Chapter 7 - THE ROSARY'S WEIGHT
Age might have slowed my running speed, but it hadn't dulled my reflexes.
Before Vanessa could reach Lily, I stepped into her path, catching her wrist with my left hand. She fought like a wildcat, screaming obscenities, the steak knife slashing through the sleeve of my suit.
I ignored the sting of the blade. With my right hand, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the heavy, solid brass rosary beads Dominic had given me the day I was hired.
I swung the heavy cross, striking Vanessa’s wrist precisely on the nerve.
She cried out in pain, dropping the knife. It clattered to the marble floor. I twisted her arm behind her back, pinning her securely against the heavy dining table.
“Let her go!” Michael roared, raising his gun toward me.
“Do it, Arthur!” Adrian shouted.
Arthur Bennett pressed the button on the pocket watch. A small, high-pitched beep echoed through the room.
“File sent,” Arthur announced calmly.
Michael Russo stared at Arthur in sheer horror. The leverage was gone. His secret was out in the world, uncontainable.
The realization distracted him for exactly one second.
That was all Adrian needed.
Adrian, fueled by eighteen years of grief for his sister, vaulted over the corner of the dining table and tackled the crippled assassin to the ground.
The gun went off, the bullet shattering a crystal chandelier above us. Glass rained down, but nobody screamed. We were too focused on the struggle on the floor.
Adrian landed a brutal punch to Michael’s jaw, knocking the older man out cold. He kicked the suppressed handgun across the room.
Silence fell over the dining room, broken only by Vanessa’s pathetic sobbing as I held her pinned against the table.
“It’s over, Vanessa,” I said quietly, feeling the adrenaline slowly drain from my aging muscles.
Adrian stood up, chest heaving, his knuckles bruised and bleeding. He looked down at the unconscious man who had murdered his sister, then turned his gaze to Vanessa.
“You wanted accountability,” Adrian said, his voice cold and hollow. “You’re going to federal prison for extortion, conspiracy, and attempted murder. And your family’s empire is going to burn.”
Vanessa sobbed, her mascara running down her face in dark streaks, ruining her perfect red gown.
The wail of police sirens began to echo in the distance, growing louder as they approached the estate gates.
I carefully released Vanessa, letting Arthur and another guest secure her with a pair of cloth napkins tied around her wrists.
I turned to look at Lily.
She was sitting perfectly still, staring at the silver bracelet on the table. The bracelet that belonged to the mother she never knew, the woman who had died so she could live.
I walked over and gently placed my hand on her shoulder.
“She loved you,” I whispered. “Elena only had you for a few months, but she loved you enough to give up everything.”
Lily looked up at me, her eyes filled with tears, and wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face in my chest. I hugged her back, resting my chin on her head.
“Thank you,” Lily cried. “Thank you for staying with me at the door that night.”
“I’d do it again, sweetheart,” I said, closing my eyes.
Adrian walked over to us. The mafia boss looked exhausted, vulnerable, and completely changed.
He reached out and picked up the silver bracelet from the table.
“Lily,” Adrian said softly.
She pulled back from me, wiping her eyes, and looked at her uncle.
May you like
But before Adrian could give her the bracelet, Sophia Moretti cleared her throat.
“Adrian,” the elderly aunt said, holding a sealed envelope in her trembling hands. “Before the police come in... there is one last thing your father wanted you to see.”
