Chapter 8 - Vanessa’s Final Mistake
“Home” meant the Moretti townhouse.
Vanessa knew it.
So did Luca.
“She wants us there,” I said.
“You’re not going.”
“I wasn’t asking.”
“No.”
“Luca.”
“Absolutely not.”
“She has my father.”
“Your father sold you.”
“He’s still my father.”
“And you’re carrying my daughter.”
I stood.
“So that gives you authority over me?”
“No.”
He stopped.
Then deliberately softened his voice.
“No. It gives me a reason to beg.”
That silenced me.
“I already lost seven months with her. I’m asking you not to gamble the rest.”
My anger faded.
“We can use the townhouse without using me.”
Daniel designed the plan.
Police were informed.
So was the FBI, because the Sinclair ledger had triggered a federal investigation.
At 9:00 that evening, Luca entered the townhouse alone.
Or appeared to.
I watched remotely from a command vehicle three blocks away.
Vanessa arrived twenty minutes later.
Red dress.
Black coat.
Perfect hair.
Even now.
She walked into the drawing room as if attending a cocktail party.
“Where is she?”
Luca poured himself a drink.
“Safe.”
Vanessa smiled.
“She was never safe with you.”
“You keep telling yourself that.”
“You accused your pregnant wife of cheating.”
His expression hardened.
“I did.”
“You humiliated her.”
“I did.”
“You let her walk away.”
“I did.”
Vanessa’s smile weakened.
Luca set down the glass.
“The difference between us, Vanessa, is that I can admit what I did.”
Her face changed.
“Where’s the drive?”
“Where’s Robert?”
“Alive.”
“Prove it.”
She showed him a live video.
My father tied to a chair.
Then another man entered the frame.
I stopped breathing.
Luca did too.
“Marco?”
The man who had protected me.
The man who had carried me from the fire.
The man Luca trusted with his life.
Marco smiled.
“M.”
The betrayal hit Luca visibly.
Marco had worked for the Moretti family for fourteen years.
Vanessa laughed.
“You really do trust the wrong people.”
Marco had fed Vanessa security information.
He arranged the fire.
He helped kidnap my father.
And he had been near me for weeks.
My skin crawled.
Then something happened nobody planned.
A contraction.
Strong.
I gripped the seat.
The FBI medic looked at me.
“How far apart?”
“Don’t.”
“Ms. Bennett.”
Another contraction came.
My water broke.
Of course it did.
Because apparently my daughter had inherited Luca’s sense of timing.
“I’m in labor.”
The command vehicle erupted.
I grabbed the agent’s sleeve.
“Do not tell Luca.”
“Ma’am—”
“If he knows, he’ll leave that house.”
Another contraction hit.
Too close.
The medic examined me.
“We need to move.”
Back inside the townhouse, Vanessa demanded the drive.
Luca gave her a duplicate.
She inserted it into a laptop.
The FBI used the connection to identify Marco’s location.
A warehouse in Queens.
Teams moved.
Vanessa realized too late.
“You tricked me.”
“No,” Luca said. “You underestimated Isabella.”
“What?”
“She made three copies.”
That was true.
I had insisted.
Vanessa pulled a gun.
Agents moved outside.
Then Luca’s phone rang.
The medic had ignored my instruction.
He answered.
“Daniel?”
His face changed.
“What?”
Vanessa saw it.
“What happened?”
Luca forgot the gun.
Forgot Vanessa.
Forgot everything.
“Isabella’s in labor?”
Vanessa laughed.
That was her final mistake.
Because she looked toward the window.
Just long enough.
Luca knocked the weapon from her hand.
Agents stormed the room.
Vanessa screamed as they restrained her.
Luca was already running.
By the time he reached the hospital, I was six centimeters dilated and furious.
“You told them not to tell me?”
“You were busy.”
“You’re having my child!”
“I noticed!”
He kissed my forehead.
I froze.
So did he.
“Sorry.”
Another contraction hit.
I grabbed his tie.
“Don’t you dare go anywhere.”
His eyes met mine.
May you like
“I won’t.”
And for the next seven hours, he didn’t.
