Chapter 6 - The Betrayal Inside the Wedding Plans
Spring approached.
The city softened.
Flowers appeared along sidewalks.
Wedding invitations went out.
For several weeks, everything felt almost normal.
Then our wedding planner disappeared.
Not literally.
She simply stopped answering calls.
Then the venue canceled.
Then the caterer.
Then two vendors.
Within forty-eight hours, every major wedding supplier involved in our ceremony had withdrawn.
Luca investigated.
The answer led to a private consulting company owned by Arthur’s former attorney.
Someone was trying to sabotage us.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because the wedding would make our relationship permanent.”
“That still doesn’t explain why someone cares.”
He looked at me.
“It does if the marriage changes control of the company.”
My eyes widened.
“What control?”
“After my father’s death, certain shares were placed in a trust.”
“And?”
“My marriage triggers a transfer.”
“To me?”
“To us.”
That meant our enemies weren’t trying to stop a wedding.
They were trying to stop a change in corporate ownership.
The danger returned.
And this time, it was personal.
A week later, I received another anonymous letter.
Do not marry Luca.
I showed him.
He looked furious.
“I'm ending this.”
“What?”
“The wedding.”
“No.”
“They want you gone.”
“They've wanted that since Christmas.”
“I won’t risk you.”
“You don't get to make that decision alone.”
He stared.
“You could die.”
“So could you.”
Silence.
“You cannot protect me by leaving me.”
His expression softened.
“I’m afraid.”
“I know.”
“I’ve never been afraid of losing money.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“You.”
The honesty broke something inside me.
I stepped closer.
“Then stay.”
He wrapped his arms around me.
“I’ll stay.”
The next clue came from Daniel.
He had discovered that the old family trust contained a second document.
A hidden clause.
If Luca married a direct descendant of Daniel Carter, the original Moretti-Carter trust would become active.
“What does it contain?” I asked.
“Shares.”
“How many?”
Daniel looked at Luca.
“Enough to make your marriage politically and financially significant.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So our families are trying to force us together even now.”
Daniel smiled.
“Maybe not force.”
“What then?”
“Finish what they started.”
The trust wasn’t just money.
It contained evidence.
A complete record of the original fraud.
Arthur had been manipulating the foundation for decades.
Victor had been helping him.
The trust included copies of documents no one else had.
One name appeared repeatedly.
A federal judge.
A senator.
A former attorney general.
Powerful people.
Luca understood.
“This can expose all of them.”
Daniel nodded.
“But it also makes you a target.”
The following week, the FBI requested an interview.
Luca agreed.
I went with him.
The investigation became national news.
Moretti Holdings faced scrutiny.
Luca remained calm.
He testified.
He released documents.
He handed over everything.
The wedding was postponed.
Only once.
For six weeks.
Then Isabella died.
Luca held her hand when she took her final breath.
I stood beside him.
He didn’t speak for hours.
That night, he sat alone beside the Christmas tree she had decorated months earlier.
I found him there.
“I miss her.”
“I know.”
“She never got to see the wedding.”
“She saw you propose.”
He smiled faintly.
“She made me.”
“What?”
“The proposal.”
I sat beside him.
“She told me I had to stop pretending.”
He laughed.
“That sounds like her.”
We sat quietly.
Then Luca said something I would never forget.
“I spent years thinking power meant never needing anyone.”
I looked at him.
“She proved me wrong.”
May you like
He took my hand.
“Now I know power can also mean having someone beside you when everything falls apart.”
