Chapter 5 - Bloodlines Severed
Alberto Bellini slammed both hands onto the table.
"You arrogant son of a bitch!" the old man roared, his facade of aristocratic dignity collapsing.
"You think you can cast the Bellini family out like common beggars?"
"We made you, Luca!"
"My father gave your father his first three warehouses in Calumet Harbor!"
"Your father is dead, Alberto," Luca replied, his voice dead and cold.
"And if you don't take your daughter and leave my property, you will join him before sunrise."
Alberto's hand twitched toward his left armpit.
Before his fingers could even touch the lapel of his dinner jacket, the metallic sound of four slides chambering rounds rang out from the perimeter.
Daniel and three Moretti soldiers stood with their weapons drawn, sights locked onto the back of Alberto's head.
"I wouldn't," Daniel muttered, his finger resting lightly on the trigger.
Alberto's face shifted from purple rage to sickly gray defeat.
He slowly withdrew his empty hand, raising both palms in the air.
Vanessa began to weep hysterically, tears cutting black trenches through her mascara.
"Luca, please! I love you! I did this for us!"
"You did this for a ledger, Vanessa," Luca said without looking at her.
"Get her out of my sight."
Daniel stepped forward, gripping Vanessa by the upper arm and hauling her away from the table.
She fought him, kicking her heels against the hardwood, screaming profanities that shocked the elderly guests into petrified silence.
Alberto followed them, his shoulders hunched, his eyes burning with murderous intent as he passed Luca.
"This isn't over, Moretti," Alberto spat under his breath.
"You just declared war on every family south of Roosevelt Road."
"Then make sure you bring more men than you brought tonight," Luca answered.
The double doors slammed shut behind the disgraced Bellinis.
The dining room was left in a state of absolute ruin.
Half-eaten food grew cold on china plates.
The elite of Chicago sat with their hands on the table, terrified that any sudden movement would invite a bullet.
Luca turned to face the remaining guests.
His posture was straight, his voice calm, as if he were concluding a standard business briefing.
"The dinner has concluded."
"My security detail will escort each of you to your vehicles."
"I trust that what transpired in this room tonight will remain within these walls."
He paused, letting his gaze rest on the city judge.
"If a single word of this reaches the press or the district attorney's desk,"
"I will assume it came from someone sitting at this table."
"And I will respond accordingly."
The judge nodded vigorously, his collar soaked in sweat.
Within ten minutes, the grand dining hall was completely empty of guests.
The silence that settled over the estate was immense, broken only by the ticking of the grandfather clock.
Luca walked over to where Lauren was sitting.
She had collapsed back into the armchair, her face white from the agony in her leg.
Beside her, Hannah stood clutching her duffel bag, looking around the massive room like a lost child.
"Dr. Harris," Luca called out softly.
The physician emerged from the corridor carrying a medical bag.
"Take Miss Walsh to the east wing," Luca ordered.
"I want a complete prenatal evaluation."
"Ensure she has food, vitamins, and anything else she requires."
Hannah looked at Luca, her chin quivering.
"Mr. Moretti... what happens to me now?"
Luca reached out and gently squeezed her trembling shoulder.
"You will stay here until your child is born safely."
"You will have the best doctors in the country."
"And when you are ready, you will be given a home and an education fund in any state you choose."
"No one will ever threaten you again."
Hannah broke down, burying her face in her hands as Dr. Harris guided her gently toward the elevator.
Now, only Luca, Lauren, and Daniel remained in the vast dining room.
The air was thick with the scent of spilled wine and burned linen.
Luca crouched down in front of Lauren once more.
He looked at her ruined stocking, her heavily bandaged leg, and the dark circles under her eyes.
"You should have told me immediately, Lauren."
"I was terrified, Mr. Moretti," she whispered, her voice cracking.
"People like the Bellinis... they don't get punished."
"People like me just disappear."
"You are not disappearing," Luca said, his voice softer than she had ever heard it.
"You saved that girl's life tonight."
"And you saved this family from being dismantled from within."
Lauren swallowed hard, shifting slightly in the velvet chair.
Pain flickered across her face.
"Mr. Moretti... there's something else."
Luca frowned.
"What is it?"
Lauren reached into the deep pocket of her black servant's apron.
Her fingers closed around a small, square object.
She pulled it out and held it up to the light.
It was a sleek, black digital recording device, no larger than a key fob.
A tiny red light was still blinking faintly on the side.
"When Vanessa pushed me down in the nursery," Lauren said, her voice dropping to a whisper,
"I fell against the baseboard behind the changing table."
"My hand hit something taped underneath the molding."
"I thought it was a wire from a lamp, but when I pulled it loose, it was this."
Luca took the device from her hand.
His thumb brushed across the plastic casing.
"This is an encrypted transmitter," Luca observed, his brow furrowing.
"It was already there before Vanessa arrived today," Lauren continued.
"I heard it click on when Alberto Bellini walked into the house at six o'clock."
Luca looked down at the tiny blinking light.
A cold realization washed over him.
Vanessa was a pawn.
A vain, ambitious, greedy pawn.
She was not smart enough to orchestrate an industrial espionage tap on an encrypted frequency.
Someone else was listening to every word spoken in this house.
Someone who wasn't a Bellini.
Someone who was already inside the Moretti perimeter.
Luca stood up, his jaw set like iron as he looked at Daniel.
"Lock down the estate," Luca commanded.
"Cut all outbound internet and phone lines."
"No one leaves this compound."
May you like
He looked down at Lauren, offering her his hand.
"Come, Lauren."
