Chapter 6 - The Sanctuary of Tribeca
The ride to Tribeca was silent, the hum of the Escalade’s premium tires against the wet asphalt the only sound inside the luxury cabin. Vanessa sat as far from Dante as the wide leather seat allowed, her fingers clutching Lily’s letter until the paper was soft and damp from her palms.
She was terrified. She had just escaped a corrupt cop only to be picked up by a man Ryan had called a mafia boss. She knew the name Moretti—anyone who read the papers knew the name. They were the shadows that ran the shipping yards, the developers who bought up whole city blocks without bank loans.
"Where are we going?" she asked, her voice small as the car turned into a private, underground garage in Tribeca.
"My home," Dante said, not looking at her, his eyes fixed on his tablet as he replied to a security alert. "Lily is already there. Marco had her picked up from your apartment building’s after-school care an hour ago. She’s with my son, Leo."
Vanessa’s heart stopped. "You took my daughter?"
"I secured your daughter, Ms. Turner," Dante corrected her, his voice firm but devoid of hostility. He turned his head to look at her, his gray eyes steady through the dim cabin light. "Ryan Foster had two uniform officers from his precinct waiting down the street from your apartment. They had a falsified emergency custody order signed by his uncle’s clerk. If we hadn't picked Lily up forty minutes ago, she would currently be in a state facility in Queens."
A cold, numbing horror washed over Vanessa. Ryan hadn't been bluffing. He had already set the trap. If Dante hadn't intervened...
The elevator took them directly from the garage to the penthouse foyer. When the doors slid open, Vanessa ran out, her heels clicking wildly against the slate floor.
"Lily! Lily!"
"Mom!"
A small streak of pink and denim flew out of a large, brightly lit living room. Lily threw her arms around Vanessa’s waist, burying her face in her mother’s coat. Vanessa dropped to her knees, hugging her daughter so tight she thought her ribs might crack, her tears finally overflowing.
"I’m here, baby, I’m here," Vanessa sobbed, kissing the top of Lily’s head.
Behind them, Leo was standing in the doorway of the living room, holding a half-eaten slice of pizza, looking thoroughly unbothered by the high drama. Dante stepped out of the elevator, handing his coat to a waiting houseman. He looked down at the mother and daughter on the floor, a look of quiet satisfaction settling into his sharp features.
"Leo," Dante said. "Take Lily back to the media room. Show her the new arcade cabinet."
"Come on, Lily," Leo said, turning around. "We're in the middle of a Mario Kart race."
May you like
Lily looked up at her mother, her small face clean and safe. Vanessa nodded, wiping her eyes. "Go ahead, sweetheart. I’ll be right here."
Once the children vanished down the hall, Dante gestured toward a pair of frosted glass doors at the end of the foyer. "My study, Ms. Turner. We have a war to plan, and I need your signature on a few corporate disclosures if we're going to dismantle a supreme court judge."
