Chapter 10 - The Den of Lions
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That evening, the family doctor arrived at the estate to clean and butterfly-stitch the cut on my cheekbone.
Ethan refused to leave my side, sitting on the edge of the examination bed and holding a cold compress against my hand.
Luca stood in the corner of the room with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes never leaving my face.
After the doctor packed his instruments and departed, Luca sent Ethan upstairs with Mrs. Carter to have hot cocoa.
The heavy silence settled between us, broken only by the crackle of the fireplace.
"You should have run behind the gates, Nora," Luca said, his voice quiet and strained.
"She had armed men in that van."
"If I had run, she would have grabbed Ethan," I replied, looking directly into his stormy eyes.
"I would rather take a bullet than let that monster touch him again."
Luca closed the distance between us, stepping between my knees as I sat on the examination table.
He reached out, his long fingers gently tracing the edge of the white bandage on my cheek.
His touch sent a wave of heat through every nerve ending in my body.
"You are the bravest woman I have ever known," Luca murmured, his voice thick with emotion.
"I am just a mother's daughter trying to do what is right," I whispered, my breath catching in my throat.
"You are much more than that," Luca said, his dark eyes searching mine with overwhelming passion.
"Tomorrow night is the annual Syndicate Gala at the Drake Hotel."
"Every family boss, every senator, and every kingpin in the Midwest will be there."
"It was supposed to be the night I presented Vanessa as my future bride."
My heart gave a painful thud.
"Are you still going?"
"Yes," Luca answered, his jaw setting with iron resolve.
"Because if I stay home, the families will think the Moretti empire is wounded."
"They will think we are hiding."
He paused, his thumb lightly brushing across my lower lip.
"I want you to come with me, Nora."
I gasped, pulling back slightly in shock.
"Mr. Moretti, I can't do that!"
"I am your employee."
"The families will tear me to pieces."
"They will mock you for bringing a former maid into the den of lions."
A dark, dangerous smile touched Luca's lips.
"Let them try."
"I don't care about their bloodlines or their ancient pedigrees."
"I want the entire city to see the woman who protects my family when the wolves attack."
The following evening, the Drake Hotel was illuminated by hundreds of golden floodlights.
Paparazzi and syndicate guards lined the red carpet as luxury limousines rolled up to the grand entrance.
Inside the bridal suite of the hotel, Mrs. Carter zipped me into a bespoke emerald green velvet gown that Luca had ordered from Milan.
The dress clung to my curves with elegant grace, the deep green contrasting against my pale skin and dark hair.
A diamond pendant—delicate, sparkling, and worth more than my entire life's earnings—rested against my collarbone.
When the door opened, Luca stepped inside.
He wore a midnight-black tuxedo that made him look like a dark prince from an ancient fairy tale.
When his eyes landed on me, he stopped completely in his tracks, his breath catching audibly in his chest.
"Dio mio," Luca breathed, shaking his head in sheer wonder.
"You look... magnificent, Nora."
"I feel like Cinderella," I admitted nervously, smoothing down the heavy velvet skirt.
"And you know what happened to her at midnight."
"This isn't a fairy tale, Nora," Luca said, offering me his arm with a gentle smile.
"And I am not a prince who will let you disappear."
We descended the grand staircase into the ballroom.
The room held over four hundred of the most powerful people in the underworld.
As we entered, the string quartet continued to play, but the conversations suddenly died out.
Whispers spread like wildfire across the room.
Is that the maid?
Where is Vanessa Bellini?
He brought an orphan to the High Commission?
At the center of the ballroom stood Don Silvio Bellini, surrounded by his remaining captains.
His face was grim, his eyes burning with humiliated pride as he watched us approach.
Luca did not avoid him.
He walked directly toward the Bellini table, holding my hand firmly in the crook of his elbow.
"Silvio," Luca greeted calmly, raising his champagne glass.
Silvio stared at me, his eyes lingering on the bandage on my cheek and the emerald gown.
"Moretti," Silvio responded, his voice tight.
"I see you brought the girl who put my daughter in a federal cell."
"I brought the woman who defended my heir when your daughter acted like a rabid dog," Luca corrected, his voice cutting through the surrounding silence like a serrated blade.
"And if any man in this room has an objection to her standing beside me..."
Luca turned his head, his dark, lethal gaze sweeping across four hundred frozen guests.
"...he can step outside onto the terrace right now and discuss it with my gun."
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Silvio Bellini slowly lowered his eyes, raised his crystal glass, and nodded in bitter surrender.
"To the Moretti family," Silvio toasted quietly.
Luca turned back to me, a proud, triumphant smile on his lips.
"Dance with me, Nora," he whispered, leading me toward the center of the gilded ballroom.
As his arm slid around my waist and my hand rested on his broad shoulder, the whispering crowd vanished into the background.
May you like
I was no longer the invisible girl scrubbing floors in the dark.
Beside Luca Moretti, I had stepped into the light.
