Chapter 13 - The Echoes of the Great Hall
We walked through the silent corridors of the north wing together, the afternoon light filtering through the tall windows and casting long, golden geometric patterns across the polished parquet floors.
Every portrait of Matteo Moretti had been taken down from the gallery walls, leaving pale, clean squares of dark wood where the oppressive history of the family had hung for decades.
When we reached the massive double doors of the front foyer, Luca stopped.
He turned to face me, his slate-gray eyes reflecting the quiet dignity of the space around us.
“You’ll come back tomorrow?” Luca asked.
My heart gave a sudden, nervous flutter.
“Back… back to clean?”
“Back to work,” Luca corrected, a firm, undeniable authority returning to his voice.
“Not as a maid hiding her face in the pantry, Julia.”
“As the chief archivist of the Moretti Foundation.”
“Someone needs to translate my mother’s journals and make sure the books are balanced correctly.”
“And who better than an auditor’s daughter?”
I stared at him, the sheer impossibility of the offer washing over me in a wave of disbelief and sudden, radiant hope.
“I don't have a degree in finance yet,” I whispered.
“You have twelve months of surviving the hardest school in Chicago,” Luca replied, opening the heavy oak door for me.
“The rest we can teach you.”
I stepped out onto the stone porch.
The autumn air was crisp, clean, and smelled of wet earth and falling leaves, completely free of the sulfurous decay that had choked this estate for twelve years.
At the bottom of the steps, a sleek black sedan idled quietly, its engine humming like a well-fed predator.
I turned back to look at him one last time.
The white medical patch over my eye still ached, but as I looked into Luca Moretti’s eyes, I knew I didn't need to hide the left side of my face anymore.
“I’ll be back tomorrow at eight sharp, Mr. Moretti,” I said with a clear, steady voice.
Luca nodded slowly, leaning against the open doorway.
May you like
“I’ll hold you to that, Julia.”
“Drive safe.”
