Chapter 6 - Shadows in the Garden
Julian Moretti looked like a cheaper, slicker version of Luca.
He had the same dark Moretti hair and sharp jawline, but his eyes were smaller, shifty, and carried the perpetual smirk of a man who dealt exclusively in back-alley maneuvers and leveraged buyouts.
From the second-floor library window, I watched Julian and Victor Sterling’s attorney walk across the gravel courtyard toward Luca’s private study. Luca met them at the stone steps, looking like a king refusing entry to foreign invaders.
The conversation lasted less than ten minutes.
There was no shouting, but from the aggressive hand gestures Julian made and the cold, unyielding stance Luca maintained, it was obvious a war had begun. Julian finally laughed, slapped the attorney on the back, and turned back toward his car, pointing a finger at Luca as if to say, *This isn't over.*
By nightfall, the estate was cloaked in a tense, suffocating quiet.
Mrs. Bellini had retired early, exhausted by the day’s turmoil. Luca was locked in his study with a team of corporate lawyers, reviewing contracts, emergency bylaws, and harbor leases.
Unable to sleep, I pulled a dark woolen shawl over my shoulders and slipped out into the rose gardens behind the east wing.
The night air was crisp and smelling of damp earth and late-blooming jasmine. The moon hung high in a cloudless sky, casting silver shadows across the manicured hedge mazes and marble fountains. Walking helped dull the throbbing in my splinted hand. It also helped quiet the racing thoughts in my mind.
*Five million dollars for Lily.*
Luca had protected my family with a single stroke of a pen. But at what cost to himself?
As I turned down the gravel path toward the old stone gazebo near the edge of the property, a low murmur of voices caught my attention.
I froze.
The estate grounds were supposed to be secure, guarded by Marco’s team. But the voices were coming from inside the gazebo, half-hidden by thick ivy and climbing roses.
“…doesn't matter what Luca’s lawyers say,” a woman’s voice hissed.
Isabella.
My blood turned to ice. She wasn't supposed to be on the property.
I pressed my back against the dense boxwood hedge, holding my breath, every nerve in my body screaming at me to run. But I couldn't move.
“It matters if the board calls an emergency meeting,” a man’s voice answered.
Julian.
I leaned in slightly, peering through a small gap in the ivy leaves.
Inside the gazebo, illuminated by the pale moonlight, Isabella was standing close to Julian. She wasn't wearing her elegant dresses; she wore dark jeans, a leather jacket, and large sunglasses pushed up into her hair. Her face was twisted with bitter hatred.
“My father already controls four seats on the port authority board,” Isabella said, her voice shaking with rage. “If you can secure two more votes from the minority shareholders, you can invoke the morality clause in the family trust.”
Julian chuckled, lighting a cigarette. The tip glowed red in the darkness. “A morality clause? Because he dumped you?”
“Because he assaulted Victor Sterling at a public gala,” Isabella hissed. “My father is filing an official report tomorrow morning claiming Luca attacked him unprovoked. And we have witnesses willing to testify that Luca has been engaging in an illicit, abusive relationship with a dependent household employee.”
My heart plummeted into my stomach.
*They were going to use me to ruin him.*
“They’ll claim Luca broke the engagement because he lost his mind over a common maid,” Isabella continued, a cruel, venomous smile spreading across her lips. “The board won't risk a scandal like that while the municipal shipping contracts are up for renewal. They’ll strip him of the chairmanship and hand it to you.”
“And what do you get out of this, Isabella?” Julian asked, blowing a stream of smoke into the night air.
Isabella stepped closer to Julian, her eyes glinting with madness.
“I get fifty percent of the harbor expansion bonds,” she whispered. “And I want that little whore Emma arrested for corporate espionage. I had my father’s hacker plant Moretti confidential shipping manifests onto her personal email account three hours ago.”
A gasp nearly tore from my throat. I clamped my good hand over my mouth, my knees trembling so violently I could barely stay upright.
They were framing me.
They were going to destroy my life, frame me for corporate theft, and use that lie to strip Luca of everything his family had built for three generations.
“Smart girl,” Julian murmured, leaning down and kissing Isabella lightly on the cheek. “I always said Luca was a fool for underestimating you.”
“The board meeting is set for ten o’clock tomorrow morning,” Isabella said, stepping out of the gazebo. “Make sure your proxy votes are ready.”
Suddenly, my foot shifted on the damp grass.
A dry twig snapped beneath my shoe.
*Crack.*
The sound was like a gunshot in the silent garden.
Julian froze. Isabella whipped her head around toward the hedge where I was hiding.
“Who’s there?” Isabella hissed.
Panic surged through my veins. I didn't think; I turned and ran.
“Hey! Stop!” Julian shouted behind me.
I sprinted down the winding gravel path, the dark shawl trailing behind me like a shadow. My breath burned in my lungs. My splinted hand bounced painfully against my chest, but the adrenaline coursing through my system blocked the pain.
Footsteps pounded on the gravel behind me. Fast. Heavy.
Julian was chasing me.
“Stop running, damn it!” he yelled, his voice getting closer.
I knew the estate grounds better than Julian did. I had spent two years walking these gardens with Mrs. Bellini every afternoon. Instead of taking the main path toward the illuminated courtyard where Julian could easily tackle me, I veered sharply to the left, darting through a narrow opening in the stone wall that led to the old service cellars.
The metal gate groaned as I pushed it open. I slipped inside and slammed the heavy iron bolt into place just as Julian’s body slammed into the bars from the outside.
“Open the gate!” Julian snarled, his face pressed against the iron bars, his eyes wide and wild with fury.
He reached through the bars, his fingers clawing at the fabric of my shawl.
I yanked myself backward, tearing the fabric free, and stumbled back onto the stone steps of the service entrance.
“You’re dead, Emma!” Julian hissed through the gate, his chest heaving. “You hear me? You tell Luca one word, and I swear to God you’ll spend the next ten years in a federal prison!”
I didn't answer.
I turned and bolted up the stone stairs, through the heavy service door, and burst into the brightly lit hallways of the main house.
I didn't stop running until I reached Luca’s study.
I didn't knock.
I threw open the heavy double mahogany doors, my chest heaving, my hair disheveled, tears of terror streaming down my face.
Inside, Luca was standing behind his desk, surrounded by four lawyers in suits.
Every man in the room looked up in shock.
Luca took one look at my terrified, breathless face, and his entire expression darkened into something lethal.
“Everyone out,” Luca commanded, not taking his eyes off me.
“Mr. Moretti, we were reviewing the emergency bylaws—” one lawyer began.
“I said *out*,” Luca roared.
The lawyers scrambled, gathering their papers in frantic haste and squeezing past me into the corridor, shutting the doors behind them.
The second the doors clicked shut, my legs finally gave out.
I collapsed toward the floor.
Before I could hit the Persian carpet, Luca was there. His arms caught me, pulling me up against his broad chest, holding me with a strength that felt like the only solid thing in an unraveling world.
“Emma,” he breathed, his hands running over my hair, my shoulders, checking for injuries. “Emma, what happened? Look at me.”
I looked up into his dark, furious eyes, my teeth chattering from shock.
May you like
“Luca,” I sobbed, clutching the fabric of his sweater with my good hand. “Julian… Isabella… they’re in the garden. They’re framing me. They’re going to take everything from you.”
***
