THE BRIDE’S SECRET, THE MAID’S SALVATION

“Get him into the panic room,” Luca ordered, his voice devoid of panic, replaced entirely by cold, calculated authority.

He pointed to a discreet steel door hidden behind a massive oak bookshelf. “Sophie, take Leo. Lock the door from the inside. Do not open it for anyone but me.”

“What about you?” I asked, my heart hammering wildly against my ribs.

“I’m going to end this,” he said simply.

He stepped closer to me. The red lights of the alarm washed over his face, illuminating the sharp angles of his jaw. He reached out, his warm, calloused fingers gently brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear. The touch was so unexpected, so intensely tender amidst the chaos, that I stopped breathing.

“You brought my nephew back to me,” Luca whispered, his dark eyes locking onto mine. “I will burn this city to the ground before I let Julian touch you.”

He turned away, checking the magazine of his pistol, his demeanor instantly shifting back to the ruthless boss Chicago feared.

I grabbed Leo’s hand. The boy was terrified, gripping his stuffed elephant so hard his tiny knuckles were white.

“Come on, Leo,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, masking my own terror. “We’re going to play hide and seek.”

I rushed us into the panic room. It was small, lined with thick steel, and contained a cot, bottled water, and a security monitor that displayed the penthouse living room. I slammed the heavy door shut and threw the deadbolt.

On the monitor, I watched the horror unfold.

The elevator doors chimed. Julian stepped out, flanked by six armed men. Vanessa trailed behind them, looking pale, her wedding gown ruined and muddy.

Luca didn’t hide. He stood in the center of the massive living room, waiting.

“Give me the codes, Luca!” Julian shouted over the blaring alarm, aiming a gun directly at Luca’s chest. “And hand over the maid. She knows too much.”

“You’re standing in my house, Julian,” Luca said calmly, his gun resting at his side. “You don’t make demands.”

“It’s over!” Julian sneered, stepping forward. “I have your accounts. I have your men cornered at the estate. Give me the boy, give me the codes, and I’ll let you walk away.”

At the mention of Leo, Luca’s eyes darkened with a lethal promise.

“You murdered my brother,” Luca said, his voice echoing through the penthouse, louder than the alarm. “You stole his child. You brainwashed an innocent boy.”

Vanessa flinched at the words. She looked at Julian. “You told me Mateo abandoned the boy! You said you were saving him from the system!”

Julian didn’t even look at her. Without hesitation, he backhanded Vanessa across the face. She collapsed onto a glass coffee table, shattering it beneath her weight.

“Shut up, you stupid woman,” Julian spat. He looked back at Luca. “Kill him. Find the girl.”

His men raised their weapons.

But Luca was faster.

He dove behind the heavy marble kitchen island as gunfire erupted, shattering the floor-to-ceiling windows. The cold night wind howled into the penthouse, scattering papers and shards of glass everywhere.

I clamped my hands over Leo’s ears, pulling him tightly against my chest in the corner of the panic room. “Close your eyes, sweetie. It’s just thunder. It’s just thunder.”

On the screen, Luca returned fire with terrifying, clinical precision. Two of Julian’s men dropped instantly. But there were too many of them. They were flanking the kitchen, moving in to trap him.

Julian stepped over the broken glass, moving closer to the bookshelf that hid the panic room. He was following the wet, muddy footprints Leo and I had left on the pristine floor.

“I know you’re in there, Sophie!” Julian yelled, standing right outside our steel door. He banged his fist against the metal, the sound echoing like a bomb inside the small room. “Open the door and give me the codes, or I’ll blow Luca’s head off!”

On the monitor, I saw one of Julian’s men sneak up behind the kitchen island. He had a clear shot at Luca’s blind spot.

Luca didn't see him.

I had to do something. I couldn't just hide while the man who had protected us died.

I looked around the small panic room. On the emergency desk sat a microphone connected to the penthouse’s intercom system.

I hit the red button.

“Vanessa!” I screamed into the microphone, my voice booming from the speakers in the living room, startling everyone.

Vanessa, bleeding on the floor among the broken glass, looked up wildly.

“They’re going to kill you too!” I shouted, watching the screen. “Look at his inside pocket! He has the offshore passports! Only one ticket! He’s leaving you behind!”

Julian froze, his hand instinctively flying to his breast pocket.