Chapter 9 - The Broken Mirror
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It was nearly three in the morning when the convoy pulled back into the courtyard of the Moretti estate.
The iron gates closed securely behind them.
Rosa was waiting in the grand foyer, wrapped in a warm wool shawl, sipping a cup of fresh tea prepared by one of the loyal housemaids.
When she saw Claire and Luca enter unharmed, a soft sigh of relief escaped her lips.
"Is it done?" Rosa asked quietly.
Luca walked over and kissed his mother’s forehead.
"Whispering Pines is finished, Mom."
"State troopers are raiding the facility right now."
"Finch gave us everything."
"Including the tapes of Vanessa."
Rosa closed her eyes for a moment, her jaw tightening.
"Bring her up," Rosa commanded.
"I want to look her in the eye one last time."
Luca signaled to the guards stationed by the basement stairs.
A minute later, Vanessa was dragged into the grand foyer.
Her crimson gown was torn at the hem, her makeup was smeared with dried tears, and her bare feet were filthy from the cellar floor.
Yet, when she saw Luca and Rosa standing together, a twisted, defiant smirk returned to her face.
"Back from your little investigation, Luca?" Vanessa spat, tossing her tangled blonde hair back.
"Did you enjoy terrorizing poor Dr. Finch?"
Luca didn't speak.
Instead, he took Marco’s tablet and pressed play on the recording from Finch's safe.
Vanessa’s own voice echoed off the grand marble columns of the foyer:
'And if Luca asks too many questions, make sure his mother’s heart simply gives out in her sleep...'
Vanessa froze.
The smirk vanished instantly, replaced by a look of sheer, unadulterated dread.
"You recorded me..." she whispered.
"Finch recorded you," Claire spoke up, stepping forward so Vanessa could see her standing beside Rosa.
"Because even your criminal partners knew you were too treacherous to trust."
Vanessa glared at Claire with burning hatred.
"You miserable little servant!"
"You were supposed to clean the floors and keep your mouth shut!"
"I was going to be the queen of this city!"
"You were never going to be anything, Vanessa," Rosa said, her voice cutting through the foyer like a cold steel blade.
Rosa walked forward with steady, measured steps, leaning lightly on her cane until she stood only inches from her daughter-in-law.
"My husband built this empire on honor, loyalty, and blood."
"You entered this house thinking that wealth is just designer dresses, jewelry, and expensive cars."
"You thought you could poison me because I am old."
"You forgot that before you were ever born, I sat at the table with the most dangerous men in America."
"You are not a mastermind, Vanessa."
"You are a cheap, greedy child who let Julian Vance use her like a pawn."
Vanessa let out a shrill, hysterical laugh.
"A pawn?"
"You think Julian Vance cares about your little speech, old woman?"
"Right now, Vance is meeting with the heads of the Valenti family at the docks!"
"They already have the paperwork signed by the county registrar!"
"The warehouses are theirs!"
"By sunrise, the Moretti family will be bankrupt, and Luca will be hunted through the streets!"
Luca pulled out his phone, checked the time, and looked at Vanessa with pitying disgust.
"Julian Vance doesn't have the warehouses, Vanessa."
"He only has what I allow him to think he has."
Luca looked at Marco.
"Text Vance from Vanessa's phone."
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"Tell him the old woman is incapacitated and ready for transport to the riverfront rendezvous."
"Let's see how confident Julian Vance is when he meets the real head of this family."
