Chapter 6 - THE TRAP
Vanessa spun toward my father, raising her silver handgun.
She never got the chance to fire.
Luca lunged forward, grabbing Vanessa's wrist and twisting it sharply. She shrieked as the gun clattered to the floor. Luca swept her legs out from under her, pinning her to the rug with his knee squarely on her chest.
"Dad!" I cried out, running to him.
My father wrapped his free arm around me, holding me tight. "I'm okay, Gracie. It takes more than a couple of Bellini thugs to keep an old accountant down."
Catherine rushed over, examining the cut on his head. "How did you get away?"
"Victor's men are young and stupid," my father grunted. "They assumed I was unarmed. I wasn't." He looked at Luca, who was dragging a cursing Vanessa to her feet by her hair. "Victor is dead, Luca. But his men called Michael before I finished them. Michael knows you're alive. He's locking down the mansion right now."
Luca shoved Vanessa onto the sofa next to my weeping mother. "Let him lock it down. We have the ledger, we have Catherine, and we have the true will."
"We don't have Teresa," I realized aloud, the panic rising in my chest again. "Michael will use her as a hostage. He knows you won't risk her life."
Luca's face hardened. "He won't touch her."
"He will," my father said grimly. "Michael has nothing left to lose. If he realizes Vanessa failed here, he'll barricade himself in the house with your mother and demand safe passage out of the city."
Vanessa laughed bitterly, rubbing her bruised wrist. "He'll kill the old bat, Luca. And he'll kill all of you. You're locked out of your own fortress."
Luca reached into his pocket and pulled out the brass key. He looked at it for a long moment, then turned to me.
"Grace," Luca said softly. "You still have your employee keycard?"
"Yes," I nodded, patting my pocket. "But Michael deactivated all staff access codes tonight when he cleared the guests."
"Not the service entrance in the cellar," Luca said. "That runs on an analog lock. I installed it myself five years ago. Do you still have the physical key on your ring?"
I pulled out my lanyard. A heavy iron key hung next to my plastic badge. "Yes."
"Good." Luca turned to my father. "Thomas, take Catherine and Grace to the police station. Hand over the blue ledger and the will to Captain Harris. He's the only cop on the payroll who hates the Bellinis as much as I do."
"No," Catherine said firmly. "I'm not hiding anymore, Luca. I'm coming with you."
"I am too," I added, stepping beside Catherine. "Michael made my mother a murderer. He took three years of my father's life. I know the layout of that mansion better than anyone."
Luca looked at us both. He didn't argue. "Fine. But we need a distraction. Something loud enough to draw Michael's men to the front gates while we slip through the cellar."
My father pumped the shotgun. "I can be loud."
"You stay here," I told him, pointing a shaky finger at his bleeding head. "You watch my mother. And you make sure Vanessa doesn't move."
My father looked at my mother, who was still crying silently in the chair. He sighed. "Be careful, Gracie."
Twenty minutes later, we were parked in the dark alley behind the Moretti estate. The rain had stopped, leaving a thick fog rolling off the lake.
"Ready?" Luca whispered, checking the magazine of his reloaded weapon.
I nodded, gripping the iron key.
Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the front of the estate. Flames shot into the night sky, illuminating the fog in bright orange.
"What the hell was that?" Catherine gasped.
Luca smiled grimly. "I told Thomas to be a distraction. I guess he found the extra C4 in my truck."
Sirens immediately began wailing in the distance. Shouts echoed from the front courtyard as Michael's guards rushed toward the burning gates.
"Now," Luca said.
We sprinted across the wet grass, slipping down the narrow concrete stairwell to the cellar door. I jammed the iron key into the lock and twisted. It clicked.
We slipped inside the dark, cavernous basement. It smelled of wine and damp earth.
"Teresa's room is on the second floor now," I whispered, pointing to the servant stairs. "Beside the laundry."
We climbed silently. My heart hammered against my ribs with every step. When we reached the second-floor landing, the hallway was deserted. Everyone was dealing with the fire at the front gates.
We crept toward the laundry room.
The door to Teresa's narrow room was closed.
Luca reached out and slowly turned the knob.
The room was empty.
The narrow bed was unmade. The quilt was thrown on the floor.
"Where is she?" Catherine breathed.
Before Luca could answer, a cold voice spoke from the shadows behind us.
"Looking for someone, little brother?"
We spun around.
May you like
Standing at the end of the hallway was Michael. He was holding Teresa by the arm. He had a gun pressed directly to the side of his own mother's head.
"Drop it, Luca," Michael smiled. "Or the old woman dies right here."
