Chapter 12
The moonlight cast a ghostly glow across the study floor. Catherine Moretti stood in the doorway. She wore a dark trench coat, her long dark hair damp from the snow. Her face was thinner than the photographs I had seen, but her eyes—sharp, calculating, and cold—were unmistakable. And in her right hand, she held a silenced pistol. Pointing it squarely at Luca’s heart. Luca froze. The air left his lungs in a sharp, audible gasp. “Catherine?” Luca whispered. His voice cracked with a mixture of raw agony and total disbelief. “You’re… you’re dead. I buried you.” “You buried an empty casket, Luca,” Catherine replied. Her voice was flat, devoid of any warmth. “Just like you buried the truth about what your brother was doing right under your nose.” Teresa stepped protectively in front of me. “Catherine, put the gun down,” the old woman commanded firmly. “You don’t need to do this.” Catherine didn’t lower the weapon. Her finger remained steady on the trigger. “I do, Teresa,” Catherine said softly. “Because Luca never stopped running the syndicate. Even after he promised me he would go legitimate.” Luca slowly raised his hands, palms open. Not out of fear—out of profound grief. “I did try, Catherine,” Luca said, taking a slow step toward her. “I spent three years trying to tear it down from the inside. But Marcus had his hooks too deep into the council.” “And yet, you’re still sitting in this mansion,” Catherine sneered. “Still wearing the signet ring. Still profiting off the blood of innocent people.” She shifted her gaze slightly, her eyes locking onto me standing behind Teresa. “And who is this?” Catherine asked coldly. “The new maid?” “She’s not a maid,” Luca said sharply, his tone hardening. “She’s the reason Marcus is in federal custody right now.” Catherine let out a bitter laugh. “A maid took down Marcus? Don’t make me laugh.” “She did,” Teresa chimed in proudly. “More than you ever did when you ran away like a coward instead of fighting beside your husband.” Catherine flinched. The insult hit home. Her hand trembled slightly on the pistol grip. “I didn’t run away, Teresa,” Catherine hissed. “I was exiled. By him.” She pointed the gun back at Luca. Luca’s expression darkened. “What are you talking about?” Luca demanded. “I never exiled you. I searched for you for six months!” “Because you didn’t know!” Catherine shouted, tears finally spilling over her lashes. “Your father ordered the hit on me the night I found the ledger! He told Marcus to do it! And you were too blind to see your own family was tearing itself apart!” The room went dead silent. The wind howled outside the broken window. Luca stared at his wife, processing the devastating weight of her words. “My… my father?” Luca whispered. “He’s dead, Catherine. He died five years ago.” “And he took his secrets to the grave,” Catherine said, her voice shaking with rage. “Leaving you to clean up his mess while you let monsters like Marcus and Thomas run wild.” She lowered the gun just a fraction of an inch. Her eyes searched Luca’s face. Looking for the man she had loved before the blood and the bullets took over his soul. “I came back for one reason, Luca,” Catherine whispered. “To finish what I started three years ago. To burn the entire Moretti empire to the ground—once and for all.” Luca didn't flinch. He didn't raise his voice. He slowly lowered his hands and took another step closer to her. Dangerous. Unpredictable. “If you want to burn it down, Catherine,” Luca said softly. “You won’t have to do it alone.” Catherine stared at him, stunned. “What?” “I’m done with the syndicate,” Luca said, his dark eyes burning with absolute conviction. “I stayed to protect my mother. I stayed because I thought I had no choice.” He reached out, his hand hovering inches from the barrel of her gun. “Let’s burn it together.” CLIFFHANGER: Before Catherine could answer, a loud explosion rocked the western wing of the mansion, and the entire study ceiling began to rain splintered wood and choking black smoke.
