Chapter 6 - Dressed in Silk, Armed with Diamonds
Three days later, the upper crust of New York high society gathered for the annual Winter Charity Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was the premier event of the season—a gathering where corrupt politicians, European royalty, and old-money billionaires drank five-thousand-dollar champagne while pretending to care about the poor.
Don Carmine Vitali had spent millions sponsoring the gala to rehabilitate his family's reputation after the engagement disaster. Enzo Vitali, smug and untouchable, was scheduled to receive a civic humanitarian award on stage.
They believed Matteo Duca would stay hidden to avoid public scandal.
They were wrong.
At precisely eight o'clock, a motorcade of six black Rolls-Royces arrived at the steps of the Met. The paparazzi flashbulbs lit up the night sky like lightning as the security team cleared a path through the red carpet.
Matteo Duca stepped out, looking lethally handsome in a custom midnight-blue tuxedo.
Then, he turned and extended his hand to help his companion out of the car.
A collective gasp rippled through the press and the gathered elites.
Lena Carter stepped onto the red carpet looking like a goddess carved from starlight. She wore an off-the-shoulder gown of midnight-blue velvet that flowed like water around her statuesque frame. Around her neck was the legendary Duca Star—a fifty-carat sapphire necklace that had belonged to Matteo’s grandmother, a family heirloom worn only by the future matriarch of the syndicate.
Her makeup was flawless, her posture impeccable, and her eyes burned with quiet, unyielding power.
Reporters shouted over one another:
"Mr. Duca! Is this your new fiancée?"
"Miss Carter! Are the rumors about the Vitali fallout true?"
Matteo ignored the cameras, keeping his arm securely wrapped around Lena’s waist as he guided her up the grand stone steps into the museum’s Great Hall.
Inside, the music stopped.
Socialites who had treated Lena like invisible furniture at the Grand Balario Hotel stared in absolute shock. Hotel managers who had threatened to dock her pay stood in the corner, turning white as bedsheets.
Across the room, standing beside a group of city councilmen, was Enzo Vitali. He was thirty-two, handsome in a sleazy, arrogant way, wearing a white tuxedo. When he saw Lena Carter—wearing the Duca family sapphires—his glass slipped from his fingers, crashing onto the marble floor.
"Look at that," Lena murmured softly, her lips brushing Matteo’s ear. "Rich people really do have a habit of dropping their drinks around me."
Matteo chuckled, a low, wicked rumble in his chest. "Let's go greet our host, my queen."
They walked across the ballroom, the crowd parting before them like the Red Sea. Matteo stopped directly in front of Enzo Vitali.
"Enzo," Matteo said smoothly. "You look pale. Are you feeling unwell?"
Enzo swallowed hard, his eyes darting to the armed Duca guards surrounding the perimeter. "Matteo. What is this circus? Bringing a hotel maid to the Met Gala? You’re making yourself a laughingstock."
Lena took a step forward, her eyes narrowing with lethal precision. "Tell me, Enzo. Does Room 1402 at the Balario Hotel ring a bell?"
Enzo flinched as if slapped across the face. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You will," Lena whispered, her voice carrying across the silent crowd. "Five years ago, you pushed Clara Carter off a balcony because she found your offshore ledger. Tonight, that ledger is sitting on the desk of the Federal Prosecutor."
Enzo’s arrogance vanished, replaced by sheer, unadulterated panic. He turned to flee, but two federal agents in dark suits stepped out from behind the museum columns, flashing badges.
"Enzo Vitali? You are under arrest for corporate fraud, racketeering, and the first-degree murder of Clara Carter."
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As the handcuffs clicked around Enzo’s wrists in front of two hundred photographers, Lena stood tall beside Matteo, feeling the heavy, suffocating ghost of her sister's past finally rest in peace.
Matteo leaned down, his voice warm against her ear. "Step one is complete. Now, let's dance."
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