Chapter 10 – THE SCARS OF MOTHERLY LOVE

“You’re bluffing,” I whispered, staring at the woman I thought I had known my entire life. “You wouldn’t kill innocent people in this building.”

Maria Costello, the mother I had sacrificed everything for, smiled a thin, humorless smile. “Innocent people die in wars, Emma. Your father taught me that right before Luca’s father put a bullet in his head. Now, get your coat.”

Answer one: My mother was fully prepared to commit mass murder to force my compliance and secure her legacy.

Open two: How could I stop a mafia matriarch? And would Luca realize I was walking into a death trap?

I looked frantically around the small kitchen. There were no weapons. No escape routes.

“You manipulated Daniel to abandon Gianna,” I said, stalling for time, backing slowly toward the kitchen counter. “But you didn’t anticipate Gianna faking a kidnapping. You didn’t anticipate me finding the necklace.”

“Gianna was always an emotional fool,” my mother scoffed, checking her watch. “She reacted perfectly. She brought the entire Moretti family to the brink of destruction. All I have to do now is hand over the evidence I’ve collected.”

“You don’t have the evidence,” I said, my voice shaking. “Luca has the ledger.”

My mother froze. Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. “What did you say?”

“Vanessa gave Luca the real ledger,” I lied smoothly, desperately trying to change the power dynamic. “The one that proves you’ve been extorting the Commission. If you burn this building, Luca will hand that book to the feds tomorrow.”

It was a massive bluff, but the reversal of confidence was immediate.

My mother’s face drained of color. “Vanessa is dead. My men heard the gunshots at the mansion.”

“Vanessa faked it,” I said, taking a step toward her. “She’s gone, Mom. And Luca knows everything. He knows who you are. He knows who I am.”

Just then, the sound of heavy tires screeching against the pavement echoed from the street below.

My mother rushed to the window and pulled back the cheap blinds.

Four black, armored SUVs had surrounded our apartment building. Dozens of men in dark suits poured out, heavily armed.

But they weren’t my mother’s men.

Standing in the center of the street, illuminated by the headlights, was Luca Moretti.

Escalation: Luca hadn’t let me go home alone. He had followed my taxi with his entire security force.

“He brought an army,” my mother whispered, genuine fear cracking her stoic facade. She spun around, pulling the silenced pistol from her purse and pointing it at me. “You betrayed your own blood, Emma!”

“You betrayed me first!” I yelled, tears streaming down my face. “You let me believe you were dying!”

Heavy footsteps thundered up the wooden staircase of the apartment building.

“Emma! Open the door!” Luca’s voice roared from the hallway.

My mother grabbed my arm, pressing the cold barrel of the gun against my ribs. “Tell them to back off, or I’ll shoot you myself, Emma. I won’t let the Morettis take me alive.”

“You’re a monster,” I sobbed.

The front door exploded inward in a shower of splintered wood.

Luca burst into the room, his weapon drawn. Three of his men flooded in behind him, weapons trained on my mother.

“Drop it, Maria,” Luca commanded, his dark eyes blazing with lethal intensity. “It’s over. The Commission knows. I sent them a copy of Vanessa’s ledger ten minutes ago. Your family is finished.”

My mother’s hand trembled. She looked at Luca, the son of her sworn enemy. Then she looked at me, her own daughter, shivering in terror.

For a single, heartbreaking second, I saw the mother who used to brush my hair and tell me stories when I was a little girl. I saw the scars of a mother’s twisted, toxic love—a woman who destroyed the world to keep her child safe, only to lose her in the process.

Slowly, Maria Costello lowered the gun.

She dropped it onto the linoleum floor.

Luca’s men immediately moved in, securing her hands behind her back.

“I did it for you, Emma,” she whispered as they dragged her toward the door. “Never forget that.”

I collapsed against the kitchen counter, sliding down to the floor, burying my face in my hands. The adrenaline left my body, leaving nothing but an empty, echoing void. I had no family. I had no home. My entire existence was a lie.

I felt a warm, heavy coat drape over my trembling shoulders.

I looked up. Luca was kneeling in front of me.

“She’s gone,” Luca said softly. “You’re safe now.”

“I have nothing,” I cried, clutching his expensive suit jacket around me. “I’m a Costello. I’m your enemy.”

Luca reached out and gently wiped a tear from my cheek.

Cliffhanger: “You’re not an enemy, Emma,” Luca whispered, pulling me to my feet. “You’re the woman who saved my family tonight. And it’s time I gave you what you truly deserve.”

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