Chapter 2 – THE PHOTOGRAPH IN THE CASING

I couldn’t breathe.

The heavy silver watch rested on the mahogany table, the faded photograph of my infant face staring up at the chandeliers.

“Belongs to him?” Luca’s voice was barely a whisper, but it carried enough lethal weight to make the closest guests step back.

He didn’t look at Vanessa. He didn’t look at Arthur.

He looked at me.

“Megan.”

I shook my head, gripping the edge of my serving tray so hard my knuckles turned white.

“I don’t know anything about this, Mr. Moretti,” I stammered, my voice trembling. “My mother never told me. She just said she owed a debt… that’s why I send half my paycheck away every month.”

Vanessa let out a sharp, cruel laugh.

“Oh, please. The maid is playing the victim. She probably planted that watch here herself to squeeze money out of you, Luca.”

Luca didn’t even blink in her direction.

“Arthur,” Luca said calmly. “Who does she send her paychecks to?”

Arthur looked at Vanessa with quiet sorrow.

“To a holding company, Mr. Moretti. Owned by Vincent Bellini.”

Vanessa froze.

“For fifteen months,” Arthur continued, “Megan has been working in your house, cleaning your floors, and sending her wages to the Bellini family to pay off the interest on a debt her mother incurred twenty years ago. A debt your father tried to erase.”

Luca picked up the watch.

He stared at the photograph, tracing the edge of the paper with his thumb.

“How much is the debt?” Luca asked.

Arthur closed his eyes.

“Two hundred thousand dollars.”

Vanessa exhaled loudly, stepping forward to touch Luca’s arm.

“Luca, darling, this is a tragedy, I’m sure, but it has nothing to do with us. My father is a businessman. If her mother burned down a kitchen, she has to pay for it. We can fire her tonight, give her a severance, and wash our hands of this.”

Luca slowly turned his head.

He looked at Vanessa’s hand resting on his tailored sleeve.

“Take your hand off me.”

Vanessa pulled back as if she’d been burned.

Luca looked back at me.

The cold, calculated mafia boss was gone. In his eyes, I saw the boy who had grown up in that restaurant, the boy who respected the people who wiped down his tables.

“Megan, come here,” he said softly.

I hesitated, terrified of the wealthy guests staring at me.

But Arthur gave me a gentle nod.

I walked slowly to the head of the table.

Luca picked up the brass key Arthur had brought—the key to the locked desk drawer.

“Arthur said there’s a list in my father’s desk,” Luca said, his eyes locking onto mine. “Twenty-three people to protect.”

He placed the photograph of me next to the key.

“My father didn’t trade the liquor license to save the building, did he, Arthur?”

“No, sir,” Arthur whispered. “He traded it to buy Megan’s mother time. So Vincent wouldn’t take the child.”

Luca looked at Vanessa.

“Your father has been extorting my staff.”

“It’s just a maid!” Vanessa shouted, losing her elegant composure. “You’re going to ruin our engagement dinner over a maid?”

“She is not a maid,” Luca said, his voice dropping to a terrifying calm. “She is the daughter of the woman who helped build my father’s restaurant.”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a sleek black phone.

“What are you doing?” Vanessa demanded.

“I’m calling my accountant,” Luca said. “I am wiring two hundred thousand dollars to your father’s holding company. The debt is paid. The girl is free.”

Tears spilled over my cheeks.

“Mr. Moretti, no—”

“It’s done, Megan,” he said gently.

He dialed the number.

The phone rang on speaker.

Once. Twice.

Then a man answered.

But it wasn’t the accountant.

It was Vincent Bellini.

“Good evening, Luca,” Vincent’s gravelly voice echoed through the dining room.

Luca’s eyes narrowed. “Vincent. Why are you answering my accountant’s phone?”

Vincent chuckled darkly.

“Because he works for me now, son. Just like the restaurant. And just like the girl.”

Luca’s grip on the phone tightened.

“I’m paying the debt right now. Two hundred thousand.”

“You can’t,” Vincent said smoothly. “Because the debt isn’t two hundred thousand anymore. The interest compounded at midnight.”

Luca stared at the phone. “How much?”

Vincent’s voice dropped.

“Two million dollars. And if you don’t have it in cash by tomorrow morning, I’m not just taking the restaurant. I’m taking the girl’s mother.”