Chapter 3 - THE LEDGER
Luca’s thumb ran over the faded ink on the back of the photograph.
“Debt paid in blood,” he read aloud, translating the Italian perfectly. He didn’t need me for that phrase. The men in his world learned those words early.
He slowly raised his eyes to Richard Bellini.
“You knew my father,” Luca stated. It wasn’t a question.
Richard took a step back, hitting the edge of the dining table. The crystal glasses clinked together. “It was a long time ago, Luca. Business. Just business.”
“Business?” Michael shouted, finally finding his voice. He stood up, knocking his chair backward. “You burned down his life’s work! You burned him!”
“I didn’t light the match!” Richard snapped, panicking. “I only held the mortgage. Your father was drowning in debt. He came to me for a loan.”
Vanessa rushed forward, grabbing Luca’s arm. “Luca, please. My father is an old man. Whatever happened back then has nothing to do with us. We’re getting married. We’re merging our families!”
Luca looked down at Vanessa’s hand on his sleeve. He looked at it as if she were a venomous snake.
“Take your hand off me,” he said quietly.
She flinched and let go.
Luca turned to Mr. Vitale. “Carlo. Did you know about this?”
I watched Carlo closely. The Roman businessman shook his head, his face grim. He spoke directly to me in Italian, bypassing the others entirely.
“Signor Vitale says he knew nothing of a fire,” I translated, my voice carrying over the silent guests. “He was told the restaurant was abandoned. He says Vanessa provided him with a clean deed to the land yesterday.”
Luca’s head snapped toward Vanessa. “A clean deed? The deed is in a safety deposit box at my bank. I have the only key.”
Vanessa’s lips trembled. “Luca, I was trying to help. The taxes on that lot are astronomical. Carlo was offering millions—”
“Where is the deed, Vanessa?” Luca’s voice was like ice.
She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, a heavy, violent pounding echoed from the locked dining room doors.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The guests gasped. Several women screamed softly.
“Open the door, Mr. Moretti!” a muffled voice yelled from the hallway. It was one of the men Vanessa had hired. “We’re here for Michael!”
Michael backed away, pressing himself against the wall. “Luca, don’t let them in.”
“I won’t,” Luca said.
But Richard Bellini pulled a heavy iron fireplace poker from the hearth. He didn’t point it at Luca. He pointed it at me.
“Open the doors, girl,” Richard ordered, his hands shaking. “Or I swear to God—”
Luca moved faster than I thought a man in a tailored suit could move. In one fluid motion, he stepped between me and Richard, grabbed the poker, and twisted it out of the older man’s grip. It clattered loudly to the hardwood floor.
“Don’t you ever threaten anyone in my house,” Luca snarled.
He grabbed Richard by the collar of his expensive jacket, shoving him back against the stone fireplace.
“Where is the deed?” Luca demanded.
Richard gasped for air. “Vanessa… Vanessa has it.”
All eyes turned to the fiancée in the red dress. She was backing away toward the windows.
“I don’t have it on me!” she cried.
But I had been washing her clothes for eleven months. I knew her habits. I knew she always carried a small, velvet evening bag to dinners, one she never let the staff touch.
“It’s in her purse,” I said aloud.
Vanessa glared at me with pure hatred. “Shut up, you filthy little—”
Luca didn’t wait. He walked over to her chair, picked up the beaded red purse, and unclasped it. He dumped the contents onto the table. Lipstick, a compact mirror, a set of keys, and a small, leather-bound notebook fell out.
It wasn't just a deed. It was a ledger.
Luca opened the small book. His eyes scanned the pages, and the anger on his face morphed into absolute shock.
“This isn’t just about the restaurant,” Luca whispered.
May you like
He looked at Vanessa, his expression completely broken.
“You’ve been bankrupt for two years. You’re stealing my entire estate.”
