Chapter 4 - The Woman Behind the Glass
Luca didn't hesitate for a single second.
He stood up from the bed, his face transformed into stone.
“Daniel,” Luca said, stepping out into the small living room.
Daniel stepped away from the window where he had been watching the street.
“Boss.”
“Leave two men here with Dr. Rossi. Heavy weapons. If anyone approaches this staircase without my clearance, shoot through the door.”
“Understood.”
Luca turned his gaze onto me.
“Emma. You’re coming back to the estate.”
My heart hammered against my ribs.
“Me? Why?”
“You understand the mechanism of that ring. You know how antique jewelry locks work.”
He pulled a black tactical jacket from the duffel bag Matteo had brought upstairs.
“Vanessa won't hand that ring over easily. If she tries to swallow it or destroy the setting, I need someone who knows how to retrieve the key without crushing the mechanism.”
I swallowed hard and nodded.
“Let me change my shoes.”
Three minutes later, we were back in the armored SUV, tearing through the rain-soaked streets of Chicago toward the north suburbs.
The clock on the dashboard read 1:42 AM.
The city was asleep, but the air inside the vehicle crackled with lethal tension.
Luca checked the magazine of his sidearm, snapping it back into place with a crisp click.
“If Carlo Bellini is at my house,” Luca said, staring through the rainy windshield, “it means the trap was set weeks ago.”
“He thinks you're dead at the clinic, boss,” Daniel said from the driver’s seat.
“The hit squad was supposed to finish you off in Room 104.”
“Then we give him a surprise,” Luca muttered.
We approached the iron gates of the Moretti estate.
The perimeter lights were blazing bright against the dark oak trees.
Two black luxury sedans with Bellini crests on the license plate frames sat parked in the front circle.
Daniel slowed the SUV, cutting the headlights.
We rolled through the open gates silently.
Luca opened the door before the vehicle stopped.
“Daniel, take three men and secure the exits. Matteo, kill the main breaker on my signal.”
“Got it, boss.”
Luca grabbed my arm, pulling me along the stone pathway toward the west terrace.
His grip was firm, protective, yet urgent.
We slipped through the unlocked French doors into the library.
The house was completely silent except for the low rumble of voices coming from the grand parlor down the hall.
Luca moved like a shadow across the parquet flooring.
I stayed two inches behind his back, my heart pounding so loudly I feared someone would hear it.
We reached the heavy carved doors of the grand parlor.
The doors were slightly ajar.
A warm golden light spilled across the Persian rug in the corridor.
Inside sat Vanessa.
She had changed out of her torn evening gown into a silk robe.
She was pacing across the room, holding an antique crystal glass of bourbon.
Sitting in a leather wingback chair near the fireplace was an older man.
Silver hair slicked back.
A deep scar running across his left temple.
Carlo Bellini.
The exact man from the twenty-two-year-old photographs.
“You should have let the maid throw that camera in the furnace!” Carlo snapped, slamming his fist onto the armrest.
“How was I supposed to know Lucia’s old junk was in that cabinet?” Vanessa screamed back.
“You told me that room was cleared out twenty years ago!”
“I told you to make sure everything was destroyed before the engagement dinner!” Carlo growled.
“Now Luca has the photographs. He went to the clinic.”
Vanessa took a shaky gulp of bourbon.
“The hit squad took care of him, didn't they? You said they had six men with heavy rifles!”
Carlo checked his gold pocket watch.
“Marco hasn't called in. That worries me.”
“Luca is dead, father! He has to be dead!” Vanessa cried out, her voice high and panicked.
“If he isn't dead, he will tear our family to shreds!”
“Calm down,” Carlo said smoothly, rising from his chair.
“Even if Luca survived, he doesn't have the key. Without the key, the documents in the vault remain sealed.”
Vanessa lifted her left hand, looking down at the massive diamond sparkling on her finger.
“He noticed the ring, father. He recognized the setting.”
“It doesn't matter,” Carlo said cold.
“As soon as Marco confirms the kill, we liquidate the Moretti offshore accounts. You are his legal fiancée. By dawn, you inherit control of the syndicate.”
I felt a sudden shift of air behind me.
Luca stepped directly into the open doorway.
His silhouette filled the frame.
“Is that so, Carlo?” Luca’s voice was smooth, quiet, and terrifyingly cold.
Vanessa dropped her glass.
Crystal shattered across the marble hearth.
Bourbon splashed over her bare feet.
She let out a piercing scream, backing away until she hit the stone mantelpiece.
Carlo Bellini froze.
His eyes widened in utter disbelief.
“Luca...” Carlo whispered, his hand reaching instinctively toward the inside of his suit jacket.
Click.
Luca raised his silver pistol, aiming the red laser dot directly between Carlo’s eyes.
“Move your hand another millimeter, Carlo, and your brain will decorate that wall.”
Carlo slowly pulled his empty hand out of his jacket, raising both palms into the air.
“Luca... listen to me. There is an explanation for this—”
“Shut up,” Luca commanded.
He didn't take his eyes off Carlo, but he tilted his head slightly.
“Emma.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, stepping into the room.
Vanessa stared at me with pure hatred burning in her eyes.
“You!” Vanessa hissed. “You dirty little maid! You brought him back!”
“Get the ring, Emma,” Luca ordered coldly.
I walked toward Vanessa.
My knees felt weak, but the anger inside me pushed me forward.
“Don't you dare touch me!” Vanessa screamed, swinging her right hand at my face.
Before her hand could reach me, Luca crossed the room in a blur.
He caught Vanessa’s wrist mid-air, twisting it until she dropped to her knees with a cry of pain.
“Don't touch her,” Luca warned, his voice low and venomous.
He forced Vanessa’s left hand flat onto the low coffee table.
“Emma. Take the ring.”
I knelt beside the table.
Vanessa’s fingers were trembling violently.
I pulled the heavy platinum ring from her finger.
It slipped off with a small resistance.
I held the ring up under the chandelier light.
The diamond was enormous, cold, and flawless.
Just as Lucia had said, there was a microscopic seam along the underside of the central platinum prong.
I used the metal tip of my hairpin to catch the tiny notch.
I twisted counterclockwise.
A tiny mechanical click echoed in the room.
The entire emerald-cut diamond unscrewed smoothly from the band.
Beneath the stone, carved directly into the inner platinum core, was a miniature, razor-thin steel key.
Carlo Bellini let out a strangled groan.
“You have no idea what you're doing, Luca,” Carlo gasped, sweat pouring down his temples.
“That vault holds secrets that will destroy the entire Five Families.”
Luca took the key from my fingers.
His gaze lingered on mine for a split second, a look of profound gratitude in his dark eyes.
Then he turned back to Carlo.
“The only thing that will be destroyed tonight, Carlo, is your empire.”
Luca gestured with his gun toward Daniel, who stepped into the room with zip-ties.
“Secure them both in the holding cellar,” Luca ordered.
“Boss,” Daniel said, stepping forward.
“What about the mausoleum?”
Luca looked down at the tiny key in his hand.
May you like
“Get the bolt-cutters and the heavy flashlights,” Luca said.
“We’re going to open my family's tomb.”
