Chapter 5 - THE BROKEN ROSARY
The ruins of St. Jude’s Orphanage loomed against the stormy night sky like a decaying skeleton. The twin steeples were charred black, and the massive clock face was shattered, frozen forever at midnight.
Elena parked the battered sedan a block away, hidden beneath the thick canopy of weeping willows. The rain was relentless, soaking them to the bone the moment they stepped out of the car.
Luca led the way, his gun drawn. He moved with a lethal silence, his eyes scanning the overgrown graveyard that surrounded the burnt-out church.
“The entrance to the old catacombs is through the crypts,” Luca whispered, pointing toward a crumbling stone mausoleum.
They slipped inside the dark, damp stone structure. The air smelled of wet earth and old decay. At the back of the tomb, a heavy iron grate had been pulled aside, revealing a narrow stone staircase leading deep underground.
Elena pulled her gun, her maternal instincts overriding her fear. “If Carmine’s men found him first…”
“They didn’t,” a voice echoed from the darkness below.
Luca froze.
A figure stepped out of the shadows at the bottom of the stairs. He held a lantern in one hand and a rifle in the other.
He looked older, tired, his face hardened by years of exile and paranoia. But the eyes were exactly the same.
“Adrian,” Luca breathed.
Adrian lowered the rifle slowly. He looked at Luca, then his eyes shifted to Elena. His tough exterior shattered for a fraction of a second, revealing a profound, agonizing heartbreak.
“You shouldn't have brought her here, Luca,” Adrian said, his voice gravelly. “It’s not safe.”
“My son is gone, Adrian!” Elena shouted, rushing down the stairs. She hit his chest, pounding her fists against him. “They took Leo! They took him because of you!”
Adrian didn't stop her. He let her hit him, his eyes closing in silent agony. He finally wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest.
“I know,” Adrian whispered, burying his face in her wet hair. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Ellie.”
Luca watched them, a massive knot forming in his throat. He walked down the steps, stopping a few feet away.
“Six years,” Luca said softly. “You let me believe you burned to death. You let me mourn you.”
Adrian pulled away from Elena, though he kept her hand in his. He looked at his older brother, his expression hardening again.
“I had to,” Adrian said. “If you knew I was alive, Carmine would have killed you too. I found out he was stealing from the family. Millions. I was going to expose him to our father.”
Adrian reached into his pocket and pulled out an object. He tossed it to Luca.
Luca caught it. It was a broken wooden rosary.
“Uncle Carmine’s,” Luca said, recognizing the silver crucifix.
“He dropped it in my apartment the night his men came to kill me,” Adrian said. “They brought a document with them. A hit order. Signed by you, Luca. They wanted me to die believing my own brother betrayed me.”
“I never signed it,” Luca swore, his voice fierce. “I would have died before I let anyone hurt you.”
“I know that now,” Adrian said. “But I didn't know it then. I barely escaped. I staged the car crash, paid off a corrupt coroner, and became a ghost. I’ve been hunting Carmine’s money trail ever since, trying to find enough proof to take him down.”
“Well, you’re out of time,” Luca said. “Carmine used Marco to try and kill me tonight. And he has Leo. We need to hit back, now.”
Adrian’s face went deadly pale. “Carmine doesn't have Leo.”
Elena’s breath hitched. “What do you mean?”
“I have men watching Carmine’s estate,” Adrian said rapidly. “Marco’s crew grabbed Leo from your apartment, but Marco died before he could deliver the boy to Carmine. Which means Marco’s loyalists still have him.”
“Dante,” Luca realized, the name tasting like poison.
Dante, the captain who had turned a gun on him at the restaurant. Dante had the boy.
Suddenly, Adrian’s radio crackled on the stone altar beside them.
“Boss,” a panicked voice came through the static. “We’ve got company. A dozen cars just pulled up to the graveyard gates.”
Adrian grabbed the radio. “Who is it? Carmine’s men?”
“No,” the voice replied. “It’s Dante. And they’ve got the kid. He’s walking toward the church right now.”
Elena let out a suffocated cry.
“Why would Dante come here?” Luca asked, drawing his weapon.
“Because Carmine tipped him off,” Adrian said bitterly, racking his rifle. “Carmine is using Dante to do his dirty work. He wants us all in one place so he can bury the bloodline together.”
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A megaphone crackled from the graveyard above.
“Luca!” Dante’s voice boomed through the rain. “Adrian! Come out of the crypt! You have three minutes before I throw this boy down the stairs and drop a grenade in after him!”
