Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN IN THE RAIN

The heavy click of the hidden door sealing us in echoed like a tomb shutting tight.

Absolute, suffocating darkness surrounded us.

Above my head, the muffled sounds of gunfire and shouting vibrated through the floorboards.

I stood frozen on the narrow concrete stairs, clutching Sophie to my chest. The eight-year-old was trembling violently, her small hands gripped so tightly in my shirt that her knuckles dug into my skin.

“Hannah?” she whimpered, her breath hot against my neck. “Did Daddy fall down?”

Tears streamed down my face. I had seen Marco pull the trigger. I had seen the flash of the muzzle pointed directly at Dominic’s back.

“He’s okay, sweetheart,” I lied, my voice cracking in the dark. “Daddy is very strong. He’s right behind us.”

I had to keep moving. If Donatella or Marco figured out how to open the panel, we would be trapped like rats.

I felt along the cold, damp stone wall with my free hand, guiding myself down the spiral staircase. The air smelled of mildew and old earth.

“My tummy hurts,” Sophie cried softly.

My heart skipped a beat. “Sophie, did you eat anything after the dessert?”

“No,” she sniffled. “But I’m scared, Hannah.”

I exhaled a shaky breath of relief. Her allergy. In the chaos of the last hour, I had almost forgotten Vanessa’s cruel trick.

“I know, baby. We’re going to play a game, okay? We have to be as quiet as mice until we reach the bottom.”

We descended for what felt like an eternity. Finally, my foot hit a flat dirt floor. I fumbled in my apron pocket and pulled out my phone, turning on the flashlight.

The beam cut through the gloom, revealing a long, narrow brick tunnel stretching out into the darkness. This was the old prohibition-era smuggling route Dominic’s grandfather had built. It led straight to the boat docks on the river.

“Let’s go,” I whispered, taking her hand.

We ran. My black maid’s dress dragged in the mud, my sensible shoes slipping on the wet stones. Every shadow looked like a man with a gun. Every drop of water falling from the ceiling sounded like a footstep.

Clank.

I stopped dead.

The sound echoed from the darkness ahead of us. Toward the river exit.

Someone was already down here.

I quickly switched off my flashlight, plunging us back into the terrifying blackness. I pulled Sophie against the wall, covering her mouth with my hand.

Heavy, uneven footsteps splashed through the puddles, coming toward us.

Splash. Drag. Splash. Drag.

Someone was hurt.

I held my breath, pressing my back so hard against the bricks it scraped my skin.

A figure emerged from the gloom, holding a small tactical flashlight.

It was Vanessa.

Her beautiful red silk dress was torn to shreds, covered in mud and blood. She was limping badly, missing one of her high heels, mascara running down her face in thick black streaks.

She wasn’t alone.

She was dragging a heavy canvas duffel bag behind her.

I watched in stunned silence as she paused to catch her breath. She unzipped the bag, pulling out a flashlight of her own. Inside the bag, illuminated by the beam, were stacks of banded hundred-dollar bills. Millions of dollars.

Donatella’s emergency stash.

Vanessa had used the chaos upstairs to rob the woman who hired her.

“Come on, come on,” Vanessa muttered to herself frantically, zipping the bag back up.

She turned the flashlight beam forward—and it hit my face.

Vanessa jumped back, letting out a shriek. She dropped the bag, her eyes wild with panic.

“You!” Vanessa gasped, her chest heaving.

I stepped in front of Sophie, wishing I had a weapon. I had nothing but a wooden rosary in my pocket and a torn blue envelope.

“Let us pass, Vanessa,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt.

Vanessa stared at me, then at Sophie. A cruel, desperate smile slowly spread across her ruined face.

“Let you pass?” Vanessa laughed, a hysterical sound that echoed off the tunnel walls. “Do you know what’s waiting for you at the end of this tunnel, you stupid girl?”

I didn’t answer.

“Donatella’s men,” Vanessa sneered. “She stationed guards at the docks to make sure Dominic couldn’t escape. If you walk out that door, they’ll shoot you both on sight.”

My stomach dropped. We were trapped in a dead end.

