CHAPTER SEVENTEEN,
the murders of olivia and luca rivera
"ARE YOU SURE YOU want to do this?" Erin asked Ariella as she hung up the photos of her parents.
"I have to. If there's a chance, a slight possibility that they were murdered, I want to know." Ariella told her.
"All right." Erin nodded and they turned around to everyone else, who was watching them, "Whenever you're ready." Erin told her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Um, Olivia and Luca Rivera." She took a deep breath, "13 years ago, a car ran a stop sign and hit their car, killing both of them. At the time the police ruled it a hit-and-run, but I have evidence that proves it wasn't." She told them.
"What do you think it was?" Adam asked.
"Murder-for-hire." She answered.
"Ariella, are you sure you want to do this?" Voight asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I've lived almost half of my life without my parents. If I can bring a little piece of closure to my grandparents, I'm gonna do it." She told him.
"All right, let's do this," Voight told them. Ariella stood in her spot, her mind racing a million miles a minute.
"Hey, you okay," Antonio asked.
"No, not really." She muttered shaking her head, "I really want to find out what happened to them, but I shoved this deep down a while ago. I don't want to have to bring all those bad memories to the surface."
"We're gonna find out who did this to them. We're gonna get justice for them." Antonio told her, pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head.
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Ariella and Antonio were standing outside of Luca's parent's house, the people who raised Ariella until the age of 18. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. They heard footsteps, and the door opened, "Ariella, Mija. What are you doing here?" Her grandmother, Katerina, asked.
"Hi, Abuela." Ariella smiled softly, "Can we come in? It's a work thing." She said, and the woman nodded her head. The partner duo walked into the house.
"So, what's this about?" Her grandfather, Robert asked from his seat on the couch. His wife sat down next to him.
"It's about mom and dad," Ariella told them, sitting down on the couch opposite from him.
"Luca and Olivia? What about them?" Robert asked. Ariella looked away, catching a glimpse at the photo on the mantle of Ariella and her grandparents at an amusement park.
"We have some new evidence that Mr. and Mrs. Rivera were murdered," Antonio informed them.
"Murdered?" Katerina asked, and Antonio nodded.
"Yes, ma'am." Antonio nodded. Katerina covered her mouth in shock.
"D-Do you have anyone in mind?" Robert asked.
"No, we're still in the beginning stages of our investigation," Antonio told her.
"Can you think of anyone that had a grudge against them?" Ariella asked.
"No, everyone loved them. No one wanted to hurt them." Katerina cried.
"There was one person." Robert said, "A boy, an old friend of Luca's. Drew Lang."
Antonio nodded, writing the name down in his notebook, "All right, thank you." He smiled sadly at them.
"Please, Ariella, you have to find out who did this to them," Katerina begged.
"I know." Ariella nodded, "We will, I promise." She told them.
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"Drew Lang. He and Luca Rivera were best friends from middle through high school." Erin put Drew's photo up on the board.
"Where is he now?" Voight asked.
"He's at work. He's a bank manager." Jay read from the file.
"Go." Voight nodded to the partners. Erin and Jay grabbed their jackets and headed to the car.
"Did you know them? Her parents?" Jay asked Erin as they drove to the bank.
"No, when I met Ariella she was already living with her grandparents," Erin told him.
"What was she like?" Jay asked curiously.
"I don't know. She was mourning the loss of her parents. Sometimes I would wake up to her crying and whimpering in her sleep, muttering her parent's names." Erin explained, pulling up in front of the bank, and putting the car in park. She got out of the car, Jay doing the same.
"Can I help you?" A female banker asked.
"We're here to see Drew Lang." Erin flashed her badge.
"Of course. I'll go get him." The woman smiled and walked away to grab Drew. A few seconds later a man walked over to them.
"Can I help you with something? Opening a bank account?" He asked.
"Chicago PD." Jay said, both of them flashing their badges, "We're here to ask you a few questions about Luca and Olivia Rivera." He said.
"Luca? Wow, haven't heard his name in a while." Drew sighed.
