Chapter 7 - [THE QUEEN OF SPADES]
Answer one: Richard Bellini had been murdered by his own silent partners, a ruthless Cartel that used him to infiltrate the Chicago syndicate.
Open two: Why did the Cartel kidnap Vanessa instead of killing her? And what does the Queen of Spades signify?
The air in the kitchen turned to ice.
Luca picked up his phone, his thumb hovering over the bloody image of the Queen of Spades.
“The Cartel,” I whispered, barely able to comprehend the word. “Why would they want Vanessa?”
“Because she has the journal,” Luca realized, his eyes narrowing. “During the fight at the opera house, I left the journal in her purse. Richard’s accounts are in there, but so are all of our shipping routes. The Cartel doesn't want revenge. They want the city.”
He grabbed his jacket. “I have to lock down the ports. If they decrypt Marco’s ledgers, they can dismantle my entire operation in hours.”
“I’m coming with you,” I said automatically.
Luca shook his head, his hands gripping my shoulders. “Absolutely not. The Cartel doesn't play by the rules of the Commission. They will slaughter anyone in their path. You stay here with your mother and Sofia. The estate is a fortress.”
He kissed my forehead—a brief, desperate press of his lips—and rushed out the door.
I stood alone in the kitchen, listening to the roar of his SUV speeding down the driveway. The silence of the mansion suddenly felt oppressive.
I went upstairs to check on my mother. She was sleeping peacefully. Down the hall, Sofia was sitting in a rocking chair, holding a sleeping Mateo.
“He’s gone to fix it?” Sofia asked quietly as I peeked in.
“He’s trying,” I said.
I went to my own small room in the staff quarters. I needed to change out of the green gown. As I unzipped the silk dress, my eyes caught something glinting on my bedside table.
It was the emerald necklace. The one Claire had left me.
I picked it up. I had been so focused on the fact that Vanessa used it as a bribe that I had never really examined it.
The emerald was cut into a distinct hexagon. I turned it over. The back of the silver setting was thick, almost hollow.
I grabbed a hairpin from my vanity and pried at the edge of the silver backing.
With a small click, it popped open.
Folded tightly inside was a tiny scrap of paper.
I carefully unrolled it. It was a list of dates and container numbers. But at the bottom, written in Claire’s hurried handwriting, was a terrifying note:
Vanessa isn't Richard’s daughter. She’s their handler.
My breath caught in my throat.
Vanessa wasn't the spoiled, naive fiancée. She was the Cartel’s inside operator. Richard hadn't been backed by the Cartel—he had been manipulated by them through Vanessa.
And now, Luca was walking straight into a trap, thinking Vanessa was a victim.
I grabbed my phone to call Luca, but the screen showed zero signal. The estate’s cell towers had been jammed.
I ran to the landline in the hallway. Dead tone.
The power suddenly flickered, then died completely, plunging the mansion into darkness.
Outside, the heavy iron gates of the estate groaned open.
I rushed to the window.
Three black, unmarked vans were rolling silently up the driveway.
May you like
We were under attack.
TITLE: THE SIEGE IN THE DARK
