At seven the next morning, Emma woke to the smell of coffee and the unsettling realization that someone was sitting in the chair beside her bedroom window.
She bolted upright.
Luca raised both hands.
“Before you throw something, it’s me.”
Emma stared.
“You’re in my bedroom.”
“Yes.”
“At seven in the morning.”
“Yes.”
“You have security guards.”
“Yes.”
“You have phones.”
“Yes.”
“You even own doors that people can knock on.”
A reluctant smile almost touched his mouth.
“I knocked.”
“I was asleep.”
“I noticed.”
Emma pulled the blankets higher.
Luca immediately looked toward the window instead of her.
That small act of courtesy annoyed her far less than it should have.
“What happened?” she asked.
His expression changed.
“The bait worked.”
Emma’s sleepiness disappeared.
“Already?”
“Within forty minutes.”
“Who?”
Luca did not answer immediately.
That frightened her.
“Luca.”
“Anthony DeLuca.”
Emma stared.
“No.”
Anthony had been part of Luca’s household longer than she had.
He was sixty-three, silver-haired, impeccably dressed, and somehow always smelled faintly of peppermint.
More importantly, Anthony had treated Emma kindly from her first day.
He had defended her when senior staff complained about her changes.
He had helped her negotiate with vendors.
Once, after Emma’s mother had gone into the hospital, Anthony had quietly covered her shifts without telling Luca.
“You’re wrong.”
“I wish I were.”
“What exactly happened?”
Luca explained.
Anthony had accessed plans for Lake Mercer shortly after Marco spread the false information.
Then he had placed a twelve-minute encrypted call.
Emma shook her head.
“That proves he knows about the property.”
“He had no reason to access it.”
“Maybe he heard the rumor.”
“That was the point.”
“And the call?”
“Could be anything.”
Luca studied her.
“You like him.”
“He’s been good to me.”
“That does not make him innocent.”
“It doesn’t make him guilty either.”
Luca stood.
“Which is why I have not confronted him.”
Emma frowned.
“You haven’t?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because one traitor rarely works alone.”
Emma looked toward the door.
Suddenly the mansion felt different.
Every hallway.
Every camera.
Every familiar face.
“Who else knows?”
“Marco.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Emma thought for a moment.
“Then we continue.”
Luca’s eyebrows lifted.
“We?”
“It was my trap.”
“It is my organization.”
“And somebody used me to send you a message.”
His jaw tightened.
Emma swung her legs out of bed.
“Therefore, we.”
“No.”
“Luca.”
“No.”
“You cannot lock me in my room.”
“I absolutely can.”
Emma stared at him.
Luca sighed.
“I will not.”
“Good.”
“But you are not investigating.”
“Then I’ll accidentally notice things.”
“Emma.”
She stood.
“Do you know why your household functions?”
He looked suspicious.
“Because you manage it.”
“Correct. Which means I know who talks to whom, which staff members hate each other, which drivers swap shifts, who steals expensive liquor, who’s secretly dating, and who has been lying about having a gluten allergy.”
Luca blinked.
“Someone is lying about a gluten allergy?”
“Focus.”
He almost smiled.
Then Emma became serious.
“People behave differently around you.”
“They should.”
“They’re terrified.”
“Also acceptable.”
“But they talk around me.”
Understanding entered his eyes.
Emma picked up her robe.
“If someone inside this house is feeding information to your enemies, I have a better chance of noticing than your armed men.”
Luca looked like he hated every word because he knew she was right.
“You stay within the property.”
“Agreed.”
“You do not approach Anthony alone.”
“Fine.”
“You carry this.”
He placed a small black device on the dresser.
Emma examined it.
“Panic button?”
“Press twice.”
“And then?”
“Every security officer in the building comes to you.”
“Subtle.”
“I am not interested in subtle anymore.”
Emma looked at him.
That sentence meant more than security.
Neither acknowledged it.
By nine, the mansion appeared normal.
Breakfast was served.
Staff changed shifts.
Deliveries arrived.
Anthony entered the pantry carrying invoices.
“Morning, Emma.”
She forced herself not to react.
“Morning.”
He looked at the bruise visible near her wrist.
Concern immediately crossed his face.
“What happened?”
Emma remembered Luca’s warning.
Someone had used her injuries to carry a threat.
“Clumsy night,” she said lightly. “Fell outside.”
Anthony’s eyes lingered on the bruise.
“That looks like fingers.”
Emma smiled.
“Very observant.”
His expression changed.
Only slightly.
But she saw it.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“Perfect.”
She took the invoices.
Anthony left.
Emma’s pulse quickened.
Had that been guilt?
Or was she imagining it because Luca had planted suspicion in her mind?
At lunchtime, she discovered something else.
A kitchen assistant named Rosa was crying behind the laundry room.
Emma closed the door.
“What happened?”
Rosa wiped her face.
“Nothing.”
“Try again.”
The younger woman hesitated.
