Chapter 5 - THE MANIFEST
My vision blurred. The ticking of the antique clock in the corner of Leo’s room suddenly sounded like hammer strikes.
"Bankrupt him?" I whispered, staring at the tarnished silver pocket watch resting in the velvet-lined box. "My father was a simple man. He hauled lumber and auto parts. Why would anyone hire someone to ruin him?"
Luca closed the box, his jaw set in a hard line. "Because in my world, Nora, nothing happens by accident. Twelve years ago, my father's syndicate was moving untraceable cargo through the Midwest. The Bellini family was handling the transport."
"Vanessa's family?"
"Yes. But a shipment went missing. Millions of dollars vanished. My father suspected the Bellinis stole it, but they framed an independent trucker whose route crossed theirs. They claimed he hijacked the load." Luca looked at me with deep regret. "That trucker was Arthur Vance."
I felt the blood drain from my face. "They destroyed him. They drove him into the ground, terrified him with loan sharks, until his heart failed. All to cover their own theft?"
"My father figured out the truth too late," Luca said. "He found the man the Bellinis hired to shake your father down. That man was carrying this watch as a trophy. My father kept it, planning to use it to expose the Bellinis. But he died before he could. The alliance between our families was forced on me to keep the peace."
He handed me the watch. The cold metal pressed against my palm. I traced the worn etching on the back—my grandfather’s initials.
"Why are you telling me this now?" I asked, my voice trembling with anger.
"Because Vanessa didn't just try to frame you today," Luca said. "When she saw you stand up for Ray, she recognized your last name on the staff registry. The Bellinis know who you are, Nora. They know you are Arthur Vance’s daughter."
I looked up at him, the pieces finally clicking together. "The list. The one I found in my locker."
I pulled the crumpled paper from my pocket and handed it to Luca. His eyes scanned the crossed-out names. Ray. And at the bottom, my name, marked with a cross.
"Vanessa wasn't just trying to get me fired," I realized, the horror washing over me. "She was trying to isolate you from anyone loyal, and she was trying to eliminate a loose end. Me."
Luca’s grip on the paper tightened until his knuckles turned white. "She just signed her family's death warrant."
He gently took the pocket watch from my shaking hands. As he pressed on the latch to close it, his thumb slipped against the side rim.
There was a faint click.
The back casing of the watch popped open. It wasn't solid silver. It had a false bottom.
We both stared. Tucked inside the tiny compartment was a yellowed, tightly folded piece of paper.
Luca carefully extracted it with his fingertips and unfolded it under the lamplight. It was a miniature, handwritten ledger page. I saw dates, license plate numbers, and a list of cargo.
"This isn't a list of stolen money," Luca whispered, his eyes widening as he read the faded ink. "Nora... this is a shipping manifest. It’s a record of what the Bellinis actually stole twelve years ago, the cargo they framed your father for."
"What was it?"
Luca looked at me, a dangerous fire igniting in his eyes. "Weapons. Military grade. They didn't steal from my father, Nora. They stole from a federal armory and used my father's routes to move it. If the Feds ever find this, the entire Bellini family spends the rest of their lives in prison."
He looked toward the window, out into the dark estate grounds. "Your father didn't just die a victim. He found their ledger. He hid the proof."
Suddenly, the heavy oak door of the bedroom rattled.
I spun around. Someone was trying the handle from the outside.
"I locked it," I whispered.
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"Get behind me," Luca said, pulling a sleek black handgun from the holster beneath his arm.
The handle stopped jiggling. A second later, a key slid into the lock. The deadbolt clicked open.
