Chapter 3 - The Sanctuary of the Estate
The world shattered into a thousand jagged pieces right there at Table Twelve.
I sat frozen, my hands trembling against Leo’s soft back, staring at the identical silver lockets glittering under the ambient restaurant lights.
“No,” I whispered again, pulling my hand away from Luca’s grasp. “This is a mistake. I’m twenty-seven years old! I’ve spent my entire life alone! I lived in six different foster homes! If I had family... if my mother was a Moretti... why did nobody come for me?!”
My voice had risen, sharp and desperate, cutting through the quiet dining room.
Marco stepped closer, his heavy frame blocking the sight line from the rest of the restaurant. “Boss, people are watching. We need to move.”
Luca stood up smoothly, his eyes never leaving my face. “He’s right. Avery, pack your things.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you!” I snapped, panic flaring hot in my chest. “I don't know you! You’re a mob boss! I have a shift to finish! I have rent to pay!”
Luca didn't argue. He didn't raise his voice. He simply leaned down, his towering presence enveloping me.
“Ten minutes ago, you had forty-three dollars in your bank account and a car that clicks when you turn left,” Luca said calmly. “Tonight, three men followed you from your apartment building to this restaurant.”
My heart stopped. “What?”
“My men intercepted a tracking device on your car an hour ago,” Luca said, his eyes darkening into pure steel. “The people who killed your mother twenty years ago just realized Clara’s daughter is still alive in Philadelphia. You are not safe here, Avery. You were never safe.”
Leo stirred against my chest, making a small, whimpering sound at the tension in the air. I immediately began rocking him gently, my maternal instincts overriding my own sheer terror.
“If you walk out those doors alone tonight,” Luca said, holding out his hand to me, “you will not make it to Monday. Come home with me. Protect my son. Let me protect my blood.”
I looked at Greg, who was cowering behind the host stand. I looked at the dark street outside the glass doors of Aurelia. And then I looked down at the tiny, innocent boy holding onto my thumb with all his strength.
Ten minutes later, I was sitting in the back of an armored black SUV, flanked by two armed men, holding the heir to the Moretti crime syndicate in my lap as we sped out of the city toward the gated estates of Chestnut Hill.
The Moretti estate was a massive, stone fortress surrounded by ten-foot iron fences, security cameras, and armed guards patrolling the grounds with dogs. High spotlight lanterns illuminated the winding cobblestone driveway as the heavy iron gates slammed shut behind us.
When the SUV pulled up to the front steps of the manor, a elderly woman in a crisp black dress rushed down the marble stairs.
“Mr. Luca!” she called out anxiously. “Is the baby alright? He was crying so terribly when you left—”
She froze mid-sentence as the SUV door opened and I stepped out onto the driveway, carrying Leo in my arms.
The old woman’s eyes widened in absolute shock. “Dear God in Heaven...”
“Avery, this is Maria,” Luca said, stepping out behind me and adjusting his suit jacket. “She has been the housekeeper here for forty years.”
Maria walked up to me, her hands shaking as she looked at my face, tears springing to her eyes. “It’s Clara’s girl... look at her. She has Clara’s chin. She has Clara’s eyes.”
“She’s staying in the east wing, Maria,” Luca commanded firmly. “Prepare the master suite beside Leo’s nursery. Assign four guards to her floor. No one enters without my personal authorization.”
“Yes, sir! Right away!” Maria nodded frantically, hurrying back inside the mansion.
I stood on the wide stone steps, looking up at the towering, dark estate, feeling completely overwhelmed. The sheer luxury, the heavily armed guards, the suffocating secrecy—it was a nightmarish fairy tale I had been thrust into without warning.
Leo snuggled deeper into my cardigan, letting out a small, satisfied sigh.
May you like
Luca stood beside me, looking out over the dark, sprawling gardens of his estate.
“Welcome home, Avery,” he said softly. “Tomorrow, the war begins. But tonight... you and Leo are safe.”