“Mr. DeLuca asked questions.”
Emma’s stomach tightened.
“What questions?”
“About Friday.”
Emma kept her expression neutral.
“What about Friday?”
“He asked which staff would travel with Mr. Moretti.”
“To the charity event?”
Rosa nodded.
“And?”
“He asked whether you were going.”
Emma felt cold.
“What did you say?”
“That I didn’t know.”
“Good.”
Rosa looked frightened.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
Emma squeezed her shoulder.
“You did exactly right.”
She left the laundry room and headed immediately for Luca’s office.
Halfway there, she stopped.
Anthony was walking toward her.
“Emma.”
She smiled.
“Anthony.”
“Busy?”
“Always.”
He stepped closer.
“You should take tomorrow off.”
Emma’s smile weakened.
“Why?”
“You’ve been working too hard.”
“That’s unusually thoughtful.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Anthony looked toward Luca’s office.
Then back at her.
“Sometimes people around Mr. Moretti become involved in things they don’t understand.”
Emma’s heart began pounding.
“Is that advice?”
“It’s concern.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
She studied the man she had trusted.
“Then tell me what I should be concerned about.”
For one second, Anthony looked tired.
Not guilty.
Tired.
“Go visit your mother,” he said. “Leave Bellamont for a few days.”
“Why?”
“Because Friday may become complicated.”
Emma’s blood went cold.
“Lake Mercer?”
Anthony froze.
There.
The reaction was tiny.
But unmistakable.
Emma had never mentioned Lake Mercer to anyone except Luca.
She stepped backward.
Anthony closed his eyes.
“Emma.”
She pressed the panic button twice.
Nothing happened.
No alarm.
No footsteps.
No guards.
Anthony stared at the device.
Then quietly said, “That won’t work.”
Emma’s breathing stopped.
Behind him, the corridor door opened.
Two security officers stepped inside.
Neither looked at Anthony.
Both looked at Emma.
And suddenly she understood.
Anthony was not the only traitor.
“Don’t scream,” one guard said.
Emma ran.
She made it three steps.
A hand caught her.
She twisted and drove her elbow backward.
Someone cursed.
Emma broke free.
Then the mansion erupted.
A gunshot cracked through the corridor.
Emma dropped instinctively.
Another shot followed.
Glass shattered.
Then Luca’s voice thundered from the far end.
“GET AWAY FROM HER!”
Everyone froze.
Luca stood beside Marco, weapon raised.
The guards surrendered almost instantly.
Anthony didn’t move.
Emma remained against the wall, breathing hard.
Luca crossed the distance.
His eyes went first to her.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Only then did he look at Anthony.
And Emma saw the betrayal strike him.
Not as a mafia boss.
As a man.
“You,” Luca said.
Anthony’s face collapsed.
“I had no choice.”
“There is always a choice.”
“They have my grandson.”
The words changed everything.
Emma stared.
Luca slowly lowered his weapon.
Anthony’s eyes filled.
“They took Nicholas six weeks ago.”
“Why didn’t you come to me?”
“Because they said they would send him back piece by piece.”
Luca’s face hardened.
Anthony continued.
“They wanted schedules. Meetings. Staff movements.”
“The man who attacked Emma?”
“I didn’t authorize that.”
“But you gave them information.”
Anthony looked at Emma.
Shame covered his face.
“I didn’t know they were going to touch you.”
“That is not an answer,” Luca said.
“I tried to warn her.”
Emma remembered.
Take tomorrow off.
Visit your mother.
Suddenly Anthony’s strange behavior made sense.
“You knew Friday was an attack,” she said.
He nodded.
“They believe you’re going to Lake Mercer.”
Emma looked at Luca.
The trap had worked.
But not in the way they expected.
“What’s at Lake Mercer?” she asked.
Luca’s eyes narrowed.
“Nothing.”
Anthony shook his head.
“Not nothing.”
Everyone looked at him.
Anthony swallowed.
“They’re bringing Nicholas.”
Luca went still.
“They want a trade.”
“What trade?”
Anthony’s eyes shifted toward Emma.
Luca understood before she did.
“No.”
Anthony whispered, “They want her.”
Emma’s breath caught.
Luca’s expression became terrifyingly calm.
“The man last night wasn’t trying to kill Emma,” Anthony explained. “He was checking her security. How quickly she could be isolated.”
“For what?”
“To exchange her.”
“For Nicholas?” Emma asked.
Anthony nodded.
Luca stepped forward.
“No one is exchanging Emma for anyone.”
Anthony’s face broke.
“He’s eight years old.”
“I know.”
“He’s my grandson.”
“I know.”
“Then help me.”
Luca looked between Anthony and Emma.
The impossible choice sat between them.
One innocent woman.
One innocent child.
Protecting everyone is impossible.
Now Emma finally understood the message.
It had never been a threat.
It was a prediction.
And someone was waiting to see which life Luca Moretti valued more.
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