Chapter 3 - THE SECRET ON MAPLE STREET
The atmosphere in the room instantly shifted from emotional reunion to suffocating tension.
Luca’s hand, still clutching the onesie, froze. His eyes snapped up from the baby clothes to lock onto Emily.
"What did you just say?" Luca asked, his voice deathly still.
"The house on Maple Street," Emily said, looking bewildered. "Mom’s old brick house in Oak Park."
That house was sacred. Everyone in the Moretti organization knew it. It was the modest two-story home where Luca had lived before he became wealthy, the home where his late wife, Maria, had raised Emily until she passed away from cancer seven years ago. Luca had kept the house pristine, paying for landscapers and maintenance out of his own pocket.
Vanessa suddenly grabbed her glass off a nearby tray and took a fast, desperate sip of champagne.
"Why would you think I sold your mother's house?" Luca asked, his voice dangerously low.
"Vanessa called me last Thursday," Emily explained, pointing a trembling finger at the woman in the red gown. "She told me that after the wedding, you were streamlining your real estate portfolio. She said you sold the Maple Street property to a commercial developer, and that I had until this Friday to clear out all of Mom's old belongings."
Luca stared at Vanessa. He didn't move. He didn't blink.
"That house is not mine to sell," Luca said slowly.
Emily frowned. "What do you mean?"
Luca reached into his inner breast pocket, pulled out his leather wallet, and extracted a worn, laminated card. He slid it out and handed it to Emily. It was a property deed summary from the Cook County Registrar.
"I transferred the title of the Maple Street house to you three years ago," Luca said, his voice absolute. "It was put into a private trust under your name on your twenty-fourth birthday. No one can sell that house without your personal signature. Not even me."
Vanessa’s champagne glass slipped through her polished fingers. It shattered against the marble floor, spraying sparkling wine and sharp shards across the hem of her crimson gown.
Nobody moved to clean it up.
"Vanessa," Luca said, stepping closer to her. The sheer aura of danger surrounding him made two of his bodyguards back away slightly. "Why did you tell my daughter she had to evacuate a home she owns?"
"Luca... it was a misunderstanding," Vanessa stammered, her composure finally shattering. "I was looking over the estate planning documents with the lawyers, and I thought—"
"There is something else," Emily interrupted, reaching into her faded coat. She pulled out a crumpled sheet of legal paper. "Two men in suit trousers came to the house yesterday afternoon while I was there packing up Mom's bedroom. They had a master key. They claimed they were conducting an 'unannounced structural inspection' before demolition."
Luca snatched the paper from Emily’s hand.
His eyes scanned the document. It was a private clearance authorization form from a shell company called Apex Horizon Holdings. And at the very bottom, signed in dark blue ink above the line labeled Authorized Representative, was the signature: Vanessa Bellini.
"Apex Horizon," Luca read aloud. His face went entirely pale. "Apex is the holding company owned by the Morello family."
The room collectively gasped. The Morellos were the Morettis' fiercest rivals in North Chicago—a blood feud that had lasted twenty years.
"Dad," Emily added, her voice dropping to a whisper. "They weren't inspecting the house. They didn't even look at the foundation or the roof. They went straight to the basement."
Luca turned his head toward Emily, his dark eyes wide. "The basement?"
"They were looking at Mom’s old antique iron cabinet," Emily said. "The one with the heavy brass lock that Mom always kept the key to on her silver necklace. They brought a crowbar, Dad. They tried to force it open, but I threatened to call the police, so they left. They said they'd be back tomorrow morning to finish the job."
Luca turned slowly to face Vanessa.
The silence in the room was deafening. The thirty powerful guests sat frozen in their seats, realizing they were witnessing the sudden, violent collapse of a mob dynasty's inner circle.
Luca raised his hand toward his head security officer, a massive man named Marco standing near the door.
"Marco," Luca commanded softly.
"Yes, Boss?"
"Take four men. Lock down the Maple Street house immediately. If anyone steps onto that lawn without my express permission, put them in the river."
"Understood, Boss." Marco motioned to three heavily armed guards, and they rushed out the back exit.
May you like
Luca then turned his gaze back to Vanessa, his eyes dark, cold, and entirely devoid of love.
"And now, Vanessa," Luca said, his voice ringing across the silent room like a death sentence. "You are going to explain to me why you are working with the Morellos, and what is inside my dead wife's cabinet."