Vanessa bent down and pulled a small, silver handgun from the pocket of the duffel bag. She aimed it directly at my chest.

“But you’re going to help me, Hannah,” Vanessa said, her hand shaking violently.

“How?” I asked, keeping my body squarely between her and Sophie.

“They won’t shoot the kid,” Vanessa reasoned, her eyes darting frantically. “Donatella needs Sophie alive as leverage to take over the syndicate. You are going to walk out there first with the brat. While they’re distracted grabbing her, I’m slipping out the back gate with the money.”

“I’m not giving her to them,” I said, my voice hardening. “I promised I would protect her.”

“You’re a maid!” Vanessa screamed, pointing the gun at my face. “You’re nothing! You ruined my life! If you hadn’t opened your mouth tonight, I would be Mrs. Dominic Moretti tomorrow! Now get moving, or I’ll shoot you right here and drag the kid out myself!”

She cocked the gun.

I closed my eyes, preparing for the end. I had failed Clara. I had failed Dominic.

Suddenly, a massive shadow detached itself from the darkness behind Vanessa.

A large, scarred hand clamped over the barrel of Vanessa’s gun, forcing it toward the ceiling.

Vanessa screamed as the gun fired into the bricks, showering us with dust.

The figure wrenched the gun from her grip and delivered a brutal backhand across her face. Vanessa crumpled to the mud, unconscious before she hit the ground.

I turned my flashlight up, trembling.

Standing there, bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound to his shoulder, was Marco.

He dropped Vanessa’s gun and leaned heavily against the tunnel wall, gasping for air.

“Marco,” I whispered, stepping back.

He didn’t look angry. He looked completely defeated.

He slowly slid down the brick wall until he was sitting in the mud, clutching his bleeding shoulder. He looked at Sophie, his eyes filled with a pain that had nothing to do with the bullet hole in his flesh.

“I didn’t shoot him,” Marco rasped, coughing up blood.

I stared at him. “I saw you aim at Dominic.”

“I aimed at the cartel soldier coming up behind him,” Marco corrected, his head lolling back against the bricks. “Dominic killed the others. He’s alive. He’s securing the house.”

“Then who shot you?” I asked.

Marco gave a weak, bitter laugh. “Donatella. She came into the office with the Rossi boss. She shot me for failing to kill Dominic. She doesn’t care about me. And she doesn’t care about Sophie. To her, we’re just loose ends.”

Marco reached into his jacket with his good hand.

I tensed, but he didn’t pull a weapon.

He pulled out the gold pocket watch. The one with Sophie’s baby picture inside.

He held it out to me, his hand shaking.

“Take it,” Marco whispered, tears cutting clean lines through the dirt on his face.

I stepped forward hesitantly and took the watch from his bloody fingers.

“Take her to the docks,” Marco said, his voice growing fainter. “There’s a speedboat hidden under the old pier. The keys are in the ignition. Donatella’s men don’t know about it. It was my emergency exit.”

I looked at the massive man bleeding out in the mud. “Why are you helping us?”

Marco looked past me, fixing his gaze on the little girl hiding behind my legs.

“Because she’s not a mafia princess,” Marco whispered, closing his eyes. “She’s just a little girl who loves her dad. And Dominic… Dominic is the only real father she’s ever known. Tell him… tell him I’m sorry I couldn’t save Clara.”

Marco’s head slumped forward. His breathing slowed, then stopped.

I stood in the silence, clutching the pocket watch.

“Hannah?” Sophie whispered, pulling my dress. “Is he asleep?”

“Yes, baby,” I choked out, wiping my tears. “He’s asleep. Let’s go.”

I grabbed her hand and ran for the end of the tunnel.

I pushed open the heavy iron gate leading to the docks. The cool, rainy night air hit my face. The river raged below us, black and violent.

I saw the speedboat hidden under the pier, exactly where Marco said it would be.

We had made it. We were safe.

I stepped onto the wooden dock, pulling Sophie behind me.

“Going somewhere, Hannah?”

A spotlight suddenly blinded me.

I threw my arm up, shielding my eyes.