"Did you and Mr. Rivera ever have a falling out?" Erin asked.
"We did, but we made up a few weeks later. It wasn't anything big." Drew said, "What's this about?" He asked.
"Mr. Lang, are you aware that Mr. and Mrs. Dawson were killed over 13 years ago?" Jay asked.
"Killed? Geez, we sort of lost touch after high school." Drew said.
"Yes, killed." Erin nodded.
"13 years ago?" Drew asked.
"Yes, some new evidence has surfaced." Erin told him, "Thank you for your time." She nodded.
"Detective?" Drew asked, and Erin turned around, "Does Luca have any other family? A daughter, son?" He asked
"He has a daughter, Ariella," Erin told him.
"Do you think I could have her number?" Drew asked.
"I'll have her give you a call." Erin smiled at him.
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"Did Luca or Olivia have any siblings?" Voight asked.
"Olivia had a sister, but her alibi for the whole week checked out. She was vacationing with friends in France for the week. And as far as we know, Luca didn't have any siblings." Adam said.
"As far as we know?" Voight asked.
"We think he might have a half-sibling. We're running Mr. Rivera's DNA through any database we can get our hands-on, and we may have a match, but we're still waiting for confirmation." He explained.
"Good." Voight nodded. The computer beeped.
"All right, we got our confirmation. Luca's half-brother's name is Dominic Bradley. His mother, Katerina Rivera, put him up for adoption when she was 18." Adam read from the file.
"Where's Dominic now?" Ariella asked.
"Right now, he should be at work. Anyone ever heard of Bradley Technology?" Adam asked.
"Of course." Erin nodded.
"He's the founder of Bradley Technology," Adam told them.
"You two." Voight pointed to Ariella and Antonio.
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Ariella was looking out the window of the car as they drove through the streets of Chicago, "Ariella, hello. I've been calling your name for the past two minutes." Antonio pulled her out of her daze.
"What? Sorry." She turned to him.
"I asked how you were doing," Antonio said.
"The same as I do when you asked me yesterday." Ariella sighed, turning back to the window.
"All right, you wanna answer again, but this time with the truth?" He asked.
"What do you want me to say? I feel like the deeper we get into this investigation, the more we get further from the truth." Ariella told him.
"Are you sure you want to keep looking for answers? You might find something you don't like." Antonio told her.
"I'm sure." Ariella nodded.
Antonio and Ariella got out of the car, looking up at the tall building labeled Bradley Technology at the top. They walked in, and the secretary looked up, "Can I help you with something?" She asked.
"Chicago PD. We're here to see Dominic Bradley." Ariella flashed her badge.
"Do you have an appointment?" She asked and Ariella scoffed.
"Ma'am, we're here to talk. Unless he did something illegal, we're not here to arrest him. If you won't let him know we're here, I'll let him know myself." Ariella threatened.
"I'll let him know." The woman smiled, getting the message.
"Thank you." Ariella nodded much more calm. The woman nodded as she hung up. Antonio and Ariella walked over to the elevator and rode up to Dominic's office.
Antonio knocked on his office door, and walked in, "Mr. Bradley, Chicago PD."
"Yes, I heard." Dominic nodded, "What's this about?" He asked.
"We're here to ask you a few questions about Luca and Olivia Rivera," Ariella told him.
"Who?" He asked. Ariella pulled out photos of her parents and showed him, "I have no idea who those people are. Should I?" He asked.
"Luca Rivera is your half-brother," Ariella told him.
"Half-brother? I don't even know my birth mother." Dominic said.
"So, you knew nothing about your birth mother and her life?" Antonio asked.
"Just that she had me at 18," Dominic told them.
"All right, thank you for your time, Mr. Bradley." Ariella smiled, feeling dejected.
"Come on, we're gonna solve this," Antonio told her as they walked out of his office.
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"What about the guy in the other car. The hitman?" Adam suggested.
"He died back in 2007. Got stabbed in prison, killed him." Erin answered.
"All right, what do we got?" Voight asked.
"Well, we have traffic cam footage from the crash. It's a little grainy, but we got something." Kevin said.
