Chapter 6 - THE VAULT
The drive back to the city was quiet, but it wasn't the suffocating silence of fear. It was the heavy, exhausted quiet of survival.
Luca didn't take us back to our suburban house. He brought us to his private penthouse in the center of downtown Chicago, a sprawling, secure fortress overlooking the city skyline.
“You can't go back to your house,” Luca explained gently as we stepped off the private elevator. “The Romanos know where it is. Until I dismantle their operation completely, you and Margaret will stay here under my personal protection.”
My mother was exhausted, leaning heavily on my arm. Luca’s private doctor met us in the living room, checking her vitals and giving her a mild sedative to help her sleep.
I tucked her into the massive, luxurious guest bed. She was asleep before her head fully hit the pillow.
I closed the door quietly and walked back out into the living room.
The floor-to-ceiling windows offered a breathtaking view of the city lights, glittering like diamonds against the dark lake.
Luca was standing by the window, a glass of amber liquid in his hand, staring out at the skyline. He had taken off his suit jacket and tie, his black dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar, revealing the edge of a dark tattoo on his chest.
He looked incredibly tired.
“You shouldn't have had to see that tonight,” Luca said quietly without turning around.
I walked over and stood beside him, looking out at the city.
“I needed to see it,” I said softly. “I needed to know the truth about him.”
Luca turned to look at me. “He wasn't a man, Rachel. He was a coward who hid behind the women in his life.”
“I know.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I just hate that my mother spent the last three years mourning someone who didn't exist.”
Luca set his glass down on a side table. He turned fully toward me, his dark eyes intense and searching.
“She isn't going to mourn him anymore,” Luca promised. “She is going to have the life she deserves. I’m setting up a trust in her name tomorrow morning. Enough to ensure she never has to touch a sewing machine again unless she wants to.”
My eyes widened. “Luca, no. You already gave her twenty thousand dollars.”
“That was for the dress,” he said firmly. “This is for everything else.”
I stepped closer to him, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of his generosity. “Why are you doing this for us? I’m just a maid.”
Luca reached out, his hand gently brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear.
“You haven't been a maid to me for a very long time, Rachel,” he murmured, his voice dropping to a low, intimate register.
My breath caught in my throat. The air between us suddenly felt charged, heavy with unspoken tension.
“What have I been?” I whispered.
Luca’s thumb grazed my cheekbone.
“You’ve been the only honest thing in my life,” he said.
Before I could process the words, the elevator dinged softly behind us.
Matteo stepped out, holding a thick manila folder. He cleared his throat awkwardly, clearly interrupting a moment.
Luca dropped his hand, taking a slight step back, his professional mask slipping back into place.
“What is it, Matteo?” Luca asked, his voice returning to its normal, commanding tone.
“Boss, we went through Carmela’s safe at the compound,” Matteo said, handing over the folder. “We found the deed to the restaurant. She transferred it to Marco Romano last week.”
Luca’s face darkened instantly.
The restaurant. The crown jewel of the Moretti family’s legitimate businesses. The place his mother had worked as a waitress for twenty years before his father finally bought it for her.
“It’s not just a restaurant,” Luca said, his jaw clenching. “My father built a private vault in the basement. It holds the family’s emergency reserves. Millions in untraceable bearer bonds.”
I gasped. “If the Romanos have the deed, they can legally walk in and claim the building.”
“They won't care about the building,” Luca said grimly. “They want the vault. And they want it tonight.”
He turned to Matteo. “Get the men ready. We’re going back to the restaurant.”
“Luca, wait,” I said, grabbing his arm. “The vault... how do you open it?”
“It requires two keys,” Luca said. “I have one. My aunt Carmela had the other. Without both, it’s a timed lock. It takes twenty-four hours to drill through the titanium.”
“Carmela didn't have her key,” Matteo interrupted quietly.
Luca frowned. “What do you mean?”
“We searched her, Boss. We searched her entire compound. The second key wasn't there.”
Luca ran a hand through his dark hair, pacing the living room. “She must have given it to Marco Romano as a show of good faith.”
“No,” I said suddenly, the realization hitting me like a physical blow.
May you like
Both men turned to look at me.
“She didn't give it to Marco Romano,” I said, my heart pounding in my chest. “She gave it to Vanessa.”
