Chapter 9 - The Serpent Strikes
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The following Wednesday afternoon was bitterly cold, the first flurries of winter snow dancing against the tall wrought-iron gates of St. Michael’s Academy.
I stood near the school’s circular driveway, wrapped in a long wool coat, waiting for the dismissal bell to ring.
Because of the spotted surveillance over the weekend, Luca had doubled the security detail around Ethan.
Two undercover Moretti operatives sat in an SUV parked across the street, while I stood near the pickup zone with Marco.
The heavy brass school bell echoed across the courtyard, and moments later, dozens of uniformed children came pouring through the front doors.
Ethan spotted me immediately, waving his woolen mittens in the air as he ran down the limestone steps.
"Miss Nora!" he shouted, his cheeks rosy from the chilly wind.
"We won the spelling bee today!"
"I knew you would, sweetheart!" I beamed, crouching down to catch him in a hug as he reached me.
Suddenly, a screech of tires shattered the peaceful afternoon.
A black delivery van jumped the curb near the side entrance of the school, blocking the pedestrian walkway.
The side door of the van slid open with a violent metallic clatter.
A woman stepped out into the falling snow, wearing a heavy hooded coat and dark sunglasses.
Even with her face half-covered, I recognized the posture, the vicious sneer, and the sharp manicured nails instantly.
Vanessa Bellini.
She hadn't gone to Sicily.
She had stayed in Chicago, hiding in the shadows of the underworld, consumed by psychotic obsession.
"Ethan!" Vanessa yelled, lunging toward us with a wild, crazed desperation in her eyes.
"Come here, you little monster!"
"You ruined my entire life!"
Ethan screamed, freezing in terror as the woman charged toward him like a rabid animal.
Instinct took over before my brain could even process the danger.
I shoved Ethan violently behind me, planting my feet on the icy sidewalk and using my entire body as a human shield.
"Marco!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
Vanessa reached us in a flash, her manicured fingers clawing for my face.
"Get out of my way, you pathetic servant!" Vanessa shrieked, spitting venomous rage.
"He belongs to me! He's my ticket back into the Moretti empire!"
She swung a heavy leather handbag, its metal buckle slashing across my cheekbone.
A burst of sharp, stinging pain erupted across my face, and warm blood trickled down my skin.
I didn't back down an inch.
I lunged forward, grabbing Vanessa by the lapels of her coat and slamming her violently against the brick pillar of the school gates.
"Don't you dare touch him!" I roared, the fierce maternal rage of a lioness surging through my veins.
Vanessa gasped for air, shocked by my raw physical strength.
Before she could strike again, Marco arrived like an oncoming train.
His massive hand clamped onto Vanessa’s wrist, twisting it behind her back until she shrieked in agony.
At the same moment, the two undercover Moretti operatives swarmed the delivery van, dragging two armed drivers out onto the snowy pavement at gunpoint.
Sirens wailed in the near distance as the school security team locked down the campus.
"Get off me! Do you know who I am?!" Vanessa screamed, thrashing against Marco's iron grip.
"I am Vanessa Bellini!"
"You are a criminal trespassing on private school grounds and violating a supreme syndicate restraining order," Marco growled, slamming her against the police cruiser that had just arrived on the scene.
I fell to my knees on the snowy grass, pulling a sobbing Ethan into my arms.
"It's okay, Ethan. It's over. I've got you," I whispered frantically, rocking him back and forth as tears of shock washed down my face.
"Miss Nora, you're bleeding!" Ethan cried, his small hands reaching up to touch the cut on my cheek.
"I'm fine, honey. It's just a scratch," I promised, pressing a tissue to the wound.
A sleek black sedan pulled up onto the curb with burning rubber, its doors flying open before the vehicle had even completely stopped.
Luca Moretti emerged like an avenging demon.
His eyes scanned the chaos, passing over the handcuffed Vanessa and the police officers, locking instantly onto Ethan and me huddled in the snow.
In three massive strides, he crossed the pavement and dropped to his knees in the slush beside us.
"Ethan! Nora!" Luca cried, his voice breaking with sheer panic.
He wrapped his powerful arms around both of us, pulling us tightly against his broad chest.
I could feel his heart hammering like a trapped bird against his ribs.
"Daddy, Miss Nora saved me!" Ethan wept into his father's coat.
"She tackled Vanessa! She got hurt for me!"
Luca pulled back slightly, his trembling hands reaching up to cup my face.
His thumb gently wiped away the trail of blood running down my cheek, his dark eyes ablaze with a mixture of profound agony and lethal rage.
"You bled for my son," Luca whispered, his voice shaking with emotions he couldn't control.
"I'm okay, Mr. Moretti," I murmured, leaning into his warm touch despite myself.
"Ethan is safe. That's all that matters."
Luca looked over his shoulder toward Vanessa, who was being forced into the back of a police transport van.
Her eyes locked onto Luca, screaming obscenities through the reinforced glass.
Luca stood up slowly, the murderous cold returning to his features with terrifying finality.
He walked over to the police vehicle, leaned down to the open driver's window, and spoke one sentence to the chief of police.
"Take her to the federal penitentiary under classified hold."
"If she is granted bail before morning, Chicago will burn."
He walked back to us, scooped Ethan up in his left arm, and extended his right hand down to me.
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"Come home, Nora," Luca said softly, his fingers wrapping around mine with unbreakable strength.
"You'll never have to fight for us alone again."
