Chapter 2 - THE AMBUSH AT THE GATES
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The temperature in the marble foyer plummeted instantly.
Outside, the Chicago storm slammed viciously against the reinforced glass windows.
Marco, the head of estate security, remained frozen in the arched doorway.
Water dripped from his black tactical jacket onto the polished floor.
He kept his gaze fixed on Luca, terrified to even glance in Vanessa’s direction.
Luca did not raise his voice, yet the silence he commanded was deafening.
“Repeat what you just said, Marco.”
The guard swallowed hard, his throat bobbing visibly.
“A black Dodge Ram van pulled up to the outer gate five minutes ago, boss.”
“The driver showed a signed authorization paper bearing the Moretti seal.”
“He claimed Mrs. Moretti wired him ten thousand dollars this morning to pick up Benjamin and deliver him to an undisclosed private facility across state lines.”
Benjamin let out a strangled gasp and buried his face deeper into my apron.
I wrapped my arms tightly around the shaking little boy, pulling him flush against my chest.
Under my trembling hands, Bruno pushed his heavy, wet head against Benjamin’s side, letting out a protective, rumbling whimper.
Vanessa’s breath hitched, the crimson color instantly draining from her sculpted cheeks.
“Luca, please!”
She lunged forward, her diamond bracelets clattering frantically.
“It’s a complete misunderstanding!”
“Marco is mistaken, or that driver is an insane trespasser trying to frame me!”
Luca slowly turned his head toward her.
His dark eyes were devoid of any human warmth.
He still held the damp leather of Bruno’s worn collar in his right hand.
“You told me yesterday that Benjamin needed structure, Vanessa.”
His voice was a lethal, quiet whisper.
“You told me you were looking into boarding schools in Switzerland.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t check the flight manifests?”
Vanessa stumbled backward, her designer heels clicking erratically against the stone.
“I was only thinking of his future, Luca!”
“The boy is obsessed with the past!”
“He spends all day talking to that dirty beast instead of preparing for the real world!”
“He is nine years old!”
I screamed the words before my brain could stop me.
Every maid instinct inside me screamed to stay quiet, but my heart refused to allow this evil to stand unchecked.
I stood up, stepping squarely between Vanessa and Benjamin.
“You didn’t hire a school transport, Mrs. Moretti.”
My voice trembled with pure fury.
“I saw the paper you threw in the kitchen trash yesterday morning.”
“It had the logo of an abandoned warehouse district in Gary, Indiana.”
Vanessa’s eyes flared with venomous hatred.
“Shut your pathetic mouth, Claire, or I will have you buried alive in Lake Michigan!”
“Nobody speaks to her like that in my house.”
Luca’s voice cracked through the grand hall like a gunshot.
He didn’t look at Vanessa; he looked directly at his security chief.
“Marco, seal the front perimeter.”
“Lock down every electronic gate, disable the garage lifts, and scramble the outer cameras.”
“Yes, boss.”
“And bring that driver inside right now.”
Luca’s jaw set into carved granite.
May you like
“Unbroken.”
“I want his tongue fully functional so he can tell me every single word my wife paid him to hear.”
