Chapter 2 - The Mafia Boss’s Bargain
Adrian Valente was waiting when Dante brought me back to the mansion.
I had imagined this moment a hundred times during three days in jail. I had imagined demanding an apology, throwing his cruelty back into his face, and making him understand what it felt like to be accused of something you had risked your life to prevent.
But when I saw the empty crib in the marble hallway, I could barely speak.
“Where is Emma?” I asked.
“Upstairs,” Adrian replied. “Under constant medical supervision.”
“And Lucia?”
His expression hardened.
“That depends on what your father wants.”
I lunged toward him before Dante caught my arm.
“You have no right to involve my sister!”
Adrian stepped close enough for me to see the exhaustion in his eyes.
“Someone used my cameras, my security system, and my daughter’s medical records to manufacture a crime. Someone knew exactly where Emma would be found. Someone knew you would discover her.”
“I didn't even know who she was until I lifted that lid!”
“Then explain why your father appeared beside the woman who accused you.”
“I can't explain a photograph of a man I buried twelve years ago!”
For the first time, Adrian seemed to hesitate.
Dante placed a folder on the table. Inside were printed messages from an encrypted account. One message contained a picture of me carrying Emma through the rain.
Beneath it were six words.
THE MAID WILL TAKE THE BLAME.
Adrian read them again.
“Who sent this?”
“We don't know,” Dante answered.
“Find out.”
Then Adrian turned to me.
“You'll stay here until we find your sister.”
“That's not a request, is it?”
“No.”
He had guards escort me upstairs to a guest room. The windows were locked, the door required a key, and two men stood outside.
A mansion could be a beautiful prison.
An hour later, I heard a soft knock.
Dante entered carrying a tray of untouched food.
“I believe you,” he said.
I looked up sharply.
“Then tell your boss to let me go.”
“I can't.”
“Because you're afraid of him?”
“Because whoever took Lucia has access to private security records, hospital information, and this estate. If you leave, they'll know immediately.”
He placed a small object beside the tray.
Lucia's silver bracelet.
I snatched it up.
There was a fresh scratch across the clasp.
“Where did you get this?”
“It was left at the gate.”
A folded piece of paper had been tucked beneath it.
I opened it with shaking fingers.
ONE CHILD WAS ENOUGH. STOP LOOKING, OR THE OTHER WILL DIE.
Emma.
The message wasn't threatening only Lucia.
It was threatening both girls.
I looked toward the window, beyond which Chicago glittered beneath the rain.
“Whoever did this,” I whispered, “is still inside that house.”
Dante's face changed.
Before he could answer, a scream echoed from the nursery above us.
Then another.
We ran.
When Adrian reached the nursery, Emma was safe in her crib.
But the safe containing her mother's documents stood open.
Every file was gone.
May you like
And across the mirror, written in red lipstick, was a name.
MATEO RUIZ.
