What Sophie Heard

Marco.

Luca’s head of security. The man who had just dragged Vanessa to the basement.

My lungs seized. I dropped the plane ticket and the photo of my brother onto the floor. If Marco was the one working with Vanessa, then taking her to the basement wasn’t a punishment.

It was a rescue.

And Luca was alone upstairs with a man who had just betrayed him.

I didn't stop to pack a bag. I turned and sprinted back up the narrow servant's stairs, my shoes slipping on the wooden steps.

"Mr. Moretti!" I screamed as I hit the main hallway. "Luca!"

The master wing was silent. Too silent.

I ran into Sophie's bedroom. It was empty. The duffel bag was still on the bed, half-packed. Sophie's white rabbit lay abandoned on the carpet.

"Sophie!"

Panic clawed at my throat. I ran out to the balcony overlooking the grand foyer.

Downstairs, the heavy oak front doors were wide open. The cold Chicago night wind whipped through the house, rattling the crystal chandeliers.

I raced down the grand staircase, my feet barely touching the steps.

"Luca!"

I burst through the front doors and onto the gravel driveway.

Luca’s black SUV was still parked by the fountain, but the engine was running, and the driver's side door was open.

I heard a muffled cry coming from the side gardens.

I ran toward the hedges, the gravel crunching beneath my shoes.

In the shadows near the stone wall, Marco had one massive arm wrapped around Sophie’s chest, lifting her off the ground. With his other hand, he was pressing the barrel of a suppressed pistol to Luca’s temple.

Luca was on his knees in the grass. He was bleeding from a cut above his eye.

"Let her go, Marco," Luca said, his voice completely steady despite the gun against his head. "You want me. You don't need the girl."

"Vanessa says I do," Marco sneered.

Vanessa stepped out from the darkness behind him. She was wearing Marco’s black tactical jacket over her torn red gown. She looked furious and completely unhinged.

"You should have just believed me at dinner, Luca," Vanessa spat. "Now you’ve made a mess of everything."

"You burned my house," Luca said softly. "You tried to kill my daughter."

"I tried to protect the syndicate!" Vanessa yelled. "Elena was going to go to the police, Luca! Your perfect, saintly first wife found the ledgers. She knew Marco and I were skimming money. If she talked, the whole family would have gone down!"

I stood frozen behind a massive oak tree, my heart pounding in my ears.

"So you set the fire," Luca said.

"Marco set the fire," Vanessa corrected. "I just locked the door."

"And you made sure Sophie heard you call my phone," Luca said, his eyes darkening with rage. "You used my name so she would think I ordered it."

"It was insurance," Marco grunted. "If the kid survived, she’d be too terrified of you to ever tell the truth."

Suddenly, the pieces clicked in my mind.

Take the flight, or he takes a bullet.

They didn't just want Luca dead. They were framing me. They were going to kill Luca and Sophie, and leave the plane ticket in my room to make it look like I had taken a payoff to assassinate them and flee the country.

I looked down. At the base of the tree, resting in the dirt, was a heavy garden shear left by the landscapers.

I slowly bent down and gripped the cold metal handles.

"It's over, Luca," Vanessa said, raising a gun of her own. "Say goodbye to your daughter."

I didn't think. I just moved.

I stepped out from behind the tree and threw the heavy metal shears as hard as I could.

They spun through the air and slammed directly into Vanessa’s wrist.

She screamed, dropping her gun to the grass.

Marco spun toward the noise, startled.

It was the only opening Luca needed.

With lightning speed, Luca grabbed Marco’s wrist, twisting the gun away from his head. He drove his elbow viciously into Marco’s knee.

A sickening crack echoed in the night air.

Marco roared in pain, dropping Sophie.

"Emily, run!" Luca shouted, tackling Marco to the ground.

I sprinted forward, scooped Sophie up into my arms, and ran toward the SUV. I threw her into the backseat and jumped into the driver's seat. I didn't know how to drive a luxury armored vehicle, but I slammed my foot on the brake and hit the ignition button.

Outside, a gunshot rang out.

I screamed, covering Sophie’s head.

Through the windshield, I saw a body collapse onto the gravel.

My breath caught.

Luca stood up slowly, wiping blood from his face. Marco was motionless on the ground.

Vanessa was gone.

Luca walked over to the SUV and opened the door. He looked at me, breathing heavily.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

I shook my head, my hands trembling on the steering wheel. "No."

"Move over."

I climbed into the passenger seat as Luca slid behind the wheel. He threw the car into drive and we sped down the long driveway, crashing through the closed iron gates of the estate.

"Where is Vanessa?" I asked, looking back at the dark mansion.

"She ran into the woods," Luca said, his grip tight on the wheel. "My men will find her."

Sophie climbed over the center console, wrapping her arms around Luca’s neck from the backseat.

"Daddy," she cried. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"It's not your fault, sweetheart," Luca whispered, kissing her hand. "None of this is your fault."

We drove in silence for twenty minutes, heading toward the city's outskirts.

But as we pulled onto the highway, Luca's phone buzzed in the cup holder.

It wasn't a call. It was an email alert.

Luca glanced at the screen, and his face turned to stone.

"Emily," he said quietly. "Open the glovebox."

I pulled the latch.

Inside was a thick manila folder.