Chapter 8 - THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS
The folder slipped from my hands, scattering glossy photographs and typed reports across the Persian rug.
Marco.
The man who had stood faithfully by Luca’s side for over a decade. The man who had organized the security that supposedly kept this family safe. The man who had smiled at me when he handed over the deed to my mother’s house.
He was the one who paid for the hit on Caroline Moretti.
My mind raced, struggling to process the impossible betrayal. Why would Marco kill Caroline? Was he working for a rival family? Was he trying to usurp Luca?
And more importantly, did Luca know?
I stared at the open drawer. If Luca had commissioned this investigation, he must have seen this photograph. But Marco was still here. Marco was still the head of security. Marco was the one currently coordinating the guards standing outside Lily’s bedroom door.
Panic, cold and sharp, pierced my chest.
Lily.
If Marco had killed Caroline to eliminate an heir or destabilize the family, then Lily—the secret daughter who had just miraculously returned to claim her place—was in massive danger.
I dropped to my knees, frantically gathering the scattered papers and shoving them back into the folder. I had to warn Luca. I had to get Lily out of the house.
As I reached for the final photograph, the heavy oak doors of the study clicked open.
I froze, still on my knees, the file clutched to my chest.
"You always were too observant, Anna."
The deep, gravelly voice sent a jolt of pure terror through my spine.
I looked up.
Marco stood in the doorway, blocking the only exit. He wasn't wearing his usual relaxed expression. His face was a mask of cold, calculating stone, and his right hand rested casually on the grip of the pistol holstered at his hip.
"Marco," I stammered, my heart hammering violently against my ribs. "I... I was just organizing the files."
"Don't insult my intelligence," Marco said, stepping into the room and pushing the heavy doors shut behind him with a soft click. "I saw you find the key on the security cameras. You couldn't just leave well enough alone, could you?"
I slowly stood up, backing away until my hips hit the edge of Luca’s mahogany desk. "You killed her. You paid that man in the alley to cut Caroline’s brake lines."
Marco didn't deny it. He walked slowly toward me, his heavy boots making no sound on the thick rug. "Caroline was a liability. She was soft. She wanted Luca to leave the life, to go legitimate. She was whispering in his ear, making him weak. This family was built on blood and fear, Anna. If Luca went soft, the rival families would have torn us apart. I did what I had to do to protect the empire."
"By murdering an innocent woman?" I hissed, anger momentarily overriding my fear. "By leaving a two-year-old child to be hunted by Vanessa?"
"Vanessa was an unintended complication," Marco grunted, waving a dismissive hand. "I didn't know about the baby. If I had known, I would have handled that problem seven years ago."
The casual way he spoke about murdering a child made my stomach churn.
"Does Luca know?" I asked, my voice trembling. "Does he know it was you in that photograph?"
Marco chuckled—a dry, humorless sound. "Luca is a smart man, but he’s blinded by loyalty. I intercepted the private investigator before he delivered this final file to Luca. I buried the investigator in a shallow grave in Wisconsin, and I locked the file in this desk, waiting for the right time to burn it. Unfortunately, you found the backup key Mrs. Carter kept hidden."
My breath hitched. Mrs. Carter. She hadn't just been covering for Vanessa; she had known Marco’s secret too. The entire senior staff of this house had been a nest of vipers.
"What are you going to do?" I asked, my eyes darting toward the heavy brass paperweight resting on the desk near my hand.
Marco followed my gaze. He smiled, drawing his pistol with terrifying speed and leveling it directly at my chest.
"I’m going to clean up another mess," Marco stated coldly. "You’re going to suffer a tragic fall down the cellar stairs, Anna. A terrible accident. Such a shame for the new Estate Manager."
"Luca will never believe that," I said, my voice rising, hoping the guards in the hallway would hear me.
"Luca will believe whatever I tell him," Marco sneered. "He trusts me more than anyone."
"Not anymore."
The voice came from the shadows near the heavy velvet curtains covering the far window.
Marco spun around, raising his weapon, but he wasn't fast enough.
A suppressed gunshot thwipped through the quiet study.
Marco screamed, dropping his pistol as a bullet shattered his right kneecap. He collapsed heavily onto the Persian rug, clutching his ruined leg, blood pooling rapidly on the antique wool.
I gasped, pressing my hands against my mouth in shock.
Stepping out from behind the velvet curtains, holding a smoking, suppressed handgun, was Luca Moretti.
His face was a mask of absolute, terrifying fury.
"You didn't go to the city," I breathed, staring at him.
"No," Luca said, his eyes never leaving Marco bleeding on the floor. "I came back early through the private garage. I was standing in the alcove behind the curtains when you found the key, Anna. I was waiting to see what you would do."
He walked slowly toward Marco, his polished shoes stopping inches from the man who had been his right hand for a decade.
"You killed my wife," Luca whispered, his voice trembling with a rage so profound it seemed to suck the air out of the room. "You killed the woman I loved because you thought she made me weak."
Marco groaned, spitting blood onto the rug. "I saved you, Luca. You were going soft. You were going to let the empire crumble!"
"The empire is nothing without family," Luca roared, kicking Marco brutally in the ribs.
Marco choked, curling into a ball of agony.
Luca raised his weapon, aiming it directly at Marco’s head. His finger tightened on the trigger. His eyes were wild, consumed by vengeance.
"Luca, stop!" I yelled, stepping forward, my hand outstretched.
Luca froze, his eyes darting to me. "He killed Caroline, Anna. He deserves to die."
"He does," I agreed, my voice steady and urgent. "But if you pull that trigger, you are exactly the monster Caroline feared you were. You are the monster that sent her running into the night with a two-year-old child."
Luca stared at me, the words hitting him like physical blows.
"Lily is upstairs right now," I pleaded, taking another step closer. "She is finally starting to trust you. She is finally starting to feel safe in this house. If she hears a gunshot, if she finds out her father executed a man in his study... you will lose her forever."
Luca’s breathing was ragged. He looked from me to Marco, the internal battle warring on his face. The mafia boss who demanded blood for blood fought against the father who desperately wanted to be a good man for his daughter.
Slowly, agonizingly, Luca lowered the gun.
May you like
He looked at Marco with absolute disgust.
"Call the police, Anna," Luca said, his voice cold and hollow. "Tell them we have a confession for the murder of Caroline Moretti. And tell them to bring an ambulance for the garbage on my floor."
