Chapter 5 - The Empty Bed
“Get the cars. Now.”
Damian’s voice was a whip crack of pure adrenaline. His men were already moving, guns drawn, sprinting down the narrow stairwell of my apartment building.
“Marco, stay close to me,” I ordered, grabbing my brother’s jacket.
“You are coming with us,” Damian said, not looking back. “Julian knows who you are. Your apartment is compromised. You will be dead in an hour if you stay here.”
I didn't argue. We piled into the heavily armored black SUVs waiting on the street. The driver tore through the Brooklyn traffic, running red lights with terrifying speed.
Damian sat in the back seat with us, his phone pressed to his ear. “Status on the estate.”
He listened for a moment, his jaw tight. “No breaches? Visual on my mother. I want eyes on her now.”
He hung up, staring blankly at the bulletproof window. “My security chief says the perimeter is intact. Elena is in her study.”
“Then how did Julian get her rosary?” I asked, clutching the silver coin in my pocket.
“We are about to find out.”
We arrived at the sprawling Volkov estate in Long Island thirty minutes later. It looked like a fortress—wrought-iron gates, security patrols, and high stone walls.
Damian led us inside, practically running through the grand marble foyer. He threw open the heavy oak doors to the library.
Sitting by the window, reading a book in her wheelchair, was Elena Volkov.
She looked up, completely unharmed.
Damian let out a ragged breath, dropping to his knees beside her chair. “Mother. Are you alright?”
Elena gently touched his cheek. “I am fine, Damian. Why are you panicked?”
Damian held up the broken wooden rosary. “Julian Vale left this in Maya’s apartment. How did he get it?”
Elena looked at the rosary, her expression hardening into a mask of cold calculation.
“I gave it to him,” Elena said simply.
Damian stared at her in disbelief. “You saw Julian? When? He isn't allowed on this property!”
“He was here this morning, posing as a physical therapist,” Elena said, her voice steady. “He demanded the ledger. He knew I had secured the files. I handed him the rosary and told him the safety deposit key was hidden inside the crucifix. It bought us time.”
“It was a decoy?” I asked, stepping into the room.
Elena looked at me, a soft, sad smile crossing her face. “Ah. The brave waitress. I am sorry to drag you into this war, Maya. But yes. The rosary was a decoy. The real ledger is on the SD card I gave you.”
“Why give it to me?” I asked, desperation bleeding into my voice. “Why risk my life?”
“Because you were invisible to them,” Elena said gently. “Julian’s men scan my son. They scan his guards. But they don't look at the help. They don't look at a waitress. You were the only safe vessel.”
Damian stood up, his eyes blazing. “Julian will figure out the rosary is fake. He left it on Maya’s bed to show us he can reach anyone, anywhere.”
“He knows about Maya now,” Elena agreed grimly. “Which means he will target her leverage.”
My blood ran cold. Leverage.
My phone vibrated violently in my pocket. The caller ID flashed: St. Jude’s Medical Center.
I answered, my hand shaking. “Hello?”
“Ms. Rossi?” The nurse’s voice on the other end was frantic. “I am so sorry to call so late, but we have a situation regarding your mother, Lucia.”
“Is she okay? Did her heart—”
“No, her vitals were fine,” the nurse interrupted. “But a private transport team arrived twenty minutes ago. They had authorized transfer papers signed by a 'Julian Vale', listed as her new legal proxy. They took her, Maya. Your mother is gone.”
May you like
The phone slipped from my hand, shattering against the hardwood floor.
Julian Vale hadn't just broken into my home. He had stolen my mother from her hospital bed.
