Chapter 2 - The Contents of the Dead Man's Letter
Vincent tore open the bloodstained envelope, ignoring the sticky crimson that stained his fingers. He pulled out a single sheet of heavy black paper written in stark white ink.
As he read, his jaw clenched so hard the muscles in his cheek twitch.
"What does it say?" I asked, my voice barely a squeak.
Vincent didn't answer. He handed the letter to his chief of security, a towering man named Marco. "Take Luca upstairs. Double the guards on the nursery. If anyone so much as looks at the third floor without authorization, put a bullet in them."
"No!" Luca screamed as Marco gently but firmly pulled him from my arms. "Ruby! Ruby!"
"I'm right here, Luca," I called out, my heart breaking at his cries. "I'm not leaving."
Once the double doors closed and the boy's screams faded down the grand hallway, Vincent turned to me. He dragged a heavy leather chair across the floor and pushed it toward me.
"Sit," he said.
I sat. My knees were shaking so violently I couldn't have stood if I wanted to.
"The man at my gate was Michael Sullivan," Vincent said.
The name hit me like a physical blow. "Mickey? The loan shark?"
"He wasn't just a loan shark, Ruby," Vincent said, leaning against the edge of his massive oak desk and looking down at me. "He was a cleaner for the Lucchese family—our primary rivals in the North Side. Do you know why he lent you that money?"
"I... I needed to pay my mother's medical bills before she passed," I stammered. "He was the only one who would give me a loan without a credit check."
"He gave you the money because he knew exactly who you were," Vincent said, his voice dripping with a dark, simmering fury. "He knew you were Elena’s younger sister. They've been watching you for years, waiting for the perfect moment to use you as a weapon against me. They forced you into debt, made sure you were evicted, and then had their contact at Lakeshore Domestic Placement recommend this job to you."
He tossed the letter into my lap.
I looked down. Written in a jagged, hurried hand was a message that sent a chill straight to my bones:
Romano,
We kept her safe for you. Now it's time to pay the toll. Give us the shipping routes by Friday, or we show the world what happens to the second Vance girl.
The debt is due.
"They wanted me to get close to Luca," I realized, the horror of the situation washing over me. "They wanted me to... to hurt him?"
"No," Vincent said, his eyes darkening. "They knew Luca would reject you. They expected him to throw you out, just like he did with the other nannies. They wanted you desperate, homeless, and running back to Sullivan so they could kidnap you and exchange you for my family's empire."
He stepped closer, his shadow falling over me.
"But they didn't count on one thing."
May you like
"What?"
"Luca never lets anyone touch him," Vincent said softly. "He hasn't smiled, laughed, or allowed anyone to hold him since his mother died. But the moment you walked in... he kissed your nose. He recognized her in you."
