Chapter 4 - Blood Is Not Proof of Loyalty
Marco read the name three times.
“No.”
Luca watched him.
“Marco.”
“No.”
“Call Anthony.”
Marco already was.
Straight to voicemail.
Again.
Nothing.
“He’s probably working.”
“Where?”
Marco’s silence answered.
Anthony DeSantis had worked for Luca for seven years.
He managed logistics.
Routes.
Warehouses.
Security rotations.
He also knew Emma existed.
Marco grabbed Luca’s jacket.
“My brother would never touch a child.”
“I didn’t say he did.”
“You’re thinking it.”
“I’m thinking someone wants me to.”
Marco let go.
Luca studied the message.
Sokolov was not stupid.
If Anthony were the traitor, using his name would expose him too early.
Which meant either Anthony had already served his purpose—
or he was being framed.
“Find Anthony,” Luca said.
Marco’s jaw tightened.
“I will.”
“And Marco?”
“What?”
“If he did this—”
Marco looked at him with something dangerous in his eyes.
“You won’t have to handle it.”
An hour later, they found Anthony’s car beneath the Manhattan Bridge.
Empty.
Driver’s door open.
Blood on the steering wheel.
A phone beneath the seat.
Marco picked it up.
One unsent text was on the screen.
MARCO, IT’S NOT SOKOLOV. THE PERSON FEEDING HIM INFORMATION IS—
Nothing after that.
Marco looked at Luca.
“He knew.”
“And someone stopped him.”
Rachel called.
Luca answered immediately.
“Anything?”
“Emma’s teacher called.”
“Why?”
“She remembered something.”
Luca listened.
Rachel continued.
“Emma told her that one of the men in the black car knew Mr. Buttons’ name.”
Luca’s face hardened.
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
Almost no one knew the bear’s name.
Rachel.
Luca.
Marco.
A few preschool employees.
Maybe security.
Then something clicked.
“Rachel.”
“What?”
“When the bear ripped six months ago, did you replace it?”
“No. I stitched it.”
Luca stared at Marco.
He had bought an identical replacement and locked it in his private study.
A detail Marco had joked about only hours earlier.
Sokolov knew about his heart diagnosis.
The kidnappers knew Emma’s bedroom.
They knew Mr. Buttons.
Those weren’t secrets gathered from one source.
They came from multiple layers of Luca’s life.
Hospital.
Home.
Organization.
Which meant either several people were compromised—
or someone had access to everything.
Luca’s mind moved quickly.
“My house.”
Marco frowned.
“What?”
“Who has unrestricted access to my study?”
“You. Me. House manager.”
“Security?”
“Only during emergencies.”
“Cleaning staff?”
“Never when you’re absent.”
Luca turned.
“Cameras.”
Marco understood immediately.
They drove to Luca’s townhouse.
The biometric safe in his study was closed.
No damage.
Luca opened it.
Cash.
Documents.
A handgun.
And the unopened replacement Mr. Buttons.
Still there.
Marco exhaled.
“Then nobody accessed it.”
Luca stared.
“Maybe they didn’t need to.”
He looked toward the ceiling.
A tiny black dot above the bookshelf.
Luca climbed onto a chair.
Pulled the smoke detector free.
Behind it was a microphone.
Marco went pale.
Someone had been listening inside Luca Bellini’s private study.
For months.
Marco’s phone rang.
He answered.
“What?”
His face changed.
“Where?”
He hung up.
“They found Anthony.”
Luca’s expression tightened.
“Alive?”
Marco looked at him.
“Barely.”
They rushed to the hospital.
Anthony was unconscious.
His face bruised.
A stab wound had been treated in the emergency room.
Dr. Bennett stood outside his room.
She looked at Luca.
“You again.”
“How bad?”
“He lost a lot of blood.”
“Can he talk?”
“No.”
“Will he live?”
“I don’t know.”
Luca stepped closer.
She lowered her voice.
“And you should not be here either.”
“I’ll survive.”
“You keep saying that like it’s a decision.”
Before Luca could answer, Anthony moved inside the room.
Marco rushed in.
“Anthony?”
His brother’s eyes opened weakly.
He saw Marco.
Then Luca.
Fear crossed his face.
“Boss…”
“Who did this?”
Anthony struggled to speak.
Luca leaned closer.
“Who is helping Sokolov?”
Anthony’s lips moved.
One word.
“Doctor.”
Luca slowly turned.
May you like
Dr. Mara Bennett stood in the doorway behind him.
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