"Let's see it." He nodded. They all gathered around his desk, and Kevin started the footage. The video started, and it showed different angles of Luca and Olivia driving until they stopped at a stop sign. When they saw no one coming, they went through, and that's when the car slammed into them.
They saw the other car drive away, then Luca crawl out from the driver's seat, "Please, someone help!" Luca shouted, then crawled over to the passenger seat, where Olivia was unmoving, "Please!"
Ariella couldn't watch anymore, so she walked away towards the break room, "Okay, stop." Voight told him and Kevin stopped the video. Antonio went to follow after Ariella, but Erin stopped him.
Erin walked into the locker room, just in time to see Ariella kicked a locker, "Ariella, look at me. Stop." Erin grabbed her shoulders, sitting her down on a bench.
"They died in pain." Ariella cried.
"I know." She nodded.
"So much pain." She shook her head, letting out a sob.
"Come on, breath with me." Erin told her, "Breath." She repeated and started breathing slower, helping Ariella breathe again, "We're gonna solve this. We're gonna catch the people who did this."
"Um, sorry to interrupt, but we just got a call from Chicago U." Adam popped his head in, "Ariella, your grandparents are in the hospital." He told her, watching her face fall again.
"What do you mean 'in the hospital'?" Ariella asked.
"Someone broke into their house, your grandfather wasn't home, but you're grandmother was. He stabbed her multiple times in the abdomen. She's fine, no internal damage, but they want to keep her there overnight." Adam told her.
"I need to go," Ariella announced, getting up and quickly leaving the precinct.
"Ariella, wait!" Antonio shouted, running after her.
"I need to go. They're my family." Ariella turned around.
"I'm coming with you." Antonio grabbed the keys from her, "You're in no shape to drive." He told her and got into the driver's seat.
Before Antonio could even put the car in park, Ariella was slamming the door shut and rushing into the building, "I'm here to see my grandmother. She was stabbed in the abdomen. Katerina Rivera." She rushed out.
"Room 84A." The nurse said and Ariella bolted in towards the room. From the doorway, she could see her grandmother laying on the bed, and her grandfather holding her hand. She knocked on the door, and her grandfather looked up.
"Mija," Robert called out.
"Abuelo." She pulled him into a hug, "Que Paso?" She asked.
"I was at the grocery store and when I came back I found her on the ground, bleeding. So I called 911." He told her.
"I'm so sorry." She apologized.
"No, this isn't your fault. You didn't do anything." He shook his head, cupping her face.
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Robert was asleep in a chair next to Katerina's bed. Ariella was asleep as well, her head on Antonio's shoulder, Luca asleep in his stroller next to them, his hand interlace with Ariella's as he placed a soft kiss on her head.
Katerina started to wake up, her hands moving, and she let out a groan. Robert fell the movement, being a light sleeper, and he smiled, "Katerina." He smiled.
"Ariella." Antonio lightly shook her. Ariella woke up, rubbing her eyes, "She's awake." He whispered, kissing her head and giving her hand another squeeze.
Ariella smiled, and walked over to the side of the bed, "Abuela." She smiled.
"Ariella." Her grandmother smiled, slowly and weakly reaching over, grabbing her hand.
"Did you see who did this to you?" She asked. Katerina weakly nodded her head, "Enough for a sketch?" She nodded again, "Okay, I'll get a sketch artist in here." Ariella squeezed her grandmother's hand, "We're gonna figure out who did this to you."
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As they waited for the sketch to come in, they all attempted to busy themselves with other tasks. Ariella's phone rang, "Hello?" She answered, "Is he okay? All right, we're on our way." She hung up.
"What is it?" Antonio asked.
"Luca. The nanny said he slipped and cut himself." Ariella told her husband.
They turned back to Voight, "Go, we'll let you know when we have something." He nodded. The couple grabbed their jackets and sped down the stairs.
Their car pulled into the driveway, and he put the car in park. The two of them got out of the car, and right as Ariella opened the door, she heard something behind her. She turned around just in time to see someone hit Antonio over the head and he fell to the ground. She gasped and went to help him, but before she could help, she was hit over the head as well.
