Chapter 10 - The Matriarch's Command
By morning, the rain had cleared, leaving Chicago glistening beneath a crisp, golden autumn sky.
The estate grounds were spotless. Any trace of the night's chaos had been eradicated by Luca’s cleanup crews. Yet, the atmosphere inside the house was charged with an impending showdown. Julian Vance, the reckless and volatile younger brother of the slain don, had fled underground, threatening all-out war across the city’s trade corridors.
Luca was in his study, fielding continuous calls from capos and lieutenants, when Teresa summoned me to her dressing suite.
When I entered, I found three large garment racks loaded with breathtaking evening gowns, silks, and tailored dresses, along with a team of high-end stylists whom Teresa had quietly brought in from the Gold Coast.
"Teresa, what is all this?" I asked, looking around the transformed room in astonishment.
"This, my dear, is armor," Teresa declared with a regal tilt of her head. "Tonight is the annual Fall Charity Gala at the Drake Hotel. Every significant family, legitimate and otherwise, will be there to see who is standing and who is broken after last night."
"Surely you and Luca aren't attending after what happened?"
"On the contrary," Teresa said, rising and walking toward me. "If we hide behind our gates, Julian Vance wins the narrative. Luca will walk into that ballroom as the absolute sovereign of this city. I will walk beside him to show that seventy-eight years have not dulled my steel. And you, Emily... you will be on his arm."
My breath caught in my throat. "Me? Teresa, I can’t. I am your companion, a nurse. The society people, the Syndicate—they will look down on me. It will create a scandal."
"Let them look," Teresa said fiercely, placing her weathered hands on my cheeks. "For two years, Gia Vance walked into that room like a crowned princess, laughing behind my back while I sat in the corner, ignored and isolated. Tonight, the world will see the woman who actually possesses courage, honor, and my son's heart."
I flushed, my eyes widening. "Teresa—"
"Do you think I'm blind, child? I regained my hearing, but my eyesight was never failing. I saw the way he looked at you when you were stitching his flesh. I saw the way you held his hand. Luca needs an equal, not an accessory. Now, stand still and let them fit you for emerald silk."
Two hours later, I stood before the full-length mirror.
The dress was a masterpiece of midnight-emerald velvet, sculpted to fit every curve, with an off-the-shoulder neckline that was both modest and devastatingly elegant. My hair had been pinned up in an intricate, classic chignon, leaving my neck bare except for a vintage diamond pendant Teresa had insisted on clasping around my throat.
The bedroom door clicked open.
Luca stepped inside, dressed in a flawless black tuxedo, his arm moving with slight stiffness beneath the tailored jacket. He stopped dead in his tracks the moment his eyes fell on me.
The cold, ruthless Don vanished. In his place stood a man utterly spellbound.
"Emily..." he breathed, his voice stripped of all its usual command. "You look... magnificent."
"Your mother insists I attend," I said, feeling a rare nervous flutter in my chest. "I hope I don't embarrass you."
May you like
Luca walked toward me, each step deliberate, until he stood inches away. He lifted his hand, his knuckles brushing gently along the high curve of my cheek. "You could never embarrass me, Emily. Tonight, you make me the envy of every man in Chicago."
***