Chapter 5 - Blood, Vows, and Unmasking the PastBy nine o'clock the following morning, the estate had been completely restored to its pristine condition. The marble floor was scrubbed clean, the shattered glass replaced, and the storm outside had given way to a brilliant, crisp blue sky.
Three black SUVs pulled into the courtyard of the Moretti estate in downtown Palermo.
Enzo Moretti—a fat, greedy man in his late fifties—sat in his lavish leather armchair in his private study, sipping espresso while waiting for Gino’s confirmation call.
Instead, the double doors of his study were kicked off their hinges with a thunderous smash.
Luca Ferraro stepped into the room.
Behind him walked ten heavily armed Ferraro enforcers, holding Enzo’s personal bodyguards at gunpoint on the floor outside.
Enzo leaped out of his chair, dropping his espresso cup, which shattered on the hardwood floor. "Ferraro?! What... what is the meaning of this insolence?! You dare breach my private residence?!"
Luca walked slowly toward Enzo’s desk, taking off his black leather gloves finger by finger.
"Gino is dead," Luca said plainly. "Along with the seven men you sent to my estate last night."
Enzo went white as a sheet, his fat hands trembling against his desk. "Luca... listen to me! That girl... Maya... she belongs to the Moretti family! She stole money from us! She—"
"She stole nothing," Luca said, resting his hands on the edge of Enzo’s desk, leaning forward until their faces were inches apart. "Julian left that money to his daughter. You tried to murder an innocent child for forty million dollars."
"It's business!" Enzo shrieked, backing away toward the window. "Syndicate business! You have no right to interfere in Moretti family affairs!"
"I have every right," Luca said softly. "Because as of five o'clock this morning, the Ferraro syndicate has acquired all Moretti debt holdings, real estate assets, and commercial shipping lines."
Luca tossed a thick legal document onto the desk.
"You are bankrupt, Enzo," Luca continued. "Your board of captains has already sworn allegiance to me. You have one hour to sign those transfer papers and get on a plane to South America. If you ever set foot on Italian soil again, I will hunt you down myself."
Enzo stared at the documents, then at the terrifying man standing before him. He realized with sickening certainty that he had lost everything. His power, his money, his empire—destroyed in a single night because he had dared to target a maid hiding in Luca Ferraro’s house.
With a trembling hand, Enzo picked up a pen and signed the papers.
Three hours later, Luca returned to his estate.
He walked up to the second-floor master suite and pushed the door open softly.
Maya was sitting by the sunlit window, holding a book, while Nora played happily on the rug with a brand-new wooden dollhouse that Marco had delivered earlier that morning.
When Nora saw Luca, her face lit up with pure joy. She dropped her toys, scrambled to her feet, and ran across the room, wrapping her small arms around his leg.
"Mr. Luca!" she cheered.
Luca smiled—a real, genuine smile that transformed his harsh, scarred face into something warm and wonderfully handsome. He reached down, picking her up and tossing her gently into the air, making her giggle with delight.
Maya stood up from her chair, watching them with tears in her eyes.
"Is it over?" she asked softly.
"Enzo is gone," Luca said, holding Nora securely against his chest as he walked over to Maya. "He signed over his entire empire. The Moretti family is no more. You and Nora are free, Maya. Forever."
Maya covered her mouth, a long, trembling sob escaping her lips. The three-year nightmare of fear, running, hiding, and starving in dark rooms had finally vanished into thin air.
"I don't know how to thank you," Maya wept, looking at him with overwhelming affection and reverence. "I have nothing to give you..."
Luca stepped closer, his dark eyes fixing onto hers with an intensity that made her breath catch in her throat.
"You don't need to give me anything," Luca said softly. "You and Nora gave this cold house a heart yesterday. I am not letting you leave."
May you like
Maya blinked, her heart hammering in her chest. "What... what do you mean?"
"I mean," Luca said, his voice dropping into a tender, fierce murmur, "that I want you to stay here. Not as my maid. As my family. As my wife."