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They waited for what felt like hours for the sketch. A patrol officer walked up the stairs, "Detectives, the sketch is in." Erin rushed over to him, grabbed the sketch.
"Does this look like anyone we know?" Erin asked.
"Dominic Bradley," Jay answered.
"Let's go." Voight nodded.
All their cars pulled up in front of Bradley Technology, and they walked in. People saw the police coming in, and stared, starting to whisper, "Can I help you with something?" The same secretary asked.
"CPD." Voight flashed his badge, and walked over to the elevator, the rest of them following him.
"Wait, you can't go up." The secretary rushed over to stop them, but they paid her no mind and went up the elevator. They walked down the hall towards Dominic's office, only to find that it was empty.
"He's not here." Erin sighed.
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"Where is Dominic Bradley?" Voight asked the secretary. They had a few patrol officers asking people questions.
"He left earlier today. Didn't say why just told me to cancel all his meetings." She answered.
"All right." Voight nodded and turned around to Erin and Jay.
"We're trying to get in contact with Antonio and Ariella, but both their cells are going to voicemail," Erin told him.
"Okay, you stop by their house. See if Luca's alright." Voight told them, and they both nodded.
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A bucket of ice-cold water was thrown onto Ariella, causing her to gasp awake, "Good, you're awake." She tried to pinpoint whose voice it was.
"Dominic?" She asked, confused.
"It only took you 13 years," Dominic stated.
"What do you want?" She asked.
"I have everything I need." He smirked.
"This is what you want? Me? What have I ever done to you?" She asked.
"It's not you I want to hurt." He corrected. Ariella looked at him confused, trying to figure out what he was doing. It took her a second, but she figured out what he wanted.
"Your mother. That's who you want to hurt." Ariella announced. Dominic smirked, "You're angry at her because she gave you up." She said.
"Smart and pretty."
"This isn't the way to do it. Murder and kidnapping?" She asked.
"You have any other idea?" Dominic asked.
"How about forgiving her? It's been 47 years. Let it go." Ariella told him.
"How can I let it go? She left me. She abandoned me." He spat.
"No, she didn't. She was 18. She wasn't ready to raise a kid." Ariella tried to reason with him.
"You don't understand." Before she could even blink, he punched her, hard in the face, knocking her out.
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Erin and Jay drove down the street towards the Dawson household, "Oh, God." Erin saw Antonio unconscious in front of the house. Jay stopped the car, and the two of them got out, their guns raised.
"5021 George, I have an officer down. 545 Franklin Avenue."
"Copy that." Dispatch said. They slowly walked in, guns raised. They saw their nanny, dead on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding her.
"Body!" Erin announced, and went further into the house, looking around for a sign of anything. She walked into Luca's nursery, to find the baby playing with a stuffed, unaffected by everything else, "Hey, Luca. You're alright." Erin picked him up, bouncing him on her hip.
"You okay?" Jay asked.
"I'm good." Erin nodded, bouncing Luca, "Where's Ariella?" She asked.
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"How's Luca?" Voight asked Erin as he got out of his car in front of the Dawson house.
"He's fine. He's hanging out with a patrol officer. Antonio is over there with Gabby and Shay." Erin pointed over to the paramedics.
Voight walked over, "How are you feeling?" He asked.
"Where's my wife?" He asked.
"Dominic Bradley has her," Voight told him.
"Bradley? We talked to him. He said he had no idea who they were." Antonio told him confused.
"Well, we got the sketch and it looks like Dominic Bradley," Voight said.
"Do we know where he is?" Antonio asked.
"All his secretary said was he left early," Voight told him.
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"Does Dominic Bradley have any place he could take Ariella?" Voight asked.
"His house is clean. We had some patrol officers check it out. Nothing suspicious." Erin said.
"His wife said he has no idea where he might be," Al told him.
"I may have something." Jay announced, "So, I've been going through his credit card records, and there are multiple charges every other month, the same amount." He said.
