Chapter 12 - Fire in the Compound
Three weeks later, the ruins of the Moretti estate stood silhouetted against the autumn sky.
Cranes and bulldozers filled the gravel driveway where luxury town cars once parked.
Luca had ordered the entire East Wing demolished to the foundation.
“Why tear it down completely?” I asked, standing beside him on the stone terrace overlooking the lake.
I wore a thick cashmere sweater and wool trousers, a warm travel mug of coffee in my hands.
Luca looked at the crumbling brickwork being hauled away into dump trucks.
“Because my father built that wing to hide his secrets,” Luca said quietly.
He slipped an arm around my waist, pulling me into his side against the chilly breeze off the water.
“A home built on lies cannot stand, Emma. We build anew from bedrock.”
Isabella walked up the terrace steps, carrying a roll of architectural blueprints.
She looked rested.
The dark circles beneath her eyes had vanished, replaced by a vibrant energy I hadn't seen since the nightmare began.
“The designs for the foundation are approved,” Isabella announced, unrolling the plans on the outdoor cedar table.
“No secret vaults. No sub-level escape ducts designed for running in the dark.”
She looked at me with a bright smile.
“Just open galleries. High windows. And an entire wing dedicated to the Vance Foundation archives.”
My chest tightened with emotion.
Luca had established the Vance Foundation two weeks prior, endowing it with fifty million dollars from the recovered syndicate trusts.
Its sole purpose was providing legal defense and financial security for families targeted by organized crime whistleblowers.
My father’s name was no longer a buried police report.
It was etched into the granite archway of a charity that would protect hundreds of innocent people.
“Isabella,” Luca said, looking at the drawings.
“When do you return to Florence?”
Isabella rolled up the blueprints and tapped Luca's chest with them playfully.
“I don't. I transferred my degree to the Art Institute of Chicago.”
She looked at both of us, her eyes shining.
“Someone has to keep you two grounded while you run this city.”
Luca laughed aloud, the sound echoing cleanly across the water.
May you like
For the first time since I had stepped foot on this property eleven months ago, the air didn't smell like gunpowder or fear.
It smelled like fresh lake rain and cedar wood.
