Chapter 7 - The Father Who Waited in the Shadows
My father walked through the hospital door three days later.
I couldn't move.
He opened his arms.
I ran.
I hit him.
Then I hugged him.
Then I hit him again.
He laughed through tears.
“You grew up angry.”
“You disappeared.”
“I know.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother and I were both trying to stop something bigger than us.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
He looked at Luca.
“The Black Ledger was never about money.”
“Then what?”
“Control.”
He explained.
The network had been created to control the ports around Europe.
Whoever controlled shipping controlled billions.
Victor Moretti and Daniel Bennett had once worked together.
Then Isabel Moretti joined them.
She betrayed them.
Years later, Stefano inherited the operation.
My mother tried to destroy it.
My father tried to expose it.
Both failed.
And Luca's father tried to protect them.
“Then why did you arrange the marriage?” I asked.
My father smiled.
“Because I knew Luca.”
I looked at my husband.
“You trusted him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He is the only man I know who would lose everything rather than own someone.”
Luca looked away.
My father laughed softly.
“He's uncomfortable with compliments.”
“Very,” I said.
The family reunited.
My mother surrendered.
She agreed to testify.
The legal case began.
But the ledger contained one final problem.
A clause.
If the Moretti family lost control of the legitimate companies, Stefano's successors could claim them.
The only legal safeguard was marriage.
Mine and Luca's.
I stared.
“So the marriage actually protects both families.”
“Yes,” my father said.
I looked at Luca.
“What happens if we divorce?”
“The companies fracture.”
“And people fight.”
“Exactly.”
I sighed.
“So we're stuck.”
Luca smiled.
“Are you unhappy?”
I looked at him.
“No.”
“Good.”
Our relationship changed after that.
We stopped pretending.
There was no contract between us emotionally.
No question of debt.
No obligation.
He wanted me.
I wanted him.
One evening, I found him in the pastry kitchen.
He was trying to make macarons.
They were terrible.
I stared.
“You're making macarons.”
“Yes.”
“They look like rocks.”
“I disagree.”
“You have flour on your face.”
He touched his cheek.
“You could help.”
I walked toward him.
“Do you know why you're bad at this?”
“No.”
“You're too serious.”
He looked at me.
“That is my entire personality.”
I laughed.
Then I took his hand.
“Come here.”
We baked together.
Flour went everywhere.
He accidentally broke a piping bag.
I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes.
He looked at me.
“You're happy.”
“Yes.”
“Because of me?”
“Yes.”
He kissed me.
Slowly.
Gently.
No fear.
No cameras.
No mafia.
Just us.
But happiness lasted only one night.
The next morning, my mother disappeared from custody.
A message arrived.
SHE HAS SOMETHING LUCA NEEDS.
Then another.
COME TO THE CATHEDRAL.
ALONE.
I stared at the phone.
Luca saw my face.
“What?”
“My mother.”
He stood.
“I'll go.”
“No.”
“Might be a trap.”
“It is.”
“Then why are you smiling?”
“Because they think I'll go alone.”
He looked at me.
“What are you planning?”
I smiled.
“You taught me something.”
“What?”
“People underestimate small things.”
He laughed.
Then he kissed my forehead.
May you like
“Okay, baker.”
“We're going to get your family back.”
