Chapter 4 - TERESA’S SECRET
Teresa refused to lie.
That made her confession worse.
Luca entered her sitting room at 9:40 that night with Emma beside him.
Teresa looked up from a crossword.
“You both look dramatic.”
Emma sat.
Luca remained standing.
“Why did you want me married before New Year’s?”
Teresa’s pencil stopped.
There.
Tiny.
Enough.
Emma saw it too.
Teresa looked at Luca.
“Who asked?”
“Carlo Vella.”
Her face hardened.
“Why were you speaking to him?”
Emma raised one hand.
“Long story involving bad stationery.”
Teresa looked back at Luca.
“Sit.”
“No.”
“Then loom. You’ve always liked it.”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
“Grandmother.”
She sighed.
“Your grandfather left one condition in the Ferraro family voting trust.”
Emma blinked.
“Voting trust?”
Luca looked at her.
“Business control.”
“Legitimate?”
“Mostly.”
Teresa continued.
“If Luca married before turning forty, certain voting rights consolidated under his branch permanently.”
Emma stared.
Luca’s birthday was January 6.
“Forty.”
“Yes.”
He went cold.
“If I remained unmarried?”
“Your uncle Dominic’s children gained expanded voting rights.”
“Why didn’t I know?”
“You did.”
“No.”
Teresa looked irritated.
“You signed trust summaries.”
Emma looked at Luca.
He almost looked embarrassed.
“You didn’t read?”
“I read.”
“Then?”
“Lawyers make language intentionally hostile.”
Teresa continued.
“It was not urgent until Dominic’s son began partnering with Russo construction interests.”
Luca understood.
Anthony Vella.
Not merely Camille’s family representative.
He was tied to Luca’s cousin’s branch.
If Luca remained unmarried past forty, internal Ferraro control shifted.
Then a Russo marriage could bind votes.
Territory.
Businesses.
Power.
Emma sat very still.
“So the dates were not matchmaking.”
Teresa looked offended.
“They were also matchmaking.”
“Comforting.”
“I wanted grandchildren.”
“Of course.”
Luca stared.
“You pushed Camille because of voting rights.”
“Partly.”
“And when you believed Emma and I were together?”
Teresa smiled faintly.
“I thought the problem solved itself.”
Emma blinked.
“By me?”
“Yes.”
“I’m a household employee.”
Teresa stared.
“And?”
Emma paused.
That was unexpected.
Teresa continued.
“The trust requires legal marriage. Not pedigree.”
Luca closed his eyes.
Emma laughed once.
“No.”
Nobody had asked anything yet.
Still no.
Luca sat finally.
“Anthony thinks if Emma disappears, I return to Camille.”
“Yes,” Teresa said.
“Or another suitable family.”
“Likely.”
Emma rubbed her forehead.
“This is the dumbest dangerous thing I’ve ever been part of.”
Teresa smiled.
“You should meet more Morettis.”
Emma looked at Luca.
“You knew none of this?”
“The deadline, no.”
“Voting shift?”
“Not in practical terms.”
Teresa sighed.
“Your father handled it.”
“My father is dead.”
“Yes.”
Another system built by older men becoming younger people’s problem.
Emma stood.
“Arrangement ends.”
Luca looked up.
She held his gaze.
“This is beyond what I agreed to.”
He nodded.
“Agreed.”
Teresa said:
“Absolutely not.”
Both turned.
She pointed her pencil.
“If you suddenly break up now, Anthony believes pressure worked.”
Emma stared.
“I do not care.”
“I do.”
“Of course.”
Teresa continued.
“If Anthony controls enough family voting shares through Dominic’s branch and Russo backing, Luca loses operational authority in several legitimate companies.”
Emma looked at Luca.
“How many?”
“Enough.”
“And criminal?”
He did not answer.
She understood.
“Worse?”
“Yes.”
Emma paced.
“This is why Camille’s date mattered.”
“Yes.”
“Marriage as corporate merger.”
“Basically.”
She looked disgusted.
Then:
“How long until birthday?”
Luca checked.
“Twenty-eight days.”
Emma laughed.
“No.”
Teresa said:
“You do enjoy that word.”
Emma ignored her.
“What happens if Luca does not marry?”
Teresa explained.
Dominic branch gets additional voting authority in Ferraro Holdings.
Anthony has been courting them.
If combined with Russo investment proxies, Luca could be challenged as executive chairman.
Not removed from the family.
But weakened.
And weakened mafia bosses attract tests.
That part Emma understood immediately.
“People could get hurt.”
Luca said nothing.
That was yes.
