Chapter 5 - THE MIDNIGHT AUDIT
The grandfather clock in the downstairs hallway struck 2:00 AM.
With a deep, sonorous chime that reverberated through the silent, cavernous mansion.
Up in the private study on the third floor, the air smelled of aged leather, burning cedar from the fireplace, and strong espresso.
The room was dark except for the amber glow of a single brass desk lamp casting long shadows.
Luca Moretti sat behind the desk, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
Revealing the strong, corded muscles of his forearms and the faint, pale scar running along his left wrist.
A reminder of a cartel war from a decade ago that had cemented his brutal reputation across the underworld.
He wasn't sleeping.
Men like Luca Moretti didn't sleep when their empire was bleeding from the inside out.
On the corner of the desk sat a stack of physical files pulled from the estate’s secure vault downstairs.
Corporate charters, trust fund allocations, property deeds, and wire transfer records bearing the signature of Victor Vance.
A soft, hesitant knock sounded at the heavy oak door.
“Come in,” Luca said without looking up, his pen scratching rhythmically across a legal pad.
The door clicked open, and I stepped into the study.
Holding a silver tray with a fresh pot of steaming coffee and a clean porcelain cup.
My shift had technically ended hours ago, but Mrs. Gable had asked me to bring up the midnight refresh.
And something in my gut told me not to leave the third floor just yet.
“I didn't ask for more coffee, Hannah,” Luca said quietly, finally lifting his dark eyes to look at me.
“I know, sir,” I replied, stepping cautiously across the thick Persian rug.
Setting the tray down gently on the corner of目 the desk, well out of the way of his confidential paperwork.
“Mrs. Gable said you hadn't eaten anything since dinner.”
Luca looked down at the untouched plate of cold roast beef and potatoes sitting near his elbow.
A faint, tired smile touched the corner of his mouth.
Not the predatory smirk he wore in front of his business associates, but something genuine, tired, and deeply human.
“My sister is asleep,” he said softly, leaning back in his leather executive chair.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers.
“My mother is finally resting without crying.”
“And Vanessa is halfway across the city, packing her designer dresses into cheap cardboard boxes under the supervision of my security detail.”
“Is she really gone for good, Mr. Moretti?” I asked, before I could stop myself.
Luca’s dark eyes locked onto mine, unblinking.
“She’s gone, Hannah,” he said firmly.
“And she’s never coming back.”
“Neither is Victor Vance.”
“By sunrise, his law license will be revoked, his bank accounts frozen, and his office doors padlocked by federal marshals.”
I swallowed hard, stepping back slightly.
“You moved fast.”
“In my line of work, hesitation is fatal,” Luca replied, leaning forward again.
Resting his elbows on the desk and steepling his large fingers together.
He studied my face for a long moment, his gaze intense enough to make me feel transparent.
“You risked your job tonight, Hannah. Twice.”
“You knew Vanessa could ruin your mother’s financial support with a single phone call, yet you still stood up to her in front of forty of the most powerful people in Chicago.”
My cheeks flushed warm, and I looked down at the polished wooden floorboards.
“I needed this job, Mr. Moretti. I really did,” I admitted honestly.
“My mother’s hip replacement... the medical bills... they’re crushing us.”
“But... seeing Mrs. Moretti sitting there, holding that little yellow sweater, trying to apologize for existing... it broke my heart.”
“My own grandmother passed away two years ago. She used to knit by the window just like that.”
“I couldn't just stand there and watch someone cruelly crush an old woman's soul.”
Luca was quiet for a long time.
The fire crackled softly in the hearth behind him.
“Your mother’s medical bills are paid in full, Hannah,” Luca said quietly.
My head snapped up, my eyes wide with shock.
“Sir?”
“Effective immediately,” Luca continued, his voice completely steady, “your salary is tripled.”
“You are no longer just the housekeeper, Hannah.”
“As of tonight, you are the head coordinator of the Moretti family residence.”
“Tasked with overseeing my mother’s daily care and ensuring my niece has everything she needs under this roof.”
I stood frozen, my breath catching in my throat as the sheer weight of financial survival lifted off my shoulders for the first time in three years.
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them back, swallowing hard.
“Mr. Moretti... I don't know what to say,” I choked out, my voice trembling.
“Thank you.”
“Don't thank me yet, Hannah,” Luca said.
A dangerous, razor-sharp glint returning to his obsidian eyes as he picked up a heavy gold fountain pen from the desk.
“Because tomorrow morning, we begin auditing the rest of the estate.”
“And I have a feeling Vanessa wasn't the only rat in this house.”
Before I could answer, a sudden, violent crash echoed from the hallway outside the study doors.
May you like
Followed by the sound of shattering glass and a muffled, frantic scream.
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