Chapter 13 - The Godfather's Wife
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The silence in the ballroom was absolute. Even the string quartet abruptly stopped playing.
Luca walked slowly toward the champagne tower, the crowd parting for him as if he were parting the Red Sea. He didn't look at the ruined dress. He didn't look at Marco. He kept his terrifying, steel-gray eyes locked entirely on Valentina Moretti.
Valentina suddenly looked incredibly small. The arrogant sneer vanished from her face, replaced by genuine terror as she realized exactly whose wife she had just assaulted.
“Luca, please,” Valentina stammered, stepping backward. “She provoked me. She doesn't belong here, she’s just—”
“Finish that sentence,” Luca interrupted softly, “and I will have your tongue cut out and mailed to your father in a box.”
Valentina clamped her mouth shut, tears of sheer panic welling in her eyes.
Luca stopped in front of Norah. He gently pulled a silk handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her, his touch incredibly gentle before he turned back to Valentina.
“You seem confused about the hierarchy of this room,” Luca said, his voice carrying clearly to every politician, mobster, and socialite present. “So let me clarify it for you.”
He reached out and wrapped his large, powerful arm firmly around Norah’s waist, pulling her flush against his side.
“This is Norah Castellano,” Luca declared. “She is my wife. She is the mother of my child. And she holds more power in her little finger than your entire bloodline holds in this city.”
Valentina was trembling so violently her silver dress shook.
“You are going to apologize to my wife,” Luca commanded softly. “And then you are going to leave this hotel. If I ever see your face in her presence again, the truce between our families is over.”
“I… I’m sorry, Mrs. Castellano,” Valentina choked out, sobbing humiliated tears before turning and practically running out of the ballroom.
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Luca turned to Norah, completely ignoring the staring crowd.
“Let’s go home,” he whispered, leading his fiercely protected wife out of the room.
