Chapter 6 - The Counteroffensive
Luca stood up instantly, the gentle vulnerability on his face vanishing, replaced in a split second by the fierce, lethal intellect that had made him one of the most feared young CEOs in New England.
"On what grounds?" Luca demanded, stepping toward Marcus.
"Clause 9 of the family charter," Marcus reported, handing him a tablet displaying the news bulletin. "Antonio’s lawyers filed affidavits signed by your mother and Vivienne Russo, stating you abandoned your wedding, fled the state without board authorization, and are unfit to execute corporate duties."
Luca looked at the screen. The headline read: FERRARO EMPIRE IN CHAOS: CEO ABSENT AS MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PORT DEAL COLLAPSES.
"He's moving fast," Luca muttered, his eyes scanning the legal filings. "He knows if he gets an injunction before the courts close at five o'clock today, he can sign the Russo merger himself as acting trustee."
Claire stepped up beside Luca, looking at the tablet over his shoulder.
"Can he actually do that?" she asked.
"If the judge signs the temporary order, yes," Luca said grimly. "It gives him seventy-two hours of emergency voting control. By Monday morning, the Russo deal is locked, the port lease is signed under his terms, and he can force me out of my own company."
"Not if you're present at the emergency hearing," Marcus noted. "The judge is sitting in the Washington County Courthouse in Wakefield. That's a two-hour drive from here. It's already 3:15 PM."
Luca checked his watch. "We have ninety minutes."
"You'll never make it through Friday afternoon traffic on I-95," Claire spoke up calmly.
Luca turned to her. "I have to try."
"No," Claire said, her brain working rapidly as she mapped out the geography. "Don't drive. My brother-in-law operates a private crop-dusting and charter flight service out of Greenfield Regional Airport, ten minutes from here. He has a twin-engine Piper Aztec."
Luca looked at her, surprised. "Can he get us to Rhode Island in time?"
"He can land at Westerly Airport in forty minutes," Claire said, already pulling her cell phone from her overall pocket. "From Westerly, Wakefield is a fifteen-minute drive."
She looked directly into Luca's eyes.
"If we're going to fight your family, Luca," Claire said, her voice steady and resolute, "we do it together. On our terms."
Luca felt a surge of pride and love so intense it nearly took his breath away. "Together," he agreed.
Within five minutes, they were in the Maserati, speeding toward the small airfield in Greenfield. Claire was on the phone with her brother-in-law, Tim, while Luca instructed Marcus to assemble his personal legal team at the courthouse in Wakefield.
"Tell Harrison to draft a cross-motion for immediate sanctions against Antonio for corporate perjury," Luca ordered Marcus over the speakerphone. "And get my sister Nora on the line."
Nora answered on the first ring. "Luca! Where are you? Antonio went to the court!"
"I know," Luca said. "Nora, I need you at the courthouse in Wakefield in forty-five minutes. Bring the internal audit files you told Antonio about."
Nora gasped on the line. "You know about those?"
"I've known for six months," Luca said with a faint smile. "I was saving them for the right moment. That moment is today. Meet us at the courthouse steps."
As the Maserati roared onto the runway tarmac at Greenfield, a red-and-white twin-engine airplane was already idling near the hangar, its propellers spinning into a blur.
Tim, a tall man in a grease-stained baseball cap, stepped out and opened the passenger cabin door.
May you like
"Claire!" Tim yelled over the roar of the engines. "Flight plan is cleared to Westerly! Jump in!"
Luca held out his hand to help Claire up the aluminum steps. As she took it, her fingers locked firmly around his. She didn't let go even as they strapped themselves into the narrow leather seats and the plane surged forward into the afternoon sky.
