Chapter 2
Someone screamed.
Glass shattered.
A chair hit the floor.
Then the dining room vanished into darkness.
I couldn't see Luca.
I couldn't see Vanessa.
I couldn't see anything except the faint gray outline of the windows.
"Nobody move!" Daniel shouted.
A gunshot exploded somewhere near the hallway.
I dropped.
Pain tore through my shoulder as I hit the carpet.
Another shot.
Then a third.
People started shouting.
I heard Luca's voice.
"Mia!"
"I'm here!"
A hand found my wrist.
Strong.
Warm.
Luca.
"Stay down."
Emergency lights flickered on.
Dim red strips along the baseboards.
Enough to see shapes.
Daniel was near the doorway with a gun drawn.
Two guards were covering Carlo.
Except Carlo wasn't there.
Neither was Vanessa.
Adrian was on the floor behind a chair.
Blood covered his hand.
Luca saw it.
"Where are you hit?"
"I'm not."
Adrian pointed.
One of Luca's security officers lay beside the doors.
A bullet had struck his shoulder.
Daniel shouted for the medic.
Luca looked at the empty space where Carlo had been standing.
"How?"
Daniel checked the corridor.
"Service hall."
Luca turned toward me.
"Where's Vanessa?"
I looked around.
Gone.
My stomach dropped.
"She was by the table."
Daniel swore.
Luca took out his phone.
No signal.
"The estate network is down," Daniel said.
"Backup?"
"Jammed."
Adrian stood carefully.
"Carlo planned the blackout."
Luca's eyes cut toward him.
"You think?"
"I'm saying he has people inside."
That landed badly.
Luca looked at Daniel.
"How many staff on duty?"
"Thirty-two."
"Security?"
"Fourteen."
"Lock internal sections manually. Nobody leaves the property."
Daniel hesitated.
"If Carlo controls someone on our team—"
"Then find out who."
I pushed myself to my feet.
Luca noticed.
"Sit."
"I'm okay."
"You're not."
"Neither is your brother."
That stopped him.
The video phone was gone.
Carlo had taken it.
But the silver key was still in Luca's hand.
317.
He stared at it.
"What vault?"
Adrian wiped blood from his sleeve.
"Union Station."
Luca looked at him.
"Chicago?"
"Lower-level private boxes. Old service operated through a holding company."
"Why does Matteo have one?"
"Because he needed somewhere Carlo couldn't easily reach."
Luca looked at the key.
"What's inside?"
"I don't know."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"No."
Adrian met his eyes.
"I expect you to believe Matteo didn't trust me either."
Before Luca could answer, a guard rushed in.
"Sir, west gate is open."
Daniel spun.
"It was locked."
"Override was used."
"Whose code?"
The guard hesitated.
"Mrs. Carter's."
I stared at him.
"No."
Everyone looked at me.
"Mrs. Carter would never—"
Luca's eyes sharpened.
"When did you last see her?"
"She helped me sit down."
"After that?"
I looked around.
I hadn't seen her.
Daniel spoke into his radio.
No answer.
"Luca," I said.
He looked at me.
"She knows the service corridors better than anyone."
Adrian frowned.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning if someone wanted to disappear during a blackout, they'd need her."
A sound came from the pantry corridor.
Soft.
Three knocks.
Pause.
Two knocks.
Mrs. Carter had used that signal with kitchen staff for years when the main bell system failed.
I turned.
"That's her."
Daniel raised his weapon.
Luca moved in front of me.
"Stay here."
I ignored him.
The pantry corridor was dark.
Daniel led.
Luca followed.
I stayed three steps behind.
Adrian came too.
At the end of the corridor, someone knocked again.
Three.
Pause.
Two.
Daniel opened the linen closet.
Mrs. Carter fell forward.
Her wrists were tied.
Tape covered her mouth.
I rushed to her.
She was shaking.
There was a bruise above her eye.
"Mia," she gasped after Daniel removed the tape.
"What happened?"
"A man in security uniform."
Daniel's face hardened.
"Name?"
"I couldn't see. He came from behind."
Luca crouched beside her.
"Vanessa?"
Mrs. Carter nodded.
"She was with him."
My stomach sank.
"Voluntarily?" Luca asked.
Mrs. Carter hesitated.
"I don't know."
"Which way?"
"Kitchen loading dock."
Daniel was already moving.
Luca stood.
"Stay with her," he told me.
"No."
His eyes snapped toward mine.
"Mia."
"If Vanessa is running, she knows I found the key."
"Exactly why you're staying here."
"But—"
"No."
I looked at him.
For a second, everything else disappeared.
His anger wasn't directed at me.
It was fear.
He didn't want another person hurt.
Especially because of him.
I lowered my voice.
"Then take the key."
He looked down.
It was still in his hand.
Adrian said, "We need to reach the vault before Carlo does."
Luca turned.
"You think that's where he's going?"
"If he knew Mia had the key, he knows the box matters."
Mrs. Carter grabbed my wrist.
"Mia."
I looked at her.
Her face had gone pale.
"The man who tied me up said something."
"What?"
"He said, 'If she found the phone, she may have found the list.'"
Luca crouched again.
"What list?"
"I don't know."
I did.
Not exactly.
But I remembered something else from the study.
Under the table where I found the phone, a corner of paper had been sticking through a thin crack in the floor molding.
I had assumed it was trash.
I hadn't pulled it out.
"Luca."
He looked at me.
"There was paper."
"Where?"
"In your study."
We ran.
The study door was locked.
Luca unlocked it.
The room looked normal.
Too normal.
Desk.
Books.
Fireplace.
The table where I had found the phone.
I dropped to my knees.
