Chapter 5 - THE PRICE OF A NAME
The silence in the corridor was deafening, broken only by the distant rumble of a subway train beneath our feet.
Julian stood twenty feet away, the baby securely in his grasp. The men flanking him had their rifles raised, aimed squarely at Vincent’s chest.
Vincent didn't flinch. He slowly closed the ledger, holding it at his side.
“Let her go, Julian,” Vincent said, his voice terrifyingly calm. It was the voice of a man who had already accepted that he was going to kill everyone in the room.
“It’s a simple trade,” Julian said, ignoring the threat. He rocked the baby slightly. “The ledger for the girl. You get your happy family, and I keep my freedom. We walk away. You know I don't want to hurt her, brother. I just want what's mine.”
I stared at the bundle in his arms. My daughter. My chest ached with a physical pain so intense I thought my ribs would snap.
“Julian, please,” I begged, stepping out from behind Vincent.
“Ah, Claire,” Julian smiled. “The woman who ruined my empire. You were supposed to just be a waitress. But you had to go and remember how to be a mother.”
“Let me see her face,” I demanded, taking another step forward.
“Claire, stop,” Vincent warned softly.
“No,” I said, locking eyes with Julian. “If you want the book, I need to know she’s alive. Let me see her.”
Julian sighed dramatically, then pulled back the dark blanket.
My breath caught.
The baby had a mop of dark curls, just like Matteo. She was sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the guns pointed at her father. Around her tiny wrist was a delicate silver bracelet.
The exact same bracelet I was wearing in the photograph hidden inside my locket.
“Satisfied?” Julian asked, covering her back up. “Now, slide the book across the floor.”
Vincent looked at me. I gave him a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
Vincent knelt and placed the ledger on the dusty floor. He gave it a hard shove. It slid across the tiles, stopping perfectly at Julian’s feet.
“Excellent,” Julian grinned. He handed the baby to one of his guards. “Kill them both.”
My blood ran cold.
But Vincent was already moving.
Before the guard could raise his weapon, the lights in the corridor suddenly blew out. Total darkness plunged the station into chaos.
“Now!” Vincent roared in the dark.
He grabbed my waist, hurling us behind a row of heavy metal lockers just as automatic gunfire shredded the air where we had been standing. Sparks flew as bullets ricocheted off the steel doors.
“Vincent’s men!” Julian screamed in the dark. “He brought backup! Kill the girl!”
“NO!” I screamed, scrambling blindly in the dark.
A hand grabbed my ankle. I kicked out, connecting with a heavy jaw. A man groaned and dropped.
The emergency lights flickered on, casting a dim, red glow over the corridor.
Vincent was a demon in the red light. He had disarmed two men with his bare hands, using their own weapons against them. His men had poured in from the maintenance vents, overwhelming Julian’s guards.
I scrambled toward the man holding Mia. He was backing away, looking terrified.
“Give her to me!” I demanded, grabbing a heavy steel pipe from the ground.
The guard looked at the pipe, then at Vincent, who had just dropped Julian’s top lieutenant and was stalking toward him, covered in blood.
The guard dropped his gun, shoved the baby into my arms, and ran.
I collapsed against the wall, clutching the bundle to my chest. “I have you,” I sobbed into the blanket. “Mama’s got you.”
Vincent rushed over, dropping his weapon to wrap his arms around both of us. He pressed a frantic kiss to my forehead, then pulled the blanket back to look at his daughter.
We both froze.
The baby opened her eyes. They were bright, piercing blue.
Not brown like Matteo’s. Not brown like Vincent’s. Not green like mine.
I grabbed the tiny silver bracelet on her wrist. I turned it over.
Engraved on the back was a name. But it didn't say Mia.
It said Sophia.
I looked up at Vincent, horror dawning on my face. “This isn’t our daughter.”
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Across the corridor, pinned to the ground by Vincent’s men, Julian began to laugh. A wet, hacking sound.
“I told you I didn't want to hurt her,” Julian smiled through a bloody mouth. “I gave her to someone who would protect her. This baby belongs to one of my guards. Mia is far, far away.”
