Chapter 8 - THE ROSARY
The greenhouse was instantly flooded with armed FBI agents.
Flashlights cut through the darkness.
"FBI! Nobody move!"
Luca didn't run. He calmly released Vanessa, who collapsed into the dirt, weeping in defeat.
Agents swarmed Vincent Falcone, dragging the screaming mob boss to his feet and slapping handcuffs on his wrists.
Two female agents pulled Vanessa up, reading her her rights. She didn't look at Luca. She didn't look at me. She just stared at the dirt, her empire of lies completely destroyed.
A tall man in a dark trench coat walked down the aisle.
Special Agent Reynolds.
He looked at Luca, then down at the gold bracelet in Luca's hand.
"Is that the evidence?" Reynolds asked.
"It matches the bruising on my mother's wrists," Luca said softly, handing it over. "And you'll find Vincent Falcone's DNA on the clasp."
Reynolds nodded, bagging the bracelet. "We have Dr. Harris in custody as well. He's already talking. He gave us the Cayman accounts. You kept your end of the deal, Moretti. The Falcone syndicate is finished."
I sat on the dirt floor, clutching my throbbing knee, trying to process what was happening.
Luca hadn't just discovered the betrayal tonight.
He had suspected it for months. He had been working with the FBI to build an airtight case against Vanessa and the Falcones.
Luca turned to me.
He reached down and gently helped me to my feet.
"Are you okay, Grace?" he asked, his voice filled with a tenderness I had never heard before.
"I'm fine," I lied, wincing as I put weight on my leg.
Luca didn't buy it. Without a word, he scooped me up into his arms, carrying me bridal style.
"Mr. Moretti, you don't have to—"
"Quiet," he ordered gently.
He carried me out of the greenhouse, walking beside the paramedics who were pushing Antonio's wheelchair toward a waiting ambulance.
The rain had stopped. The night air felt clean.
As we reached the front of the mansion, Daniel ran up to us.
"Boss," Daniel said, grinning. "The boy is at the safe house. He's eating ice cream and watching cartoons."
I buried my face in Luca's shoulder and sobbed. Complete, overwhelming relief washed through my entire body.
"Thank you," I wept. "Thank you."
Luca carried me to his black SUV and set me gently in the passenger seat.
"We're going to the safe house," Luca said, getting into the driver's seat.
We drove through the iron gates of the estate, leaving the flashing police lights behind.
For a long time, neither of us spoke.
Then, Luca reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a simple, wooden rosary.
He placed it in my lap.
I looked at it, confused. "What is this?"
"It belonged to my mother," Luca said quietly, keeping his eyes on the road. "She held it every night when she prayed. Before she died, she told me that the greatest strength a person can have isn't power, or money, or fear."
He looked at me.
"She said it was the courage to protect the people who can't protect themselves."
I ran my fingers over the worn wooden beads.
"You protected us tonight," I whispered.
"No," Luca corrected. "You stood in front of a wheelchair with a busted knee to protect a man you barely knew. You saved my father, Grace. I just cleaned up the mess."
May you like
He reached across the console and gently covered my hand with his.
"You and Leo are never going back to that apartment," Luca said firmly. "You're safe now. Both of you."