There.
Near the baseboard.
A tiny white corner.
I pulled.
Nothing.
It was stuck.
Luca knelt beside me and used a letter opener to pry back the molding.
A folded sheet slid out.
He opened it.
Names.
Dozens of them.
Dates.
Account numbers.
Initials.
Adrian leaned over his shoulder.
"Jesus."
Luca looked at him.
"What?"
"That's not a list."
"What is it?"
"A payment ledger."
Daniel entered.
"Loading dock camera is down. Tire tracks lead east."
Luca handed him the paper.
Daniel read.
His expression changed.
"These are police names."
"Some," Adrian said.
"Judges," Daniel added.
"And politicians," Luca said.
I saw Vanessa's name near the bottom.
V. BELLINI - 2.4M - DELIVERY / TRUST ACCESS
Then another name.
M. MORETTI - 8.0M - TERMINATION
Luca went still.
Adrian took the paper.
"No."
Luca pointed.
"What does termination mean?"
Adrian said nothing.
Luca grabbed his shirt.
"What does it mean?"
"It was the amount paid for the crash."
Silence.
"The crash that killed Matteo?"
Adrian's eyes filled.
"The crash that was supposed to kill both of us."
Luca released him.
I couldn't understand.
"You survived."
Adrian nodded.
"So did Matteo."
"Then why stay dead?"
Adrian looked at Luca.
"Because the first person we called after the crash tried to kill us again."
Luca's face changed.
"Who?"
Adrian looked at the ledger.
Then pointed to one line.
D. MORETTI - 15M - FAMILY SETTLEMENT
Luca stared.
I had heard that name before.
Not from Luca.
From Mrs. Carter.
Domenico Moretti.
Luca's uncle.
His father's younger brother.
The man who had taken control of several family companies after Adrian's death.
Luca whispered:
"Uncle Dom."
Adrian nodded.
"Carlo wasn't working alone."
Luca looked at the phone in Daniel's hand.
"Where is Domenico?"
Daniel hesitated.
"According to public records? Miami."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
"How do you know?"
"Because Matteo called me three hours ago."
Luca stepped closer.
"What did he say?"
Adrian looked at the ledger.
"He said Domenico was coming home."
A loud bang came from upstairs.
Everyone froze.
Then footsteps.
Fast.
Running.
Daniel lifted his gun.
A young guard appeared at the doorway.
"Sir!"
"What?"
"We found Miss Bellini."
Luca's jaw tightened.
"Where?"
"Upstairs."
"She didn't leave?"
"No."
The guard was breathing hard.
"She's locked herself in your mother's bedroom."
Luca stared at him.
"Why?"
The guard swallowed.
"She says Carlo isn't her father."
Silence.
Then Vanessa screamed from upstairs.
"LUCA!"
We all looked toward the ceiling.
Another scream.
"HE'S IN THE HOUSE!"
Luca ran.
I followed before he could stop me.
We reached the second floor.
Vanessa was pounding on the inside of the bedroom door.
Luca unlocked it.
She stumbled out barefoot.
Her red dress was torn.
Blood marked one knee.
She grabbed Luca's shirt.
"He lied."
Luca pushed her hands away.
"About what?"
"Everything."
"Carlo?"
"He's not Carlo."
Adrian arrived behind us.
Vanessa saw him.
Her face went white.
"Ask him."
Luca looked at Adrian.
"Who is Carlo?"
Adrian said nothing.
Vanessa started crying.
"My father died eleven years ago."
Luca froze.
"You told me Carlo Bellini was your father."
"I thought he was."
"What does that mean?"
"After my father died, that man came to me. He said he'd been my father's business partner. He had documents. Photos. He knew everything about our family."
Her voice cracked.
"He told me my father had hidden money. That I was entitled to it. He said if I helped him get close to you, he'd return what was mine."
Luca stared at her.
"So you agreed to marry me for access."
She looked down.
"At first."
"At first?"
"I loved you."
He laughed without humor.
"You attacked Mia."
Vanessa's eyes moved toward me.
"I panicked."
"You lied about my brother."
"I didn't know he was alive."
"You helped steal my voting rights."
"I thought the trust was temporary."
Luca looked disgusted.
"You knew enough."
She nodded.
Tears ran down her face.
"I know."
Adrian turned away.
Vanessa pointed at him.
"But he knows who Carlo is."
Luca looked at Adrian.
"Tell me."
Adrian's face was gray.
"Not here."
"Tell me now."
A voice behind us answered.
"His name is Gabriel Voss."
Everyone turned.
A man stood at the far end of the hallway.
Security uniform.
Gun in one hand.
Carlo's face was gone.
Not literally.
But the gray wig was off.
The prosthetic cheek padding had been removed.
Without them, he looked younger.
Sharper.
His features were different enough that I almost didn't recognize him.
Gabriel Voss smiled.
"Adrian always did hate introductions."
Daniel raised his gun.
Gabriel lifted a small device.
"Careful."
He pressed his thumb against the button.
"Matteo's chair is wired."
Luca stopped.
Gabriel looked at him.
"Now."
He nodded toward the silver key.
"Give me 317."
Luca closed his fist.
"No."
Gabriel smiled.
"Then your brother dies for real this time."
Before anyone moved, my phone vibrated.
I almost ignored it.
Then I saw the message.
Unknown number.
MIA. DON'T GIVE HIM THE KEY.
A second message appeared.
I'M NOT IN THE CHAIR.
I looked at Luca.
He saw my face.
"What?"
I turned the phone toward him.
A third message appeared.
THIS IS MATTEO.
May you like
And from somewhere inside the walls—
we heard a man laughing.
