Chapter 5 - THE BLOOD ON THE LEDGER
I froze, staring down the dark barrel of Marco’s gun.
My breath trapped itself in my lungs. I could hear the faint, terrified whimpers of the guests cowering behind their chairs.
“Uncle Marco,” Luca said. He didn't yell. He didn't panic. He just slowly stood up from where he had been crouching near Arthur. “Put the gun down.”
“Sit down, Luca,” Marco sneered, waving the weapon between me and Teresa. “You’ve been a good boy, playing boss all these years. But you’re soft. Just like your father.”
Teresa gripped the arms of her wheelchair, her knuckles white. “You killed my husband, Marco. Your own flesh and blood.”
“Antonio was weak!” Marco spat, his face flushing red. “He wanted to take the family legitimate. Sell the ports. Build schools! I built this empire with blood, and he wanted to give it away.”
Marco looked down at Arthur, who was still bleeding on the rug, then over to Vanessa.
“Vanessa and Arthur were simple tools,” Marco said, looking disgusted. “A fake marriage, a fake romance, designed to get Vanessa close enough to you, Luca, to transfer the ports to me before you could legally legitimize them. But this girl—” He pointed the gun back at me. “Her brother ruined everything.”
“Thomas didn't do anything to you!” I shouted, adrenaline finally overriding my fear. “He was just a driver!”
“Your brother,” Marco hissed, “was in the car when I cut the brake lines. He was supposed to die with Antonio. But the rat survived. He pulled Antonio from the wreckage, stole the ledger from the glovebox, and vanished.”
My heart pounded against my ribs. Thomas survived?
“Where is he?” I demanded, taking a step forward despite the gun. “Where is my brother?”
Marco laughed. “Dead. I hunted him down a week later. But the idiot had already mailed the ledger to Teresa. Or so I thought. Turns out, he hid it in that train station locker.”
Marco tapped the heavy leather book in his hand. “Arthur retrieved it for me today. It has every dirty transaction, every bribe, every murder I committed. Antonio was keeping records to turn me in.”
Marco raised the gun, aiming it squarely at Teresa’s chest.
“I’m taking the ports, Luca,” Marco said. “And I’m taking my leave. If anyone follows me, I shoot your mother. Then the maid.”
Luca’s muscles coiled. I could see he was preparing to lunge, but Marco was too far away. He wouldn't make it in time.
Vanessa, still on her knees, looked from the gun, to Marco, to the ledger.
“Marco,” Vanessa whispered, her voice cracking. “You promised. If I did this... if I got you the ports... you’d give her back.”
Marco didn't even look at her. “Collateral damage, Vanessa. She’s gone.”
A primal, agonizing scream ripped from Vanessa’s throat. It wasn't the sound of a con artist. It was the sound of a mother whose soul had just been torn out.
With blinding speed, Vanessa launched herself off the floor. She didn't go for Marco. She grabbed the heavy silver ice bucket from the dining table and swung it with all her might, smashing it directly into Marco’s wrist.
The gun fired wildly, the bullet shattering the crystal chandelier above us.
Glass rained down. The room plunged into shadows.
In the chaos, Marco dropped the ledger. It slid across the floor, stopping right at my feet.
May you like
I looked down at the book. Sticking out from the pages was a worn, faded piece of blue fabric. A baby’s blanket. My nephew Toby’s blanket.
And wrapped inside it was a solid gold rosary.
