Chapter 4 - THE HEAVY GOLD WATCH
I froze in the doorway, staring at the woman who had baked me cookies last Christmas.
Mrs. Higgins didn't look like a sweet old widow anymore. Her eyes were hard, and her grip on the pistol was professional.
"Mrs. Higgins, please," I begged, taking a half-step forward. "He's just a little boy."
"Stay back, Sophie," Luca warned, his gun aimed perfectly at the center of the woman's chest. "She's not a landlord. She's syndicate muscle. Marcus’s payroll, I assume?"
Answer One: Mrs. Higgins was a planted guard, paid by Marcus to watch the hostage.
Mrs. Higgins sneered. "Marcus pays better than you do, Luca. He said you might figure it out eventually. Said if you showed up, I was to eliminate the leverage."
She tightened her finger on the trigger. The little boy, Leo, squeezed his eyes shut, trembling violently. He pulled his knees to his chest, clutching the heavy gold object tighter.
"If you pull that trigger, you’re dead before the casing hits the floor," Luca said, his voice a low, lethal hum. "But if you put the gun down, I’ll let you walk out of this building alive. You know I keep my word."
Open Two: Will a hired gun trust the word of a mafia boss over her employer?
Mrs. Higgins hesitated. She looked at Luca’s cold, unwavering eyes, then down at the terrified child. The reversal in her demeanor was subtle—the realization that Marcus wasn't here to protect her, but Luca was offering a way out.
"Slide the gun across the floor," Luca commanded.
Slowly, Mrs. Higgins lowered her weapon. She tossed it onto the worn carpet. It slid to a stop against Luca's shoe.
"Run," Luca said.
She didn't need to be told twice. She bolted past us and down the hallway.
I immediately rushed to the bed and fell to my knees. "Hey, sweetheart," I whispered softly. "It's okay. You're safe now."
Leo opened his eyes. He looked at me, then at Luca, who had holstered his weapon and knelt beside me.
"Are you my mom's friends?" Leo asked, his voice tiny and raspy.
"Yes," I smiled, fighting back tears. "We're going to take you to her."
I reached out to help him stand, but as he uncurled his arms, the gold object he had been clutching tumbled onto the bedsheets.
It was a heavy, antique pocket watch. The gold was tarnished, but the engraving on the front was unmistakable. It was a crest—a shield with two crossed swords and a wolf.
Luca went perfectly still. He reached out and picked up the watch, his hands shaking for the first time since I'd met him.
"Where did you get this?" Luca asked the boy, his voice thick with an emotion I couldn't place.
"My dad gave it to me," Leo whispered. "Before he went to heaven."
Luca opened the watch. Inside, taped to the brass lid, was a tiny, faded photograph of a man holding a baby.
I leaned in. The man in the photo wasn't Marcus. It was a man who looked exactly like Luca, only younger, with a brilliant, carefree smile.
"That's your brother," I realized, looking at Luca in shock. "That's Dante."
Answer: The child isn't just leverage. Leo is Luca's nephew.
Luca’s eyes filled with a terrifying, primal grief. Dante had died in a car explosion six years ago. The syndicate had ruled it a tragic accident.
"Vanessa was married to Dante?" Luca whispered, staring at the photo.
"She changed her name," I said, piecing it together. "She went into hiding after he died. Marcus must have tracked her down, realized who the boy was, and used him to force her back into the family."
Luca closed the pocket watch. The grief in his eyes was instantly replaced by a burning, unquenchable rage.
His brother hadn't died in an accident. Marcus had murdered him to clear his path to the top, and now he was trying to steal Dante’s son and Luca’s empire in one strike.
Luca stood up, pulling his phone from his pocket. He dialed a number.
"Bring Marcus to the warehouse," Luca ordered the men on the other end. "Do not kill him. I want him breathing when I get there."
He hung up and looked at me.
"Take Leo back to the mansion. Keep him with his mother," Luca said, his voice cold as ice.
"Where are you going?" I asked, holding Leo's small hand.
"To finish my family's business," Luca replied.
He turned toward the door, but before he could step out, the window of the apartment shattered.
A canister flew through the broken glass, landing on the floor between us. Thick, gray smoke began pouring out instantly. Tear gas.
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"Get down!" Luca roared, tackling me and Leo to the floor just as the front door was kicked off its hinges.
TITLE: The Scarred Man’s Return
