Chapter 8 - THE UNINVITED GUEST
The man standing in the gardens was Richard Bellini.
Vanessa’s father.
He was a wealthy, influential Chicago politician with deep ties to the city’s underground.
I had served him champagne at dinner parties for the last nine months. He always looked at the staff as if we were part of the upholstery.
But right now, he was looking directly at me with a chilling, knowing smile.
I backed away from the balcony railing, my heart hammering against my ribs.
How had he gotten past the security gates? Marco had locked the estate down.
I ran to the bedroom door and threw it open.
I sprinted down the hallway, my bare feet silent on the thick carpet.
I reached Luca’s study and didn't bother knocking. I pushed the heavy oak doors open.
Luca was sitting at his desk, speaking quietly with Marco.
They both looked up, surprised by my sudden entrance.
“Natalie?” Luca asked, immediately standing up, his protective instincts flaring. “What’s wrong?”
“Richard Bellini,” I gasped, pointing toward the window. “He’s in the garden. He was looking at my balcony.”
Marco frowned deeply.
“That’s impossible. I personally secured the perimeter. Nobody gets in without my clearance.”
“He’s there, Marco,” I insisted, trembling.
Luca’s face darkened.
He walked to the window, pulling the heavy curtains aside.
He looked down at the gardens.
“He’s gone,” Luca said, his voice flat.
“I swear I saw him!” I cried, terrified they wouldn't believe me.
Luca turned to me, his eyes soft but serious.
“I believe you, Natalie.”
He looked at Marco.
“Check the perimeter again. Review the cameras. Find out how he got in, and find out where he went.”
Marco nodded sharply and hurried out of the room.
Luca walked over to me.
He noticed I was shivering in the thin silk robe.
He picked up a soft cashmere throw from the sofa and gently wrapped it around my shoulders.
“Sit down,” he ordered gently, guiding me to the armchair.
I pulled the blanket tight, trying to steady my breathing.
“Why is he here, Luca? Does he know about Vanessa?”
Luca poured a small glass of water and handed it to me.
“He probably knows Vanessa was arrested by the coast guard this morning,” Luca said calmly. “She called her lawyer the minute they brought her ashore.”
I took a sip of water, my hands shaking.
“Is he coming for revenge?”
Luca sat on the edge of the desk, crossing his arms.
“Richard Bellini is a pragmatist. He doesn't do revenge unless it’s profitable. He’s here for leverage.”
“Leverage for what?”
“To get his daughter out of federal custody. And to keep the twenty million dollars he thought she was marrying into.”
Luca looked toward the door.
“He knows about the ledgers now. Vanessa would have told him everything. He thinks he can use you, or your father, to force me to hand over the money to buy Vanessa’s freedom.”
I stared at him, horrified.
“But the money belongs to your family.”
“It does,” Luca agreed. “And I have no intention of giving Richard a single dime.”
Before we could discuss it further, Marco walked back into the study.
He looked grim.
“Boss. The cameras in the east garden were looped. Someone on the inside fed a recorded feed to the security room for ten minutes.”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
“We have a rat.”
Marco nodded.
“I’m locking down the staff. Nobody leaves their quarters until I find out who it is.”
Luca looked at me.
“You aren't safe in the guest wing. Richard knows which room you’re in.”
“Where should I go?” I asked, feeling completely helpless.
“You’re staying in my quarters,” Luca said without hesitation.
I blinked.
“Your quarters? Luca, I can't—”
“It isn't a request, Natalie,” he interrupted softly but firmly. “My suite is the most secure room in this house. It has reinforced doors and bulletproof glass. You and your father will move there immediately.”
Ten minutes later, my father and I were relocated to the master wing of the mansion.
It was massive, opulent, and terrifyingly silent.
My father took the adjoining guest room, completely exhausted, and fell asleep almost instantly.
I sat on the edge of the massive king-sized bed in Luca’s room, clutching the cashmere blanket.
The events of the last twenty-four hours were catching up to me.
I had been humiliated at a party, discovered my father was alive, survived a collapsing crane, and was now hiding from a corrupt politician in a mafia boss’s bedroom.
The door opened quietly, and Luca walked in.
He had showered and changed into comfortable gray sweatpants and a dark t-shirt. He looked tired, but the severe, intimidating edge was gone.
He saw me sitting rigidly on the edge of the bed.
He walked over and sat down beside me, leaving a respectful distance between us.
“Try to relax, Natalie. You’re safe here.”
I looked at him, feeling tears prick my eyes again.
“I don't know how to relax anymore. I feel like I’m waiting for the next bomb to go off.”
Luca sighed, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
“I know the feeling. I’ve lived with it my entire life.”
He looked at me, his dark eyes vulnerable for the first time.
“When my father died, I inherited an empire built on blood and paranoia. I got engaged to Vanessa because it secured a political alliance that kept my family safe. I never loved her.”
I listened quietly, surprised he was sharing this with me.
“I hated this house,” Luca confessed, looking around the massive room. “It felt like a prison.”
He turned his head to look at me.
“But last night, when you played that melody on the piano... you brought a piece of my father back to me. A piece I thought was gone forever.”
He reached out and gently took my hand.
His thumb traced the small burn scar near my thumb—the one Vanessa had mocked.
“You aren't just a maid, Natalie. You have more courage and loyalty in this hand than Vanessa had in her entire body.”
My heart did a strange, violent flutter in my chest.
I looked into his eyes, seeing the genuine warmth and respect shining there.
“Thank you, Luca.”
He leaned closer, his gaze dropping to my lips for a fraction of a second.
The air in the room suddenly felt very thick, charged with an undeniable, electric tension.
But before he could cross the remaining distance, a loud, sharp knock echoed on the reinforced bedroom door.
Luca pulled back, instantly alert, slipping back into the role of the protector.
“Yes?” Luca called out.
Marco’s voice came through the thick wood.
“Boss. You need to see this. We found out how Richard Bellini got inside.”
Luca stood up, his jaw set.
He looked at me.
“Lock the door behind me. Do not open it for anyone but me.”
I nodded, my heart pounding again.
Luca walked out, and I threw the heavy deadbolt behind him.
I waited in silence for twenty minutes.
Finally, a soft knock came at the door.
“Natalie. It’s me,” Luca’s voice said.
I unlocked the door and pulled it open.
Luca was standing there, holding a small, familiar object in his hand.
It was a delicate, gold necklace.
A locket.
I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth.
“Where did you get that?” I whispered.
Luca looked at the locket, then at me.
His expression was filled with profound sorrow.
“We found it in the security room, Natalie.”
He held it out to me.
May you like
“It belongs to your father.”
TITLE: THE LOCKET'S BETRAYAL
