Chapter 3 - Shadows at Fiumicino
The plane hit the tarmac at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport with a heavy thud, spraying mist into the gray dawn sky of Rome.
My heart was hammering against my ribs. I had spent the remainder of the eight-hour flight back in seat 27B, holding Maya tightly against my chest, debating Julian Vance’s insane proposal.
Ten thousand dollars a month. Protection. A private estate in Tuscany.
It sounded like a fairytale. But in my experience, men with unlimited power and dark secrets didn't offer fairytales; they offered golden cages.
“Mommy, are we in Italy?” Maya rubbed her big brown eyes, her tiny voice filled with sleep.
“We are, baby,” I whispered, kissing the top of her head. “We have to be very quiet and stay close to Mommy, okay?”
“Okay.”
As the seatbelt sign clicked off, the cabin erupted into the usual chaos of passengers grabbing overhead luggage. I pulled down our single, battered suitcase and took Maya’s hand.
When we reached the jetbridge exit, Mark—Julian’s massive head of security—was standing off to the side, wearing dark sunglasses despite the dim morning light inside the terminal.
“Mrs. Bennett,” Mark said, stepping into my path politely. “Mr. Vance is waiting in the VIP lounge. He has a private car waiting outside.”
“Mark, I haven't agreed to anything,” I said, tightening my grip on Maya’s small hand. “I need to meet my cousin. She’s expecting us.”
Mark looked at me with a strange, pitying expression. “Your cousin... Maria Rossi?”
My jaw dropped. “How do you know her name?”
Mark pulled a small leather notebook from his jacket. “Mr. Vance had our intelligence team look into your background the moment you gave us your name. Your cousin Maria was evicted from her apartment in Trastevere two weeks ago. The building is currently condemned. If you go there, you will be standing on a wet curb with a toddler and no roof over your head.”
Cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck. My breath hitched. Evicted?
Maria hadn't told me. She had been my only safety net in Europe.
“You... you ran a background check on me?” I stammered, terror spiking in my blood.
“We run background checks on everyone who comes within ten feet of Mr. Vance,” Mark said calmly. “Including the fact that your husband, Richard Bennett, filed an emergency Amber Alert and a missing person's report in Columbus, Ohio, three hours ago. He’s claiming you abducted your daughter during a psychotic break.”
The floor beneath my feet felt like it was tilting. An Amber Alert.
If I walked through Italian passport control, my passport would trigger an international flag. Interpol would be notified. The Italian authorities would detain me, seize Maya, and put us on the first flight back to Ohio straight into Richard’s waiting arms.
“He... he pushed her,” I choked out, tears finally burning my eyes. “Look at her head! He hit her!”
Mark looked down at Maya’s bruised hairline. His stone-cold face hardened.
“Mr. Vance knows,” Mark said softly. “Mr. Vance doesn't like men who hit women and children. Come with me, Mrs. Bennett. Through diplomatic customs. No passports stamped. No Interpol flags.”
I looked at Mark, then down at Maya, who was looking up at me with trusting, innocent eyes. I had no money, no home, and now the police were hunting me across international borders.
I had no choice. I was stepping off a cliff, hoping Julian Vance was a net and not a sharp rock at the bottom.
“Take us to him,” I whispered.
Mark led us through a side door marked Riservato, entirely bypassing the long lines at passport control. We walked down a marble corridor lined with sleek black glass until we entered a private tarmac lounge.
Julian Vance was standing by a floor-to-ceiling window, holding a cup of black coffee. He had changed into a fresh navy suit. Leo was asleep in an ergonomic leather baby carrier strapped to Julian’s chest.
Julian turned as we entered. His eyes swept over me, landing on Maya.
“She’s beautiful, Claire,” Julian said, his voice quiet and completely devoid of the sharp corporate edge he used with his staff. He knelt down—a man worth billions, bowing down on one knee to be at eye level with my three-year-old daughter.
“Hello, little one,” Julian said gently. “I’m Julian. Do you like horses?”
Maya peeked out from behind my leg. “Real horses?”
“Very real,” Julian smiled slightly. “I have six of them at my house. They love apples.”
Maya looked up at me, her eyes wide with wonder.
Julian stood up and faced me. “Your husband has connections in the State Department, Claire. He’s already trying to use federal law enforcement to track your credit cards. But my legal team has already secured a temporary injunction in an Italian court under domestic violence emergency protocols. You are safe here.”
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice trembling. “You don't know me.”
Julian looked down at his sleeping son, then back into my eyes.
“Because four days ago, someone tried to wipe out my entire family,” Julian said, his gray eyes burning with a dark, dangerous fire. “They killed my wife. They tried to make it look like an accident. And they thought I would be too broken to fight back.”
May you like
He stepped closer to me.
“You saved my son today, Claire. In my world, debt is paid with absolute loyalty. You protect my boy, and I will tear your husband’s life apart piece by piece until he can never touch you or Maya again.”
