Chapter 11 - THE TRAITOR IN THE MASTER SUITE
The phone slipped slightly against my ear as the blood roared in my head.
A partner inside the house. Standing in the room with you right now.
I slowly turned around.
The only person in the master bedroom with me was Luca.
Luca, who was currently staring at me with a concerned frown, stepping closer. "Hannah? Who is on the phone?"
"It's... a telemarketer," I lied, my voice cracking as I hung up the phone and slipped it into my pocket.
My mind was a chaotic blur. Rosa was telling me Luca was involved in my parents' death. Luca, who had just promised me peace. Luca, who had fought a war to protect my little brother.
It didn't make sense. Ten years ago, Luca would have been in his early twenties, completely devoted to his father’s empire. Would he have ordered a hit to protect the family secret?
"You're pale," Luca noted, reaching out to touch my arm.
I flinched, stepping backward out of his reach.
Luca’s hand dropped. His dark eyes widened, hurt and confused. "Hannah, what's wrong?"
"Did you know?" I blurted out, the words tearing from my throat before I could stop them. "Ten years ago. When Arthur Vance burned my parents' apartment. Did you know about it?"
Luca went completely rigid. The color drained from his handsome face.
"Who told you that?" Luca whispered, his voice dangerously low.
"Rosa just called me," I cried, tears welling up. "She said you were Arthur's partner. Tell me she's lying, Luca. Please tell me she's lying!"
Luca stared at me. He didn't deny it. He didn't shout. He just looked at me with a profound, agonizing sorrow that broke my heart into a million pieces.
"I didn't order the fire, Hannah," Luca said heavily, his voice breaking. "I swear to God, I didn't know they were going to kill anyone."
My knees buckled. I grabbed the edge of the dresser to keep from collapsing.
"But you were involved," I choked out.
"My father told me there was a security breach," Luca confessed, tears shining in his dark eyes. "He said an accountant was trying to extort the family over a secret adoption. He told me to go to the apartment and recover the documents before they could be leaked."
Luca took a step toward me, his hands raised in surrender.
"I was twenty-three, Hannah. I followed orders blindly. I went to the apartment. I broke in and stole the lockbox containing the adoption papers."
He looked down at the wooden box sitting on the bed.
"That box," Luca realized, the horrific truth dawning on him. "I didn't know it was your mother's personal box. I just grabbed the only locked box I found in the bedroom."
"And then you left," I sobbed, the betrayal ripping through my chest.
"I left," Luca nodded, a single tear spilling down his cheek. "And an hour later, Arthur Vance’s men arrived. They burned the building to cover up the theft. They killed your parents to ensure there were no witnesses."
He fell to his knees in front of me, burying his face in his hands.
"When I found out what happened... when I saw the news the next morning... it broke me, Hannah. It was the moment I realized my father was a monster. It was the moment I started secretly planning to tear the syndicate apart."
I stared down at the man kneeling on the floor. The powerful mafia boss, broken and weeping at my feet.
"You stole the box," I whispered. "That's why Vanessa found it in the back of your closet. She didn't steal it from my parents. You did."
"I have carried the guilt of that night every single day of my life," Luca wept, looking up at me with desperate, pleading eyes. "When Arthur Vance tried to kill you a month ago... when I found out who you were... I swore I would spend the rest of my life protecting you. Making it right."
I covered my mouth, sobbing uncontrollably.
He didn't pull the trigger. He didn't light the match. But his blind obedience to his father had set the stage for my greatest tragedy.
"I can't do this," I gasped, backing away toward the door.
"Hannah, please," Luca begged, reaching out a trembling hand. "I love you. I will give you everything. I will give you the entire empire."
"I don't want your empire, Luca," I cried. "I just wanted my family."
I turned and ran out of the master suite.
I didn't pack a bag. I ran straight down the hallway to Leo's room.
The ten-year-old was sitting on the floor, playing with a toy car. He looked up, his smile fading instantly when he saw my tear-streaked face.
"Hannah? What's wrong?" Leo asked, dropping the toy.
"We have to go, buddy," I said, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the door. "Right now."
We hurried down the grand staircase, bursting through the front doors into the cool evening air.
Daniel was standing near the front gate, talking to a guard. He saw me running with Leo and immediately jogged over, looking concerned.
"Hannah, where are you going? Did something happen?" Daniel asked, reaching for his radio.
"Let us out, Daniel," I demanded, my voice shaking but firm.
"I can't do that without Luca's permission," Daniel said softly, stepping in front of the gate controls.
"Let them go, Daniel."
We all turned.
Luca stood on the front steps of the mansion. He looked utterly defeated. His hands were shoved in his pockets, his dark eyes filled with a hollow, resigned grief.
"Boss, are you sure?" Daniel asked, hesitating.
"Open the gates," Luca ordered quietly. He didn't look at me. He couldn't.
The heavy iron gates slowly groaned open, revealing the quiet, tree-lined street beyond the estate.
I held Leo's hand tightly. I didn't look back as we walked out of the compound and into the fading sunlight.
We walked for three blocks until we reached a busy intersection. I hailed a cab, giving the driver the address of my sister Maya’s small apartment across the city.
As the cab pulled away, leaving the opulent, violent world of the Moretti family behind, Leo rested his head against my shoulder.
"Are we ever going back, Hannah?" Leo asked softly.
I looked down at the little boy I had protected my entire life. The boy whose very existence had caused so much bloodshed.
"No, sweetie," I whispered, kissing the top of his head. "We're going to start over. For real this time."
But as I looked out the window at the passing city lights, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
I pulled it out.
It was a text message from an unknown number.
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You should have stayed inside the gates, Hannah. The Russians never forget a debt.
TITLE: The Ambush In The Rainy Street
