Chapter 3 - The Key Beneath the Altar
Luca pulled out the plush armchair directly beside him and gently guided Emily into it. He signaled to the head waiter, who scrambled forward with a silver tray bearing warm herbal tea and fresh water.
"Drink," Luca said, his tone softening into that of a worried father. "Take your time. You're safe now. Nobody touches a hair on your head as long as I breathe."
Emily held the warm porcelain cup between both hands, letting the steam warm her chilled face. She looked down at her lap, her voice trembling. "When Mom got sick, right before she went into hospice, she called me into her room. She gave me a silver necklace with a tiny brass key shaped like a clover."
Luca’s eyes widened. "Elena’s clover key. I gave that to her in Florence."
"She made me swear never to lose it," Emily continued, pulling a thin chain out from beneath her woolen sweater. Dangling from it was an intricate, weathered antique key. "She said, *'If your father ever strays into darkness, or if strangers surround our home, open the green cabinet behind the cellar furnace. Everything you need to protect our name is inside.'*"
Luca closed his eyes, pain etching deep lines around his brow. Elena had always possessed an uncanny sixth sense. Years before cancer stole her away, she had warned him about the Bellini family. She had warned him that the Bellini patriarch, Salvatore, was an ambitious serpent who would use his daughter to swallow the Moretti empire from within.
And Luca, blinded by grief after Elena’s death, had allowed himself to be comforted by Vanessa's calculated sweetness. He had almost handed the serpent the keys to his kingdom.
"Did Vanessa’s men find it?" Luca asked, his voice dead and cold.
"No," Emily said. "The cabinet looks like an old water meter box behind the brick partition. They searched the living room and Mom's vanity, tearing up floorboards. When they couldn't find the key, one of them made a phone call. He said, *'Tell the boss the girl must have it. We'll pick her up after the dinner.'*"
A chill ran down Emily’s spine as she met her father's eyes. "Dad... they were waiting outside my apartment. That's why I came here tonight. I knew if I stayed in Queens, I wouldn't survive the night."
Luca’s jaw set like granite. He stood tall, turning to his underboss, Santino, who stood near the curtained archway.
"Call the garrison at the estate," Luca ordered, his authority absolute. "Double the sentries at every gate. Shut down all business dealings with the Bellini family effective immediately. Freeze every joint account, every construction project, every shipment at the harbor."
"Boss," Santino cautioned carefully. "Salvatore Bellini has over eighty men in North Jersey. A sudden break like this means open war."
May you like
Luca stared down at his pregnant daughter, seeing the innocent child he had failed for three agonizing years.
"Then let it be war," Luca snarled. "Bring the armored SUVs to the private alley. We are going to Maple Street right now."
