Chapter 4 - The Reckoning at the Estate
By sunrise, the rain had cleared over the city, leaving behind a crisp, golden morning sky.
The fall of the Rossi syndicate and the arrest of Vanessa’s co-conspirators made front-page news across the state within hours. The media reported that a high-level corporate espionage plot against Moretti Enterprises had been uncovered and dismantled by federal authorities, with all dock titles permanently secured under Luca Moretti’s sole, undisputed ownership.
Inside the grand mansion, the mood was quiet, solemn, and transformed.
Vanessa had been escorted off the property by security three hours earlier, allowed to take only the clothes on her back, her high-society status completely destroyed forever.
I stood in the vast, sunlit kitchen, wearing my plain work clothes, preparing a fresh tray of coffee and light pastries. My hands were steady now, the heavy weight of terror finally lifted from my shoulders.
Footsteps echoed softly on the marble floor.
I turned around to see Luca standing in the doorway. He had showered, dressed in a sharp charcoal suit without a tie, his dark hair still damp. He looked remarkably relaxed, a subtle sense of peace resting on his handsome face.
“You don't need to make coffee for the house anymore, Olivia,” Luca said softly, walking into the kitchen and stopping near my table.
I blinked in confusion, setting the coffee pot down. “Am I... am I fired, Don Luca?”
Luca let out a low, warm laugh—a beautiful sound I had never heard in the two years I had worked in his house. He walked right up to me, reaching out to gently wrap his hands around mine.
“You are never working as a domestic servant in this house again, Olivia,” Luca declared, his gray eyes shining with an intense, overwhelming warmth.
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a thick, official legal document bearing the gold seal of the State Supreme Court.
“What is this?” I asked softly.
“It’s a full executive contract,” Luca explained, unfolding the pages. “Effective today, you are the chief operations officer of the Moretti Family Foundation—a newly funded fifty-million-dollar charitable trust dedicated to providing free healthcare, legal defense, and housing for exploited workers across the city.”
Tears of pure, overwhelming shock filled my dark eyes. I stared at the official papers bearing my name in bold black print.
“A fifty-million-dollar foundation...?” I stammered out, my voice trembling. “Luca, I... I don't know how to run a corporate foundation!”
“You have more wisdom, heart, and courage than any executive I’ve ever met,” Luca insisted, his hands gently holding my face, his thumbs wiping away a stray tear from my cheek. “And my private legal team has already arranged for your mother’s full transfer to the top private medical center in the country. Her bills are paid forever, Olivia.”
I sobbed softly, pressing my forehead against his broad chest, letting go of two years of crushing poverty, fear, and exhaustion.
Luca wrapped his broad, powerful arms securely around my waist, pulling me flush against him, holding me as if I were the most precious treasure in the world.
“There's one more thing, Olivia,” Luca whispered into my hair, his deep baritone sending a thrill straight to my heart.
I looked up into his handsome face. “What?”
Luca reached into his vest pocket, pulled out a velvet-lined jewelry box, and opened it in front of me.
Inside lay a breathtaking, flawless ten-carat oval diamond ring, glittering brilliantly under the morning sunlight.
My breath caught in my throat. “Luca...?”
“I canceled a wedding with a snake last night,” Luca spoke softly, his gray eyes searching my soul with intense, unshakeable devotion. “Because I realized that the woman I truly want to spend the rest of my life with... was standing right in front of me, taking a blow to protect my name.”
May you like
He dropped down onto one knee on the polished kitchen floor, holding the diamond ring up toward me.
“Olivia Vance,” Luca spoke, his voice thick with emotion. “Will you do me the absolute honor of becoming my wife, my partner, and the undisputed Queen of the Moretti family?”
