Chapter 5 - THE MIDNIGHT AUDIT
The digital clock on the dashboard of the sleek black sedan glowed 1:15 AM as we pulled up outside the Oak Street apartment building.
The rain was starting to fall in a steady, cold drizzle over Chicago, casting shimmering reflections across the wet asphalt.
I sat in the passenger seat, staring up at the familiar brick facade of the building where my mother and I had lived for over a decade. For the last three days, a dark cloud of dread had hung over every window. The eviction notice taped to the lobby door had felt like a death sentence for my mother, whose frail health could never survive the shock of sudden displacement.
Now, looking out the window, the building looked different.
Parked across the street was a dark green legal courier van bearing the emblem of the De Luca Foundation. Two men in sharp gray suits were walking out of the lobby carrying thick cardboard boxes filled with paperwork, while a third man—the foundation's chief legal counsel—was talking earnestly on his phone by the entrance.
"They're voiding the transfer," a deep, smooth voice broke the silence beside me.
I turned my head. Nico De Luca was sitting in the driver's seat, his hands resting lightly on the steering wheel, his dark eyes fixed on the entrance of my building. He had insisted on driving me home himself, dismissing his security detail with a wave of his hand.
"You didn't have to come, Mr. De Luca—Nico," I corrected myself quickly, flushing slightly.
Nico turned his head, a faint, gentle smile touching the corners of his lips. The terrifying mob boss who had terrorized a ballroom full of elite guests an hour ago was completely gone, replaced by a quiet, attentive man.
"After the night you had, running around my mansion dodging flying champagne glasses and screaming fiancées, the least I can do is make sure your mother sleeps in her own bed," Nico said softly.
I looked down at my hands, resting in my lap. "You changed everything tonight. Not just for me, but for everyone in this building. Sloane... she really thought she was untouchable."
"People like Sloane spend their whole lives believing that money and a famous last name make them bulletproof," Nico replied, his voice turning cold for a fraction of a second before softening again. "They forget where the money actually comes from. It comes from the streets. From people like your mother. From women like Auntie Ev who carried milk crates so kids like me wouldn't starve."
He reached across the console, his warm fingers brushing against the back of my hand.
The simple touch sent a warm shiver straight down my spine. I didn't pull away.
"Rachel," Nico murmured, his gaze holding mine with an intensity that made the small car feel suddenly very warm. "When you told Sloane that Mrs. Bennett was invited... you risked your job. You knew my fiancée was ruthless, and you still stood up for an old woman you'd never met before."
"I couldn't just watch her get humiliated," I whispered, meeting his dark eyes. "My mother taught me that dignity isn't something you earn by being rich. It's something you show by how you treat people who have nothing."
Nico stared at me for a long, quiet moment. The amber streetlights filtering through the windshield cast soft shadows across his sharp jawline and the dark ink on his wrists.
"Your mother raised you right," he said quietly.
Before I could answer, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
I pulled it out. It was a text message from my mother: Rachel, sweetheart, the property manager just called. He said the eviction notice was a clerical error and our lease is renewed for ten years free of charge! Are you okay? Who did this?
I let out a shaky breath of pure relief, a tear slipping down my cheek.
"She knows," I whispered, showing Nico the screen.
May you like
Nico smiled—a genuine, breathtaking smile that transformed his face completely. "Good. Now she can sleep."
He shifted the car into park and reached for the door handle. "Come on. Let's go up and tell her in person."
