Chapter 8 - Luca’s Vow to the Woman Who Stood Her Ground
The brownstone in Gold Coast was magnificent, hidden behind high stone walls and wrought-iron gates, completely staffed with discreet security and private nurses.
By eight that evening, my mother was resting comfortably in a quiet, heated bedroom, receiving her vitamins through an IV administered by a private nurse Luca had hired.
Leo had finally fallen asleep on the sofa in the library after hours of me assuring him that everything was under control.
I sat alone on the covered back patio, watching the rain fall over the small private courtyard.
The gate creaked open.
A single black sedan pulled into the driveway.
Luca stepped out.
He walked up the brick pathway, wearing a dark wool coat, his hands in his pockets. He looked tired, but the violent tension that had surrounded him that morning seemed focused now—concentrated into absolute resolve.
He walked onto the patio and stopped beside my chair.
“How is she?” he asked softly.
“She’s sleeping,” I replied, looking up at him. “The nurse you sent was wonderful. Thank you, Luca.”
It was the first time I had called him by his first name without the title of 'Mr. Moretti.'
He didn't correct me.
Instead, he pulled a wooden chair over and sat down beside me.
“You shouldn't have had to go through that today, Nora.”
“They came to my mother’s house because of me,” I whispered, looking down at my hands. “Because I took the watch. Because I handed you the photograph.”
Luca reached out.
His fingers were warm and calloused as he gently touched my chin, lifting my gaze to meet his.
“They came because Victor Bellini knows that you have more courage in your little finger than his entire family has in their bloodlines,” Luca said softly. “You didn't cause this war, Nora. This war was started the night I took a bullet in nineteen ninety-eight. You just had the decency to turn on the lights so I could see who was holding the knife.”
I looked into his dark eyes.
For the first time, I saw beneath the terrifying reputation of the Moretti boss.
I saw a man who had grown up surrounded by deceit, who had spent his entire life wondering which handshake was real and which smile concealed a blade.
“What happened with Victor today?” I asked.
“We froze their secondary offshore accounts,” Luca said coldly. “We took control of the logistics hub in Gary. By sunrise tomorrow, the Bellinis won't have enough liquid cash to pay their foot soldiers.”
“Will they retaliate?”
“They will try,” Luca murmured, his thumb brushing lightly across my cheek before he withdrew his hand. “Which is why you and your family will remain under my direct protection until every single one of them is neutralized.”
“I can’t pay you for this, Luca,” I said, feeling a sudden lump in my throat. “The medical care, this house... it’s too much.”
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Luca gave a faint, genuine smile—the first one I had ever seen on his face.
“You already paid me, Nora. You gave me back the truth about my father.”
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