Chapter 13 - The Betrayal Network
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After the doctor packed his equipment and left the room, Luca turned his full attention to Mia. He approached her slowly, his towering frame casting a long shadow, but his eyes held a profound, unexpected warmth.
“You risked your own life tonight,” Luca stated, his voice a low, rumbling baritone. “If Vanessa had realized you were onto her before you called me, you would be in the basement with her right now.”
“I couldn't just stand there and watch, sir,” Mia replied, keeping her chin raised despite the lingering adrenaline shaking her hands. “I’m a maid, but I’m not blind.”
“You are no longer a maid in this house,” Luca said definitively.
Mia blinked, a sudden spike of panic hitting her chest. “Sir, I need this job to support my family. Please—”
“I am not firing you, Mia,” Luca interrupted, a rare, genuine smile touching the corners of his mouth. “I am promoting you. Effective immediately, you are the head of household staff and Sofia’s personal, executive caretaker. Your salary is tripled. You answer only to me. Nobody enters this wing of the house without your explicit permission.”
Mia was completely speechless. In the span of an hour, she had gone from scrubbing floors to holding one of the most trusted positions in the most powerful criminal syndicate in the city.
“Thank you, Mr. Moretti,” she managed to whisper.
“No. Thank you,” Luca said softly.
May you like
He turned his attention back to the photograph sitting on the bedside table. The grainy image of Dante Rossi mocked him from the paper. The ghost who had returned from the grave to steal his empire.
“Vanessa didn't act alone,” Luca murmured, his tactical mind already spinning into motion. “Dante is out there. And he thinks his plan is still working.”
