Chapter 10 - The Midnight Interrogation
We emerged from the abandoned rail tunnel three miles away inside an unassuming logistics depot owned by Moretti Freight.
Two black armored sedans were waiting for us, engines running, driven by trusted loyalists who had been with Luca’s father for decades.
Luca pushed Vittorio into the back of the second sedan.
“You have one chance to survive this night, Vittorio,” Luca said, sitting across from him in the vehicle.
Vittorio was bruised, exhausted, and bleeding, but his pride remained stubbornly intact.
“What do you want, Luca? You have the accounts. You have the ledger.”
“The Lake Forest address,” Luca demanded, his voice low and dangerous. “What is buried in my mother’s sanctuary?”
Vittorio looked down, silent for several seconds.
Then he sighed, a broken, defeated sound.
“Your mother was smarter than all of us,” Vittorio confessed quietly. “When she discovered that my family was skimming money from the Sicilian transport lines, she didn't run to the police. She gathered all the original bearer bonds and the Commission’s founding charter.”
“The founding charter?” Daniel gasped from the front seat.
“Yes,” Vittorio spat. “The document that proves the Bellinis, the Falcones, and the Morettis formed the Chicago Commission under an irrevocable blood pact. Whoever holds the original charter holds the legal and syndicate authority to strip any family of their seat and assets.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed. “She hid the charter in Lake Forest.”
“She knew your father was too proud to look for it,” Vittorio admitted. “And she knew my family would tear the world apart looking for it. That’s why she sealed it with her personal authorization code—so only someone with her blood could ever retrieve it.”
“And you thought you could use Marco and Vanessa to bypass the lock,” Luca said coldly.
“Vanessa was ambitious,” Vittorio said bitterly. “She wanted to be the queen of Chicago. She pushed Marco to forge the invoices to test your accounting system. It was her impatience that destroyed us.”
Luca tapped on the partition window.
“Matteo. Set a course for Lake Forest. We end this tonight.”
As the car accelerated into the night, Luca turned toward me.
He reached across the seat and gently took my hand in his. His skin was warm, his grip steady and reassuring.
“Emma,” he said softly.
“Yes, Luca?”
“When we finish this... I don't want you going back to that small apartment. I don't want you working for anyone else.”
I looked at our joined hands, feeling a deep warmth bloom in my chest.
“What are you offering, Mr. Moretti?”
“I’m offering you a seat at the head of the table,” Luca said, his eyes filled with absolute sincerity. “As the Chief Executive of the Moretti Foundation. And as the woman beside me.”
I smiled softly, my fingers tightening around his.
“Let’s finish the Bellinis first, Don Moretti. Then we’ll talk about my contract.”
May you like
Luca let out a deep, rich laugh—the first time I had ever heard him genuinely smile.
“Deal.”
