Chapter 13 - THE SEVERING OF TIES
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I stepped forward into the warm sunlight streaming across the hospital room floor.
Luca looked at me with deep, sincere respect that made my heart swell with pride.
“When I asked you to be my father’s caregiver, I never imagined you would face danger for this family,” Luca said.
“Most people would have kept quiet, Claire; they would have ignored those letters to protect their own paycheck.”
“Your father was dying of a broken heart, Mr. Moretti,” I answered with complete honesty.
“I could see the pain in his eyes every single day, and I couldn't live with myself knowing the truth was locked in a drawer.”
Frank reached out and took my hand, pulling me closer so he could look into my eyes.
“You saved my brother’s life, Claire,” Frank said, his voice thick with genuine emotion.
“And you saved my soul from dying in bitter regret.”
“From this day forward, you are not our employee; you are my daughter.”
Before I could answer, the door swung open again, and two armed guards entered, escorting a disheveled figure.
It was Vanessa, handcuffed and flanked by federal marshals who had granted Luca five minutes before processing her.
Her designer clothes were wrinkled, her makeup completely gone, and her eyes swollen from hours of sobbing in the dark.
She looked at Luca with desperate, pleading eyes, taking a tentative step toward him.
“Luca... please,” she whimpered, her voice raspy and broken.
“My father forced me into everything, you know he controls everyone in our family!”
“I loved you, Luca! I swear to God I loved being your wife!”
Luca didn't move an inch; his expression remained as cold and unyielding as a marble statue.
“You never loved anyone but yourself, Vanessa,” Luca stated with absolute, cutting finality.
He picked up a pen and signed the documents his attorney placed on the small side table.
“These are the annulment papers based on fraudulent identity and conspiracy,” Luca told her coldly.
“You will not receive a single dollar, a single car, or a single piece of jewelry from the Moretti estate.”
“You are leaving this room with the clothes on your back and a twenty-year federal prison sentence.”
Vanessa’s eyes flashed with sudden, desperate venom as she turned her gaze toward me.
“You ruined my life, you filthy little servant!” Vanessa screamed, lunging toward me with clawed fingers.
The federal marshals grabbed her arms instantly, slamming her against the doorframe to restrain her.
Luca stepped between us with frightening speed, his towering presence casting a dark shadow over his former wife.
“If you ever look at Claire again, Vanessa, I will ensure your prison sentence is served in solitary confinement,” Luca warned.
His voice was so chilling that Vanessa instantly went limp, trembling in pure terror.
“Get her out of my sight,” Luca commanded the marshals.
Vanessa was dragged backward out of the room, her pathetic sobs fading down the long hospital corridor until absolute silence returned.
Anthony looked at his nephew with profound admiration.
“A man who protects his house is a man of honor, Luca,” Anthony said softly.
Luca exhaled a long breath, watching the door close, feeling the poison finally purged from his family's life.
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“Now,” Luca said, turning back toward his father and uncle with a renewed light in his eyes.
“Let’s talk about rebuilding Taylor Street.”
