Chapter 3 - The Unforgivable Debt
Before Vanessa's manicured claws could come within inches of Lily's skin, a heavy hand clamped around her wrist with the force of an iron vice.
Luca stood between us like an impenetrable wall. The veins on the back of his hand bulged against his dark skin. With a cold, sickening twist of his arm, he wrenched Vanessa away. She cried out in sharp agony, her knees buckling as she hit the marble floor with a dull thud.
"Marco," Luca said quietly, without looking down at the groveling woman at his feet.
"Yes, Boss?" Marco stepped forward, his expression carved of stone.
"Take Arthur to the lower cellar. Ensure our family physician keeps him awake and lucid until I come down to finish this conversation."
"Luca, no! Daddy! Don't let them take you!" Vanessa wailed, crawling backward across the cold tiles, her designer silk gown ruined, streaked with spilled red wine and crushed white flower petals. She looked up at the high-society guests she had spent months impressing, but every single one of them looked away. In the ruthless hierarchy of the Chicago underworld, once a traitor was marked by Luca Moretti, standing near them was a death sentence.
Luca turned his back on her, focusing his entire attention on me and the trembling child in my arms. When his eyes met mine, the icy ruthlessness vanished, replaced by an exhaustion that seemed to weigh down his broad shoulders.
"Emily," he said gently, reaching out a solitary hand to brush a tear from Lily's cheek. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, Mr. Moretti," I whispered, my voice barely audible over the chaotic murmurs in the hall. "Lily is just frightened. Her leg is aching from the commotion."
"Take her upstairs," Luca commanded softly. "Stay with her. Nobody enters that room tonight except me."
"Yes, sir."
I clutched Lily tighter, turning quickly toward the sweeping double staircase. Behind me, I could hear Vanessa sobbing, cursing my name with venomous hatred. "You think you won, you worthless orphan maid? He's using you! He will throw you into the street the moment he doesn't need a babysitter!"
I didn't turn back. I carried Lily past the grand portraits of Moretti ancestors, through the quiet, carpeted corridors of the third floor, all the way to her nursery. I closed the heavy oak door, turned the deadbolt until it clicked solidly into place, and walked over to the rocking chair by the bay window overlooking the dark, stormy waves of Lake Michigan.
Lily sniffled, resting her head against my shoulder. "Emmy? Is Bad Lady Vanessa gone?"
"She won't hurt you anymore, my sweet," I whispered, gently running my fingers through her soft brown curls. "Your father won't let anyone hurt you."
"And the shoes?" she asked, looking down at the worn white kidskin slippers. "Did she ruin Mommy’s shoes?"
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"Not a scratch," I smiled through my own unshed tears, carefully untying the laces to relieve the pressure on her brace. "They are safe. Just like you."
Ten minutes later, the faint sound of two muffled gunshots echoed from deep beneath the estate's foundations. A chilling silence settled over the mansion. Luca had settled the first part of the debt.