died to give us.
Police Chief Harrison stepped out from behind the cruiser’s door. He was a tall, imposing man in his late fifties, wearing a pristine uniform that looked completely out of place in the grimy industrial district. He didn’t draw his weapon. He didn’t need to. Three heavily armed tactical officers flanked him.
“Evening, Luca,” Harrison said, his voice smooth and deceptively calm. “Hell of a wedding reception.”
Luca didn’t lower his arms. “Harrison. I need an ambulance for my wife. Now.”
Harrison sighed, pulling off his leather gloves. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Luca. I received a distress call from Daniel Rossetti. He claimed an unhinged mafia boss shot up a church, kidnapped his bride, and fled the scene. I’m just here to clean up the mess.”
My blood ran cold. The corruption went higher than a few street cops. The Rossettis had bought the Chief of Police.
“You’re going to let Grace die over a turf war?” Luca growled, stepping forward.
“Grace is collateral damage,” Harrison said coldly. “Just like your maid. The only one walking away from this alley is the bride. Daniel still wants his wedding night.”
Lily let out a terrified sob, grabbing my hand tighter.
“Over my dead body,” Luca said.
“That’s the plan,” Harrison replied. He nodded to his tactical officers. “Take the girls. Put a bullet in Luca.”
The officers raised their rifles.
But they never got the chance to fire.
From the roof of the meatpacking plant behind us, a barrage of automatic gunfire rained down on the police cruiser.
The spotlight shattered instantly, plunging the alley into darkness. The tactical officers scrambled for cover, screaming as the heavy bullets chewed through the cruiser’s engine block.
“Get down!” Luca yelled, dropping to his knees and shielding Grace.
I dragged Lily behind a rusted dumpster, covering her head with my arms.
In the sudden darkness, the roar of an engine drowned out the police shouts. A battered, unmarked black van tore into the alley from the opposite street, smashing over the curb and violently sideswiping the crippled police cruiser.
The van screeched to a halt right in front of us. The side door slid open.
“Get in!” a familiar voice yelled.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was Michael. My brother. His face was bruised, and he was bleeding from a cut on his temple, but he was alive.
Luca didn’t ask questions. He hauled Grace up and practically threw her into the back of the van. I shoved Lily in next, climbing in right behind her. Luca jumped in last, firing two blind shots toward the pinned police officers before slamming the sliding door shut.
“Drive!” Luca roared.
Michael slammed on the gas. The van fishtailed wildly before rocketing out of the alley, leaving the corrupt cops behind.
Inside the dark, swaying van, the adrenaline began to fade, replaced by terrifying reality.
Grace was deathly pale. Her breathing was shallow and ragged.
“We have to get her to a hospital,” Lily cried, pressing her hands desperately against her mother’s wound. “She’s dying, Daddy!”
“We can’t go to a hospital,” Luca said, his voice tight with panic. “Harrison will have every ER in the city locked down. Michael, do you have a med kit in this rig?”
“Under the passenger seat,” Michael shouted from the wheel, tearing through red lights. “Military grade. QuickClot and bandages. It’ll buy her time, but she needs a surgeon, Mr. Moretti.”
I scrambled under the seat, pulling out a heavy green canvas bag. I ripped it open, tearing into the sealed packages.
“Hold her still,” I told Luca.
Despite being a maid, I had grown up taking care of my sick mother. I knew how to handle blood. I pressed the chemical clotting sponge directly into Grace’s wound.
Grace arched her back, letting out a weak, agonizing scream.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry,” I chanted, wrapping the heavy compression bandages around her waist.
Luca held her face, pressing his forehead against hers. “Stay with me, Gracie. Please. I just got you back. Don’t leave me now.”
Grace’s eyes fluttered half-open. She reached up, her bloody fingers brushing his jaw. “I never… left you in my heart,” she whispered.
Lily broke down, burying her face in her mother’s shoulder.
I sat back, my hands covered in blood, breathing heavily. That’s when I felt something crinkle in my apron pocket.
The child’s drawing.
I pulled it out, turning on the small overhead light in the van.
“Mr. Moretti,” I said, my voice shaking. “Before she died… Selena gave me this. She said it was the address to Daniel’s private safe house. Where he keeps the blackmail files on you.”
Luca looked up, his eyes narrowing as he took the paper. He flipped it over, reading the scrawled address on the back.
His face went completely pale.
“Daddy?” Lily asked, wiping her eyes. “What is it? Where is the safe house?”
Luca looked at his daughter, a look of profound betrayal crossing his face.
“It’s not Daniel’s safe house,” Luca whispered, staring at the address. “It’s yours, Lily.”
I froze.
Luca slowly turned the paper around to face his daughter. “This is the address of the loft I bought you for your twenty-first birthday. The one you said you were renting out.”
Lily stopped crying. The blood drained from her face. She looked at the paper, then at her father.
“Lily,” Grace whispered from the floor, her voice laced with confusion. “Why does Daniel have files hidden in your loft?”
Lily backed away, pressing herself against the metal wall of the van. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering.
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“Because Daniel didn’t blackmail me to marry him,” Lily whispered, a fresh tear sliding down her cheek. “I offered him the files. I set up the marriage. To save myself.”
TITLE: THE BRIDE’S BETRAYAL
