Chapter 2 - THE DRIVE INTO THE DARKNESS
Sal's hands shook slightly on the steering wheel.
The black sedan cut through the heavy Chicago traffic.
Rain hammered against the windshield.
Wipers swept back and forth with a steady rhythm.
Luca sat in the back seat.
His face was carved from ice.
He stared straight ahead.
Neither of us spoke for twenty minutes.
The tension in the cabin was suffocating.
I sat in the passenger seat, watching the street signs blur by.
West Addison.
We were heading deep into the working-class neighborhoods.
Away from the glittering high-rises and high-stakes galas.
Sal signaled and turned down a narrow residential street.
Small, weathered houses lined both sides of the road.
Porch lights flickered in the wet gloom.
Most yards were dark.
Number 412.
Sal slowed the car to a crawl.
He pulled up to the curb of a modest, faded blue house.
Peeling paint framed the front door.
A single dim bulb burned above the steps.
Luca leaned forward from the back seat.
His voice was a low, dangerous rumble.
"Is this it?"
Sal nodded slowly.
"Yes, Mr. Moretti. This is the place."
Luca opened his door before the car had even fully settled in Park.
Rain spilled into the vehicle.
He stepped out onto the wet asphalt.
I moved to follow.
Sal caught my forearm.
"Let him go alone, Miss Emma."
I hesitated, looking through the rain-streaked window.
Luca marched up the wooden steps.
His heavy leather shoes thudded against the hollow boards.
He raised his hand.
He did not knock softly.
He hammered his fist against the wood.
Once.
Twice.
Inside, a dog barked sharply.
Then came the sound of hurried footsteps.
The lock clicked.
The door swung open.
A young woman stood in the doorway.
She wore an oversized gray sweater.
Her hair was pulled back in a loose, messy bun.
Her eyes widened in immediate, suffocating terror.
She recognized him instantly.
"Luca..." her voice trembled.
He did not step inside.
He towered over her in the doorway.
"Where is he?" Luca demanded.
The woman backed away, her hands pressed against her mouth.
"You shouldn't be here."
"Where is my son?"
The word hung in the cold night air like a gunshot.
I watched from the car as the color drained entirely from her face.
She looked past Luca, spotting Sal's car idling at the curb.
Then she whispered a name that changed everything.
"Leo."
Luca stepped across the threshold, slamming the door shut behind him.
The rain poured harder, drowning out whatever words passed between them inside.
Sal exhaled a long, shaky breath.
"This is going to tear the family apart," he muttered.
I looked at the small red mitten sitting on the dashboard.
May you like
We were only at the beginning of the nightmare.
[CLIFFHANGER: Through the thin lace curtain of the front window, I saw a little boy step out from the hallway holding Luca's hand—and he had Luca's exact eyes.]
