Chapter 2 - THE SHATTERED MASK
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The breath went entirely out of the grand dining hall.
Not a single fork scraped against fine porcelain.
Twenty-eight guests sat frozen like polished stone statues under the blaze of the crystal chandeliers.
Luca Moretti did not shout, but the absolute stillness in his body was far more terrifying than any scream.
His gaze stayed locked on Ellie for three long seconds.
Then, his head slowly turned toward Vanessa Bellini.
Vanessa was shaking so violently that her diamond drop earrings clicked against her neck.
“Luca, she’s making things up,” Vanessa gasped, her voice shrill and desperate.
“You know how impressionable young children are when they get confused!”
Karen Doyle, still standing at the edge of the table in her modest gray suit, stepped forward.
Her hands were trembling as she opened her leather portfolio.
“Mr. Moretti, this child is not confused,” Karen said, her voice ringing clearly through the room.
“Miss Bellini sent me an intake file on Monday afternoon.”
Karen pulled out three crisp, typed pages bearing the official header of Chicago Child Welfare Services.
“It claims Madison Reed has a documented history of severe substance abuse and child neglect.”
My knees gave out instantly.
I would have hit the marble floor if Luca’s large, calloused hand hadn't caught my arm with unbreakable strength.
He pulled me upright, his grip steady and warm against my cold skin.
“A documented history?” Luca’s voice dropped to a lethal, vibrating rumble.
“Madison has passed every random background check and drug screen required of my private staff for eleven months.”
He reached out with his left hand, taking the documents directly from Karen.
His dark eyes scanned the lines, his jaw clenching so hard that a vein pulsed along his neck.
“This signature at the bottom,” Luca said, his tone chillingly smooth.
“It’s forged with the seal of the Cook County family court.”
He looked up from the paper, his gaze impaling his fiancée.
“Where did you get a forged judicial seal, Vanessa?”
Vanessa backed away until her spine hit the heavy oak sideboard.
“My father’s attorney handles legal filings for our foundation!” she stammered, clutching her champagne glass like a weapon.
“I was only trying to protect your public image, Luca!”
“The syndicate leaders are watching every move you make!”
“They think you’re going soft because you keep charity cases living under your roof!”
A cold, cruel sneer touched the corner of Luca’s mouth.
“You think my daughter’s laughter is a charity case?”
Vanessa blinked, tears of pure humiliation finally spilling over her mascara.
“She isn't your daughter!” Vanessa shrieked.
“She’s the daughter of a five-hundred-dollar-a-week cleaner!”
“You’re the head of the Moretti syndicate!”
“You were supposed to stand beside me on Saturday and show this city that we are royalty!”
Luca slowly set the forged papers down on the white linen tablecloth.
He didn't raise his hand.
He didn't draw the firearm concealed beneath his tailored suit jacket.
He simply reached up, took the heavy platinum-and-diamond engagement ring from his left lapel pocket, and tossed it into Vanessa’s half-empty glass of champagne.
The ring splashed down with a sharp, hollow chime.
“There will be no wedding on Saturday, Vanessa,” Luca said, each word falling like an executioner’s blade.
“And by midnight, your father will receive notice that all Bellini cargo ships are barred from the Moretti docks.”
The dining room gasped in collective horror.
To sever dock access in Chicago was to bankrupt the Bellini family overnight.
Vanessa’s face went completely bloodless.
“Luca, please! My father will kill me!”
“Then you should start running before he finds out,” Luca replied without an ounce of pity.
He raised two fingers toward the corridor.
Two armed security guards in charcoal suits immediately stepped into the doorway.
“Escort Miss Bellini to the front gates,” Luca ordered.
“She leaves with the clothes on her back and nothing else.”
“If she attempts to contact Madison, Ellie, or any member of my staff, put a bullet in her tires.”
Vanessa screamed and thrashed as the guards firmly seized her bare arms.
Her red silk dress caught on the arm of a chair as they dragged her backward across the marble.
“You’ll regret this, Luca!” she wailed into the foyer.
“You’re throwing away an empire for a maid and her bastard child!”
The heavy front doors slammed shut with a deafening thud that echoed into the rafters.
The dining room fell into an unbearable, suffocating silence.
Luca slowly turned his back on the guests, completely dismissing twenty-eight of the most powerful people in Illinois.
He looked down at Ellie, whose little hands were still clutching my apron in terror.
Then, the ruthless mob boss who had just crushed an entire crime family did something that brought tears to my eyes.
He knelt down on both knees right into the pink frosting on the floor, uncaring of his thousand-dollar trousers.
He looked Ellie straight in the eye and offered his open hand.
“Ellie,” he whispered gently.
May you like
“Nobody is taking your room.”
“And nobody will ever make you hide from your mother again.”
