Page 50 of The Hidden Heir

I’m too angry to say any more to her. The memory of my mother haunts me to this day. The injustices she suffered. The Petruccis got my father killed. Then Mauro Mancuso married her in the hopes of siring an heir. She died because she refused. No matter what anyone says, I know it’s the truth.

And I cannot let it slide.

“Valentina, please!” Caroline calls out.

But I’m already headed for the door. As soon as my feet reach the pavement and the warm morning air fills my lungs, I take a deep breath and look around. Maybe it wasn’t the best way to end the conversation, but it felt good to stand up for myself, to speak my truth with unshakeable conviction.

I have Luca to thank for that. And I can’t wait to see him. Carefully, I make my way down the street and turn left into the side alley where Eddie said he parked the car. I see it, not far from one of the café’s dumpsters. The engine is idle, yet I don’t see anyone behind the wheel. A knot swells in the pit of my stomach, and I take my phone out.

Eddie doesn’t answer. I look over my shoulder, but there’s no one around.

Slowly, I walk closer to the car. The engine’s running, and the car purrs softly. Then I see the blood spreading across the dashboard and Eddie slouched on his side with a bullet hole in his temple.

I jump back, the scream getting caught in my throat.

I hear boots scraping across the wet pavement. Then the men come out from behind the dumpster, and my heart bursts with adrenaline as I back away. I don’t know them. I don’t recognize them.

“Get over here!” one of them barks.

My body instantly recognizes danger. My mind registers all the details I might need to tell Luca later. They’re here for me, that much is clear from the looks on their faces—murderous eyes, lips twisted with malicious intent. Eddie was collateral damage. He was in their way, and now they’re coming after me.

I am the prey, the one being hunted.

Before they can reach me, however, I spin on my heels, the smell of blood and gunfire still with me, and I start running for my life.

I should scream.

“Don’t let her get away!” another shouts.

I hear them running after me, determined to catch me.

But I can see the thoroughfare ahead. I’m almost there. I should scream. I keep telling myself I should scream, but my voice is stuck in my throat, and all I can do is run as I can.

I feel a hand swipe at my back, almost reaching me, but not quite.

“Fuck!” he snaps and reaches again.

But to his dismay, I lose myself on the crowded sidewalk. I pause for a second, deciding whether I should go left or right, but it doesn’t matter, as long as I can far away from them.

The adrenaline pumps faster, and I turn left, heading north. I try to think where Luca could find me. He’d found me before, after all.

Glancing back through the crowd, I see the men coming closer, still desperate to catch me.

Then tires squeal loudly to my left. A black Lexus comes to a skidding halt, causing the other cars behind him to slam on their brakes and honk and hurl all sorts of ungodly curses at him. The passenger door swings open.

“Get in!” Luca shouts.

I don’t even hesitate. I jump right in and barely manage to shut the door before he locks it from the central console. Then he floors it and we practically fly out of there.

I’m panting and hyperventilating, beads of sweat bursting across my temple and forehead, as the terror begins to subside.

“Oh God, what the hell was that?” I manage, my voice broken as tears prick my eyes. I can’t get the image of Eddie out of my head. “They killed Eddie.”

“I figured as much when he didn’t pick up his phone. I was on my way over,” Luca mutters.

His grip on the wheel is so tight, so angry, his knuckles have turned white. A muscle twitches in his jaw, furiously repeating a rhythm that my heart seems to be synced with. He keeps checking the rearview mirror, but the deeper we go into the city, the easier it feels for me to breathe.

“I hope Caroline is okay,” I mumble.