Chapter 4 - THE ROSARY FROM THE GRAVE
The red emergency lights strobed across the dining room, casting long, bloody shadows against the walls.
Rosa stared at the silver rosary in Luca’s hand.
“He opened the grave,” Rosa whispered, her voice cracking with absolute horror. “Victor opened your father’s grave.”
Luca’s jaw clenched so hard I thought his teeth would shatter.
“Why?” Luca demanded.
Rosa shook her head, tears spilling over her cheeks. “I don't know.”
“Boss,” Daniel interrupted, limping into the dining room. He was bleeding from a cut above his eye. “The perimeter is breached. Victor’s men used a jammer on the security gates. They took two SUVs heading north.”
“Get the cars,” Luca ordered, his voice terrifyingly calm. “Call every man we have. We’re tearing this city apart until we find her.”
“Yes, sir.” Daniel rushed out.
Luca turned to me.
“Emma. Take my mother to the safe room upstairs. Lock the door. Do not open it for anyone but me or Daniel.”
“I’m not hiding while my granddaughter is out there!” Rosa protested.
“Ma, you can't fight Victor’s mercenaries,” Luca said gently, though his eyes were wild with panic. “Please. Let me do this.”
Rosa swallowed hard, nodding slowly.
I took Rosa’s arm. “Come on, Mrs. Moretti.”
We hurried out of the dining room. The guests were already being evacuated by the remaining security staff.
As we climbed the grand staircase, Rosa leaned heavily on me.
“He’s going to kill her, Emma,” Rosa wept. “Victor has no soul. He’ll use her to get the money, and then he’ll kill her.”
“Luca won't let that happen,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt.
We reached the second floor and hurried toward the master suite. The safe room was hidden behind a bookshelf in Luca’s private study.
I pushed the heavy oak door open.
The study was dark, illuminated only by the red emergency lights from the hallway.
I reached for the light switch.
“Don't touch that,” a voice said from the shadows.
I froze.
Rosa gasped, clutching my arm.
Sitting behind Luca’s massive mahogany desk was a woman.
She struck a match, the sudden flare of yellow light revealing her face as she lit a cigarette.
It was Vanessa.
“What are you doing here?” I breathed. “Victor’s men took you.”
Vanessa blew a stream of smoke into the dark room. She looked terrible. Her dress was torn, her makeup smeared, and there was a dark bruise forming on her cheek.
“They dragged me to the cars,” Vanessa said, her voice shaking slightly. “But Victor didn't want me. He told them to put a bullet in my head in the driveway.”
She took a drag of the cigarette.
“I managed to slip away in the dark when the power went out. I climbed the trellis to the balcony.”
Rosa stepped forward, her fear replaced by pure matriarchal fury.
“Where did he take my granddaughter?” Rosa demanded.
Vanessa looked at her. “I don't know, Rosa. He didn't share his itinerary with the woman he was about to execute.”
“You’re lying,” I said.
Vanessa’s eyes snapped to me. “Careful, Emma. You’re still just a maid.”
“And you’re a kidnapper hiding in the house of the man you betrayed,” I shot back. “If Luca finds you here, he won't wait for Victor’s men to shoot you.”
Vanessa swallowed hard, the bravado slipping for a second.
“I know,” she whispered.
She stood up from the desk.
“I didn't come here to hide,” Vanessa said, walking toward us. “I came here to get something. And then I’m leaving.”
“What could you possibly need from Luca’s study?” Rosa asked.
Vanessa didn't answer. Instead, she walked over to a large, framed painting on the wall.
She reached behind the frame and pressed a hidden latch.
The painting swung open, revealing a small wall safe.
Vanessa punched in a six-digit code. The safe clicked open.
She reached inside and pulled out a heavy, leather-bound book.
A ledger.
“Victor thinks the offshore accounts are digital,” Vanessa smiled bitterly. “But they aren't. Luca’s father was old school. The account numbers and routing codes are all handwritten in here.”
She clutched the ledger to her chest.
“With this, I can buy my way into Europe. Victor gets the girl, I get the money, and Luca gets nothing.”
“You’re a monster,” Rosa spat.
“I’m a survivor, Rosa.”
Vanessa turned toward the balcony doors.
“Wait,” I said.
Vanessa stopped.
I remembered the rosary. The one Victor had dropped on the floor.
“Why did Victor dig up Luca’s father’s grave?” I asked.
Vanessa paused, her hand on the balcony door.
She looked back at me, a cruel, mocking smile on her lips.
“He didn't dig it up to leave a message, Emma.”
Vanessa chuckled softly.
“He dug it up because that rosary wasn't the only thing buried in that casket.”
She opened the balcony door, the cold night wind whipping her hair.
“What else was in there?” Rosa demanded, panic rising in her voice again.
Vanessa looked at Rosa with absolute pity.
“Proof,” Vanessa said.
“Proof of what?”
“Proof that Victor isn't the illegitimate son,” Vanessa smiled.
She stepped out onto the balcony, preparing to climb down the trellis.
May you like
“Luca is.”
TITLE: THE SECRET BURIED IN THE COFFIN
