Chapter 6 - THE GUEST ROOM
The estate was eerily quiet when the sun rose.
The caterers had been sent away. The musicians were canceled.
There would be no wedding today.
Emily woke up to the smell of lavender and fresh linen.
She blinked, disoriented by the vast ceiling above her. She wasn't in her cramped servant’s quarters.
She was in the east wing. The guest suites.
She turned her head.
Leo was curled up asleep next to her, clutching his plastic dinosaur. He was safe. He was breathing softly.
Emily let out a shaky sigh and tried to sit up.
A sharp ache radiated from her bruised chest, and her bandaged leg throbbed, but she was alive.
The bedroom door clicked open.
Luca walked in.
He wasn't wearing his usual tailored suit. He wore dark slacks and a simple gray sweater. He looked exhausted, the dark circles under his eyes prominent, but his jaw was relaxed.
He carried a silver tray with tea, toast, and a small glass of orange juice.
"You're awake," he said quietly, setting the tray on the nightstand.
Emily instinctively pulled the silk sheet higher. "Mr. Moretti—"
"Luca," he corrected, sitting on the edge of the mattress. "My name is Luca."
Emily swallowed. "Luca."
He looked at Leo, then back at her. "The boy slept through the night?"
"Yes. He was exhausted." She hesitated. "Where is she?"
"Vanessa is in the hands of the commission," Luca said, his voice completely void of emotion. "She will never hurt you, or your nephew, or my mother again. Her family has been permanently neutralized."
Emily looked down at her hands. "The ledger?"
"Burned," Luca said. "In the fireplace of my study. At five o'clock this morning."
Emily’s head snapped up. "But... the leverage. Your family’s secrets."
"Were written by your father," Luca finished for her. "I brought him here last night while you were sleeping."
Emily gasped. "My dad is here?"
"He’s in the garden with my mother." Luca offered a faint, almost imperceptible smile. "They are having tea and arguing about roses. Apparently, they haven't spoken in thirty years, but they remember exactly how to annoy each other."
Tears pricked Emily’s eyes. "He lied to me my whole life."
"He protected you your whole life," Luca corrected gently. "He walked away from a fortune to make sure you and your sister grew up safe, far away from my world. He knew the risks. He accepted them."
Luca reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a small, weathered leather box.
"When your father left our employment, my father gave him something to remember us by. To remind him that if he ever needed help, our door was open."
Luca handed her the box.
Emily opened it.
Inside was a delicate gold necklace with a small, beautiful diamond pendant.
"I found it in Vanessa’s belongings at the apartment," Luca said. "She found it when she searched your things, realized who you were, and decided you were the perfect scapegoat."
Emily touched the diamond. "It’s beautiful."
"Turn it over."
She flipped the pendant. Engraved on the back in tiny, elegant script were the words: For Arthur’s girls. Always family.
Emily broke down, crying softly into her hands.
All her life, she had struggled. She had watched her father work his fingers to the bone, watched her sister die, fought to keep Leo fed and housed, terrified every time the rent was due.
She thought she was utterly alone in the world.
"You belong here, Emily," Luca said, his hand covering hers. "Your father belongs here. You will never scrub another floor. You will never worry about a doctor’s bill or a rent check again."
Emily looked at him through her tears. "I can't just take your charity, Luca. I'm a maid."
Luca leaned closer, his dark eyes intense and entirely serious.
"You are a woman who threw herself in front of a loaded gun to save a child," he said fiercely. "You are the woman who stood on a bleeding leg for four hours to protect an old mechanic. You have more honor and strength in your broken leg than anyone who attended that dinner last night."
Emily’s breath caught in her throat.
Before she could speak, a knock at the door broke the silence.
Isabella stepped in.
The formidable woman looked at Emily, then at Luca holding her hand.
"Luca," Isabella said, a rare, genuine smile touching her lips. "Frank is in the driveway. He wants to know what to do with the Rolls-Royce."
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Luca didn't look away from Emily.
"Tell him to fix the brakes," Luca said softly. "We might need it for a wedding after all."
