Chapter 8 - THE PUPPET MASTER
"What are you talking about?" Liam demanded, instinctively pulling me behind him. The armored SUV sped through the dark, rain-slicked streets of Chicago. The driver up front was separated from us by a thick pane of bulletproof glass. We were trapped in the back with Joe. Joe didn't look like a threat. He was old and frail. But the sudden, chilling clarity in his voice made the hair on my arms stand up. "Thirty-three years is a long time to hide in plain sight," Joe murmured, resting his hand on the battered metal lunchbox. "Carlo Bellini was a brute. A greedy, ambitious brute. He wanted power, but he didn't have the brains to execute a coup on his own." "You paid him?" I whispered, my mind reeling. "But you're a firefighter! You saved Luca!" "I was a firefighter," Joe corrected smoothly. "I was also deeply in debt to the Chicago syndicate. Luca's father, Don Moretti, was a ruthless man. He threatened to kill my family if I didn't pay up." Joe looked down at his duct-taped shoe. "I needed a way out. I knew Carlo was unhappy. I approached him. I told him I could ensure the fire department response was delayed by exactly fifteen minutes. Enough time for a fire to consume the house and everyone in it." Bile rose in my throat. "You let Luca's mother burn." "It was business," Joe said, devoid of emotion. "But Carlo got sloppy. He didn't realize Maria had hidden the ledger. And he didn't realize the mother had smuggled the baby out. When I went into the house, I wasn't looking for survivors. I was looking for the ledger to destroy it." "But you saved Luca," Liam argued. "Why save him if you wanted them all dead?" Joe sighed. "Because the boy saw me. He was hiding under the stairs. If I left him to die, and the autopsy showed he survived the initial blaze, questions would be asked. Saving him made me a hero. It deflected all suspicion." "Then why come back tonight?" I demanded, my hands shaking. "Why expose Carlo now?" Joe smiled. A thin, cold, terrifying smile. "Because Carlo stopped paying my extortion fee last month," Joe said simply. "For thirty-three years, Carlo paid me to keep quiet about the silver watch he dropped. But he got greedy. He thought marrying Vanessa to Luca would solidify his power so absolutely that he wouldn't need to fear me anymore." Joe patted the lunchbox. "I couldn't let that happen. I needed Carlo removed. And I needed Luca to trust me implicitly. What better way than to play the humble, homeless hero returning a family heirloom?" I stared at him in absolute horror. He hadn't come to clear his conscience. He had come to use me and Luca to eliminate his blackmailer, positioning himself as Luca's trusted savior. "You're a monster," I whispered. "I'm a survivor, Emma," Joe replied. "And you are a loose end." Joe reached into his faded brown coat. He didn't pull out a photograph this time. He pulled out a small, suppressed pistol. He aimed it directly at my brother's chest. "Tell the driver to pull over in the alley up ahead," Joe commanded calmly. "You two are going to get out, and then you are going to disappear." "No," I said, my voice trembling but defiant. "Emma, do what he says," Liam panicked. "I said no," I repeated, staring down the barrel of the gun. "You underestimated one thing, Joe." Joe frowned slightly. "And what is that?" I reached into my apron pocket. I hadn't just put my phone away after reading the text message. I had hit the speed dial button. The call had been connected for the last four minutes. "I underestimated your phone," Joe realized, his eyes narrowing. Suddenly, the SUV slammed on its brakes, throwing us all forward. Joe dropped the gun, hitting his head against the partition. Before he could recover, the rear doors were ripped open from the outside. Standing in the pouring rain, holding his phone to his ear, was Luca Moretti. His face was a mask of absolute, terrifying fury. "You're right, Joe," Luca said, his voice cutting through the storm like a blade. "Saving me was your biggest mistake."
