Chapter 6 - The Broken Engagement That Shook the Underworld
Vanessa took a step toward Luca, her eyes filling with tears that looked entirely manufactured.
“Luca, please... we have a wedding in two months. Think of our families. Think of what we built!”
Luca looked down at her left hand.
“Take off the ring.”
Vanessa froze.
“What?”
“Take it off,” Luca commanded.
“Luca, you can’t do this over a thirty-year-old grudge!”
Luca’s voice dropped to a terrifying whisper.
“You tried to have my father’s medical logs burned because you knew they proved he was poisoned. You stood in this foyer and called the man who saved my life a beggar. You will not wear my mother’s diamond for another second.”
Vanessa’s lower lip trembled. She looked at her father, but Victor was staring at the four armed guards with bitter realization.
Slowly, with shaking fingers, Vanessa pulled the heavy diamond ring off her finger.
She dropped it onto the glass table.
It hit the surface with a sharp, hollow clink.
“You’ll regret this, Luca,” Vanessa whispered, all sweetness vanishing from her voice, replaced by raw hatred. “You think you’re invincible because your father left you an army. But you’re alone in this house. You’ll die alone.”
“Get them out,” Luca ordered.
Marco stepped forward, gesturing with his weapon toward the exit.
“Move.”
Victor Bellini gave Luca one last murderous glare before turning around and marching toward the foyer, his sons and daughter trailing behind him.
The heavy front doors slammed shut.
The echo resonated through the massive estate.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Luca stood looking down at the diamond ring resting beside the silver coffee pot.
He didn't move for over a minute.
I stood quietly in the corner, holding my tray, unsure whether I should leave or speak.
“Nora,” he said quietly without turning.
“Yes, Mr. Moretti?”
“Pick up the ring.”
I walked over to the table and picked up the heavy platinum band. The diamond was enormous, sparkling under the chandelier light, but it felt ice cold in my palm.
“Throw it in the lake this afternoon,” Luca said.
I looked at him in surprise.
“Sir... this ring is worth at least two hundred thousand dollars.”
“It’s poisoned,” he said, turning his dark eyes to mine. “Everything that family touched was poisoned. I don't want their memory in this house.”
He paused, studying my face.
“Dr. Adler will be escorted back to his home today under twenty-four-hour protection. But Victor Bellini will not take this quietly. He will strike where he thinks I am weakest.”
“Do you think we’re in danger here?” I asked.
“Here? No. This house is a fortress,” Luca said, taking a step toward me. “But you have a mother at home, Nora. And a brother.”
My heart stopped.
May you like
A cold wave of dread washed over me.
“Leo,” I whispered.
Related Stories
