Chapter 6 - Luca’s Darkest Threat
The grandfather clock in the upstairs foyer chimed 6:00 AM.
The morning light broke through the heavy velvet curtains of the master suite where Vanessa Bellini was frantically packing three designer suitcases with diamond necklaces, bearer bonds, and gold bars from the private wall safe.
She zipped the last bag and turned toward the door.
Luca was standing in the doorway.
He had changed into a crisp black suit, entirely unbuttoned, his hands resting casually inside his pockets. Behind him stood Marco and four silent enforcers.
Vanessa dropped the suitcase handle. Her breath caught in her throat.
“Luca... darling. You startled me.”
“Going somewhere, Valentina?”
The use of her real name struck her like a physical blow.
All the color drained from her face. Her lips trembled.
“Luca... listen to me. Whatever Claire brought back from that cottage, it’s forged. Sarah was sick! She was trying to poison your mind against me because she knew she was dying!”
Luca stepped into the room.
The guards closed the heavy double doors behind him, locking the deadbolts.
“You stole my wife’s peace during her final months on this earth,” Luca said, his voice terrifyingly quiet. “You blackmailed a dying woman while she vomited blood into a basin.”
“I gave you a daughter!” Vanessa screamed, backing toward the balcony windows. “I saved your legacy! If I hadn't switched that dead infant, the Moretti family would have had no heir! The Falcone family would have challenged your leadership five years ago!”
“You didn't give me a daughter,” Luca replied, taking another slow, measured step forward. “You stole a grieving sister’s niece. You forged death certificates. And then you crept into my home wearing Sarah’s perfume, hoping to marry me so you could legally control Lily’s fifty-million-dollar trust fund when I died.”
Vanessa’s expression warped from fear into a snarl of pure malice.
“You think you can touch me, Luca? The Falcone family knows everything. I have copies of the original DNA logs stored in a digital vault. If I don't check in by noon, the entire Commission will know your precious Lily is a charity ward bastard with zero Moretti blood!”
She laughed, high and hysterical.
“They will strip you of your title. They will declare your bloodline extinct. You will be executed by your own capos for fraud!”
Luca didn't flinch.
He reached into his breast pocket, pulled out a gold-plated lighter, and sparked the flame.
“The Commission only respects power, Valentina. And blood is not just what runs in our veins—it is what we spill to protect those we love.”
He snapped the lighter shut.
“Marco.”
“Yes, boss?”
“Take Miss Vance to the basement storage facility under the west pier. Keep her alive. Keep her hydrated. But do not allow her to see sunlight until I give the order.”
“No! Luca, you can't do this! I am your fiancée!” Vanessa shrieked as two guards grabbed her arms, pinning her against the wall.
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Luca walked past her without a single glance.
“My fiancée died five years ago in St. Jude’s Hospice,” he said coldly. “You are just a corpse that hasn't been buried yet.”
