Chapter 4 - An Unwanted Guardian
For three weeks, the little blue house on Maple Street existed under an invisible fortress.
Every morning at 7:30 AM, June walked Sophie to the bus stop. Fifty yards behind them, an unmarked sedan with tinted windows followed at five miles per hour. When the school bus pulled away, two plainclothes operatives stayed behind to watch June return home. When Sophie played on the school playground during recess, a man with a newspaper sat on a bench across the street.
Luca supervised the reports every night from his office. He knew that June had arthritis in her left knee that flared up when it rained. He knew Aunt May worked part-time at a local bakery to make ends meet. He knew Sophie loved strawberry milk and spent her afternoons drawing pictures of sunflowers on the front porch.
He also knew that the Bell family was sinking financially.
A confidential credit report sat on Luca’s desk. June had taken out a second mortgage to pay for David’s funeral and medical debts five years ago. Now, a predatory lending firm called Apex Holdings was threatening foreclosure within forty-five days.
“Apex Holdings,” Luca murmured, tapping his desk. He looked at Marco, who stood at parade rest before him. “Who owns them?”
“A shell company tied to the Salieri crew out in Southside,” Marco reported. “Small-time loan sharks trying to play real estate moguls. They buy distressed residential debt in gentrifying neighborhoods and push elderly folks out.”
Luca’s jaw set. “Buy the note.”
“Sir?”
“Buy the mortgage from Apex today. Pay whatever premium they ask. Transfer the deed into a private family trust under Sophie Bell’s name, clear of all liens.”
“Boss, if you do that, the Salieri family will know Moretti Logistics is moving into their territory. They’re jumpy after the docks realignment last month.”
“Let them jump,” Luca said cold. “Do it.”
Later that afternoon, a light rain began to fall over the city. Unable to stay away, Luca had Marco drive him to the school zone. He stayed inside the black sedan, parked down the block, watching the iron gates swing open as the final bell rang.
Children poured out in bright yellow raincoats, splashing through puddles. Then he saw her. Sophie was walking alone, holding an umbrella that was missing one of its metal ribs, causing the fabric to droop awkwardly over her head. In her other hand, she held a folded piece of paper against her chest to keep it dry.
Suddenly, a gust of wind tore the umbrella from her small hands. It tumbled down the sidewalk, and the sheet of paper flew from her grip, landing directly into a muddy puddle near Luca’s car.
Sophie gasped, tears instantly springing to her eyes. She scrambled after the paper, falling to her knees on the wet concrete.
Luca didn't think. He didn't consult his security protocol or consider who might be watching. He threw open the car door and stepped out into the rain.
He reached the paper first, carefully plucking it from the dirty water. It was a crayon drawing: a school stage, an empty chair, and a tall man in a dark suit holding a bouquet of yellow daisies. Across the top, written in shaky, uneven letters, were the words: *MY BEST DAY*.
Luca felt a sudden, sharp ache in his chest, so intense it nearly took his breath away.
“My drawing...” Sophie sobbed, looking up from the ground, her knees scraped and muddy. Then her eyes widened as she recognized the dark coat, the polished shoes, and the face looking down at her. “Mr. Luca?”
Luca knelt down right there in the mud, completely disregarding his four-thousand-dollar suit. He pulled a crisp linen handkerchief from his breast pocket and began gently dabbing the wet mud from Sophie’s scraped knees.
“It’s okay, Sophie,” he said softly. “The drawing is safe. See? The colors didn't wash away.”
She sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “Grandma said you were a bad man. She told me I wasn't allowed to talk to you if I ever saw you again.”
Luca paused, his fingers tightening slightly on the handkerchief. “Your grandmother is a very wise woman, Sophie. She wants to protect you.”
“Were you bad to my daddy?” she asked innocently, her big blue eyes searching his face for answers that no seven-year-old should ever have to seek.
The question hit Luca harder than any bullet ever had. He looked into the face of the orphan his family had created, and for the first time in his life, the merciless Don of the Moretti family had no defense.
May you like
“Sophie! Get away from him!”
A shrill, panicked voice cut through the rain. June Bell was hurrying down the sidewalk, her limp pronounced, her face pale with terror.