Emma stared at him.
“You were going to marry Camille without knowing why everyone wanted it so badly.”
“Not exactly.”
“You went on the date.”
“To stop my grandmother.”
“By hiring me to ruin it.”
“Yes.”
She laughed.
“This entire family needs therapy.”
Teresa said:
“Too expensive.”
Emma stared at her.
Teresa smiled.
“Joke.”
Not helpful.
Then Luca said:
“This does not become your problem.”
Emma turned.
“It already is.”
“I’ll end it.”
“How?”
“I handle Anthony.”
That tone.
Cold.
Mafia boss.
Emma understood what handle could mean.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“You ended the fake relationship.”
“Yes.”
“That doesn’t mean you control how I resolve family threats.”
“No. But your resolution affects whether I’m safe.”
Fair.
“What do you want?”
Emma thought.
“Can the trust be changed?”
Teresa laughed.
“Not before January.”
“Can he marry anyone?”
Luca’s expression changed.
Emma raised both hands.
“Not me.”
Teresa looked disappointed.
“Stop.”
Luca almost smiled.
Emma continued.
“What about civil marriage to someone else? Temporary?”
“That would be fraud if done solely to manipulate trust,” Teresa said.
“Of course your family lawyers thought of that.”
Luca looked at Emma.
“You’re free.”
The sentence was simple.
Something about it hurt her unexpectedly.
He meant safe.
Released.
No debt.
No pressure.
Exactly what she requested.
Still.
She nodded.
“Good.”
Teresa looked between them.
Something softened in her expression.
Then Emma’s phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
Photo.
Her mother leaving her sister’s apartment.
Emma stopped breathing.
Message:
ONE MONTH IS LONG ENOUGH TO BECOME FAMILY.
Luca saw.
Everything in him changed.
“Enough.”
Emma’s hands shook.
“My mother.”
“She’s secure?”
“I thought.”
Nico was already calling.
Safe.
Her mother had noticed nothing.
Photo taken from distance.
Earlier.
Still.
The message meant surveillance continued.
Emma looked at Luca.
“This isn’t about fake romance anymore.”
“No.”
Anthony wanted leverage.
Maybe marriage pressure.
Maybe more.
Teresa’s face had gone pale.
“This is my fault.”
Emma surprised herself.
“No.”
Teresa looked at her.
“You started dates.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t order surveillance.”
Silence.
Emma turned to Luca.
“I’m not leaving.”
His jaw tightened.
“Emma.”
“If I run now, Anthony knows family threats work.”
“This is not pride.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“It’s strategy.”
That got his attention.
“You said men like him test weakness.”
“Yes.”
“Then stop acting like I’m the weakness.”
Silence.
Luca looked at her.
Really looked.
She continued.
“I am not saying keep pretending we’re together for romance.”
“What are you saying?”
“Use the lie until we know what Anthony is actually doing.”
Teresa almost smiled.
Emma pointed at her.
“Do not.”
Teresa became innocent.
Luca said:
“Too dangerous.”
“Then reduce danger.”
“How?”
“Real security. My mother stays somewhere undisclosed. My sister too.”
“Yes.”
“I work at the hotel, not residence.”
“Yes.”
“And I learn everything relevant.”
Luca frowned.
“Everything?”
“If my name is being used in family politics, yes.”
“That includes things you may not want to know.”
“Then you should have thought of that before turning me into your imaginary girlfriend.”
Fair.
He exhaled.
“Agreed.”
Emma nodded.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“No touching without warning.”
He almost laughed.
“Still?”
“Especially now.”
Then Teresa said quietly:
“Emma.”
She looked.
“I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For thinking Luca choosing you would solve a family problem.”
Emma waited.
Teresa continued.
“You are not a solution to a trust.”
That mattered.
Emma nodded.
“Thank you.”
Then Teresa smiled.
“You would still be excellent for him.”
Emma closed her eyes.
“Almost made it.”
Luca laughed.
Actually laughed.
For the first time that night.
Then his phone rang.
Nico.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We checked Anthony’s recent meetings.”
“And?”
“He met Dominic twice.”
Expected.
“And Camille?”
“No.”
Interesting.
“Who?”
A pause.
Then:
“Emma’s hotel general manager.”
Emma froze.
“Adrian?”
Luca’s face went cold.
“When?”
“Three times in two weeks.”
Emma stared.
Her professional rotation.
The place she thought separate from family politics.
Adrian Cole.
General manager.
The man who had praised her work.
May you like
Had been meeting Anthony Vella.
And suddenly Emma’s hospitality career itself looked like another door someone might be using.
