THE MOTHER’S GOWN

“Vanessa,” I breathed, slowly standing up, keeping the rosary tightly in my fist.

“Give it to me,” she ordered, her hand trembling violently. “I don’t want to hurt you, Hannah. But I will.”

She looked completely unhinged. The elegant, composed socialite from the dinner party was gone. This was a desperate, terrified woman.

“You didn't run,” I said softly, trying to keep her talking.

“I tried,” she sobbed. “I got to the gate. But Victor’s men were waiting. He knew I was going to double-cross him. He said if I didn't bring him the rosary tonight, he would take Leo and I would never see my son again.”

Answer one: She didn't abandon Leo. She came back for the only thing that could buy his freedom.

Open two: What was Victor Rossi’s confession? Why was it worth a child's life?

“Why didn't you just tell Luca?” I asked. “He would have protected Leo. He loves him.”

“Luca is a Moretti!” Vanessa screamed, her finger tightening on the trigger. “He plays by the rules! Victor doesn't! Victor will burn the city to the ground to get what he wants!”

She took a step closer, the gun shaking.

“Toss it to me, Hannah. Now.”

I looked at the silver rosary in my hand.

Then I looked at the broken green trunk.

“Vanessa,” I said quietly. “You tripped me into this trunk this afternoon on purpose, didn't you?”

She blinked, momentarily thrown off by the question. “What?”

“You didn't push me to hide the wedding gown. You pushed me so your weight would crack the old wood. You knew the false bottom was here, but you didn't have the tools to open it while Mrs. Hart was in the room.”

Vanessa swallowed hard. “Just give it to me.”

“No.”

The voice didn't come from me.

It came from the hallway.

Luca stepped into the doorway behind Vanessa.

He didn't have his gun raised. He looked completely calm.

Vanessa spun around, aiming the revolver at his chest.

“Don't come any closer, Luca!” she cried.

“You are pointing a gun at me in my own house, Vanessa,” Luca said softly. “You really think you can walk out of here?”

“I have to! He’ll kill Leo!”

“Rossi doesn't want Leo,” Luca said.

The words hung in the air, heavy and absolute.

Vanessa froze. “What are you talking about? He’s his father!”

“He is a monster who uses blood as a weapon,” Luca corrected. He took a slow step into the room. “I just finished interrogating the man I knocked out in the hallway. Rossi didn't send him to collect you, Vanessa. He sent him to kill you the moment you handed over the rosary.”

Vanessa’s face drained of all color.

She shook her head violently. “No. No, Victor promised—”

“Victor lied,” Luca said, his voice carrying a brutal, undeniable truth. “He doesn't want the boy. He wants the confession. Because if the Commission hears what is on that piece of paper, Rossi will be executed by his own captains before sunrise.”

Luca looked at me.

“Hannah. Read the tag.”

Vanessa sobbed, lowering the gun slightly. “No, please—”

I unfolded the small piece of paper attached to the silver rosary.

The handwriting was small but clear.

I read it aloud, my voice shaking.

“Victor Rossi ordered the hit on his own brother to take control of the family. He framed the Morettis. He killed his own blood.”

The silence in the cedar room was deafening.

In the mafia world, killing a rival was business. Killing your own brother was an unforgivable sin. It meant a death sentence from the high commission.

Luca’s mother had held the ultimate blackmail.

Vanessa dropped the gun. It hit the floor with a heavy thud.

She fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands, weeping uncontrollably.

“I just wanted my baby,” she sobbed. “I just wanted to be a mother.”

Luca looked down at the woman he was supposed to marry.

There was no pity in his eyes. Only cold justice.

“You lost the right to be his mother the day you brought Victor Rossi’s men into the house where he sleeps,” Luca said.

He reached down, picked up Vanessa’s gun, and tucked it into his waistband.

Then he looked at me.

“Give me the rosary.”

I walked over and handed it to him.

Luca’s fingers wrapped around the silver beads.

“Daniel is waiting outside,” Luca said to Vanessa. “He is going to put you in a car. You will be given one hundred thousand dollars and a new passport. If you ever return to Chicago, or if you ever try to contact Leo again, I will release this confession to the Commission myself.”

Vanessa looked up, her eyes wide with terror and heartbreak.

She knew he meant every word.

She slowly stood up, her red silk dress ruined, and walked past him out the door without looking back.

The threat was neutralized.

The mystery was solved.

But as Luca turned to face me alone in the cedar room, his eyes fell on my left side, where I was holding my ribs tightly.

“The wedding is off,” Luca said quietly.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“Don't be.”

He stepped closer to me.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small blue velvet box. The one that was supposed to hold a diamond necklace.

He opened it.