"What's he paying for?" Adam asked.
"A warehouse," Jay answered, looking at the rest of them.
"Suit up," Voight told them.
"I'm coming with you," Antonio told them.
"You just go knocked out"
"This is my wife. I'm coming with you." Antonio cut him off, not taking no for an answer.
"Just try not to be knocked out again," Voight told him.
"I'll be sure." He nodded.
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They pulled up outside the warehouse, sure to be quiet. Jay grabbed the batting ram, and made his way to the door, waiting for Voight's signal. They heard a muffled scream come from inside, "Breach." Voight told Jay, who slammed the door jammer, and Antonio rushed in first.
"Police!" He shouted. They all rushed in different directions, covering each other's backs. They heard screaming coming from further inside the building.
They followed the screaming into the middle of the warehouse where Dominic was holding Ariella to his chest, holding a gun to her head. They all took the sight of her in. Bruises, cuts, and blood covering her whole body, "Chicago PD!" Erin shouted, all of them holding their aim on Dominic in front of them.
"Let her go, Bradley!" Voight shouted.
"No!" Dominic shouted, keeping her to his chest, pressing the gun further into her skull, causing Ariella to whimper.
"Think about your wife, Dominic," Erin told him.
"Layla?" He asked.
"Yes." Erin nodded, "If you let Ariella go, you'll get to see her and your family again. But only if you let her go."
"Layla." He muttered to himself.
"Please." Ariella begged, "I have a son, a baby who's only 6 months. I have a family. You've taken so much from us. Please just let me go." She pleaded with him, her words coming out as a whimper.
Dominic looked down at Ariella, tears falling from her eyes as she pleaded with him. Dominic looked down at her, the same expression in his eyes. Hurt and pain, "I'm sorry." He told her. He removed his arm from around her. She ran into the first pair of arms she could find.
"You're okay. You're safe." Adam whispered to her, hugging her.
"Okay, put the gun down," Antonio told him.
"Tell them I'm sorry," Dominic whispered, tears in his eyes as well. He held the gun up and moved it to the side of his head.
"No!" Voight shouted, but it was too late. He had pulled the trigger, the loud sound of the bullet echoing throughout the whole warehouse. They all sighed, holstering their weapons.
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Ariella had gotten checked out and was told she was okay, but they wanted to keep her overnight to monitor. Antonio rolled her into Katerina's room, where her grandmother and grandfather were. They saw her, the bruises covering her face and body.
"What happened?" Katerina asked.
"I'm okay. There all have superficial wounds. I'll heal up fine." She reassured them and took a deep breath, "We got him." She told them.
"You did it?" Katerina asked.
"We got him." She nodded a smile on her face, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Katerina and Robert let out a laugh, finally knowing that their son and daughter could rest in peace. Ariella laughed along with them, grabbing their hands and squeezing them.
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Ariella looked at the house in front of her. She took a deep breath before walking up and knocking on the door. A man answered, and looked at her confused, "Can I help you?" He asked.
"Hi, Mr. Lang. My name is Ariella Dawson. I'm Luca and Olivia Rivera's daughter." Ariella introduced herself.
"Wow." He gasped, looking at her, "I'm Drew, but I'm sure you knew that."
"I did." She laughed, "My partner told me you wanted to talk." She told him.
"I did. I know you lost them at a young age." He moved to the side to let her enter.
"Thank you." Ariella smiled, and pulled something out of her pocket, "When we were packing up the old house, I found a box. It had your initials and his initials on it. Inside I found this." She handed him the bracelet. Drew laughed, playing around with the bracelet.
"When we were younger we went to this carnival. One of the prizes was a bracelet like this. We both won one." Drew smiled, "Do you mind if I keep this?" He asked.
"It's yours." Ariella smiled.
"Can I get you anything to drink? Water, coffee, tea?" He offered. Ariella smiled.
"Tea is fine." Ariella smiled.
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note.
hey! so, this chapter took a really long time because I had to write this from scratch I really hope you enjoyed and I will see you soon my loves 💕💕
SHOW: chicago pd, bonus
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