Chapter 5 - Unraveling the Web of Lies and Deceit
The rain lashed against the massive glass windows of the Moretti mansion as dawn began to paint the Chicago sky in cold, gray hues. I hadn't slept a wink. After leaving the study, I had spent the remainder of the night organizing Teresa’s private medical records and gathering every scrap of correspondence left behind in the guest wing.
Around 7:00 AM, a soft knock sounded at the door of Teresa’s suite, and Luca walked in carrying a silver tray with coffee and fresh pastries. He looked as though he hadn't slept either, yet his posture remained unyielding, radiating lethal authority.
“How did she rest?” Luca asked, placing the tray on the bedside table where Teresa was just beginning to stir.
“Much better, thank you,” I replied, standing up to adjust her pillows. “Her blood pressure has stabilized, and she looks calmer this morning.”
Teresa opened her eyes, blinking away the sleep. When she saw Luca standing by her bedside, a soft, affectionate smile touched her lips. “My boy...” she murmured, reaching out a frail hand.
Luca immediately took her hand, pressing his lips gently against her knuckles. “I’m right here, Mom. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You questioned Michael?” she asked, her voice filled with apprehension.
“I did,” Luca answered, his jaw tightening slightly. “He confessed to tampering with our father’s medication four years ago. He thought he was clever, using a slow-acting compound that mimicked a natural massive heart attack. But he made one fatal mistake—he left a ledger detailing the payoffs to the corrupt coroner in his private wall safe.”
I gasped softly. “He kept written proof?”
“Arrogance,” Luca said coldly. “Men like Michael always think they’re invincible until the hammer drops. The ledger is in my possession now. Every single person who helped him cover up our father’s murder has been identified.”
Teresa closed her eyes, letting out a long, shuddering sigh of relief that had been trapped inside her chest for nearly fifteen hundred days. “Thank God... I can finally rest in peace knowing your father's soul is avenged.”
“Not yet, Mom,” Luca corrected gently, his eyes hardening with resolve. “We still have to deal with the rest of the syndicate council. Some of the senior capos backed Michael’s coup attempt. They thought I was losing my edge.”
He turned his piercing gaze toward me. “Hannah, I need you to do something important for me today.”
“What is it, sir—Luca?” I corrected myself quickly, flushing slightly under his gaze.
“I need you to stay by my mother’s side at all times,” he ordered firmly, handing me a small, sleek satellite-encrypted panic device. “If anyone attempts to enter this suite while I’m dealing with the council downstairs, press this button, and my personal security detail will be here in ten seconds. Do you understand?”
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I took the device, feeling its metallic weight in my palm. “I understand. I won't let anything happen to her.”
Luca gave me an approving nod, his eyes lingering on mine for a heartbeat longer than necessary before he turned and strode out of the room, ready to wage war against the traitors within his own empire.
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