Chapter 7 - A DESPERATE GAMBLE
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I knelt beside Arthur on the Persian rug, wrapping my arms around his shaking shoulders to comfort him.
“Breathe, Mr. Arthur,” I whispered softly, keeping my back turned toward Vanessa and Marco.
“Hold on to me, please.”
As I hugged the old man, I carefully pulled the folded scrap of paper from my apron pocket with two fingers.
I smoothed it flat against Arthur's woolen sleeve, reading the hurried handwriting in the dim desk light.
It was an address: 1142 South Calumet Avenue, Pier 9, Old Grain Silo 4.
Beneath the address, Arthur had scribbled: Dante drives a silver Dodge Charger, license plate ending in 8-8-4.
Arthur felt me move the paper and squeezed my forearm with desperate strength.
I needed to get this paper to Luca without Vanessa noticing that her leverage was compromised.
Luca had already walked behind his father’s desk and opened a heavy black laptop to initiate the bank wire.
His face was an emotionless mask, but I could see the vein pulsing violently at his temple.
Vanessa stood five paces away, her eyes fixed on the laptop screen, checking every keystroke he made.
“Hurry up, Luca,” she demanded, tapping her designer foot impatiently against the floorboards.
“Wire transfers take time to clear the international clearinghouse, and my patience is running thin.”
“I’m transferring from the corporate reserve,” Luca replied calmly, his fingers moving across the keyboard.
“It requires three separate authorization keys.”
I stood up slowly, picking up an empty crystal water carafe from the silver tray on the side table.
“Mr. Moretti, let me bring you some water,” I said, making my voice tremble to appear terrified.
Vanessa glanced at me with pure disgust.
“Get out of here, maid!” she snapped, waving her hand dismissively.
“No,” Luca countered immediately without looking up from the screen.
“Let her stay and help Arthur.”
“The old man looks like he’s having a heart attack, and I don't need a corpse on my floor while I work.”
I walked carefully toward the desk, keeping my eyes cast down toward the floor in subservient maid fashion.
As I reached the side of the desk to set down the carafe, I deliberately bumped the corner of the leather blotter.
A stack of Lorenzo’s old receipts slid off the edge, fluttering down across Luca’s polished leather shoes.
“I’m so sorry, sir!” I cried out, dropping immediately to my knees beneath the high lip of the desk.
Vanessa rolled her eyes in irritation.
“Clumsy idiot,” she muttered, keeping her eyes glued to the glowing wire transfer confirmation screen.
Beneath the safety of the mahogany desk overhang, I grabbed Luca’s left hand.
I pressed Arthur’s note firmly into his palm and closed his fingers around it.
Luca didn't flinch or look down.
His thumb rubbed across the texture of the paper, instantly realizing what I had delivered into his grip.
With lightning speed, he brought his hand back up to the keyboard, shielding the note behind his wrist.
His dark eyes glanced down for half a second, reading the address and vehicle description in a flash.
A terrifying, predatory spark ignited deep within his eyes, though his expression remained completely stone cold.
He looked up at Vanessa and spoke with chilling calm.
“The first authorization code is verified.”
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“Now we wait for the secondary approval from Geneva.”
Little did Vanessa know, Luca’s fingers had just opened an encrypted command window to his outer guard.
