Chapter 18 - The Broken Crown
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Luca turned back to the trembling woman on the floor.
“Take off the ring,” Luca demanded.
Vanessa gasped, clutching her left hand to her chest. “Luca, no...”
“Take it off, or I will have Marco cut the finger from your hand and take it for you.”
The sheer terror in his voice left no room for hesitation. Sobbing violently, Vanessa fumbled with her left hand, sliding the massive, flawless diamond off her finger. She held it up, offering it to him like a defeated servant.
Luca snatched the ring from her trembling fingers and slipped it into his pocket.
“The wedding is canceled,” Luca announced loudly to the crowd of guests in the hallway. “Please find your coats and exit the property immediately.”
The crowd didn't need to be told twice. A mass exodus of billionaires, politicians, and socialites scrambled away from the vault room, desperate to distance themselves from the catastrophic fallout of the Bellini family.
Luca looked down at Vanessa one last time.
“You have exactly ten minutes to pack whatever you brought into this house,” Luca said coldly. “My men will escort you to the gates. You will leave with nothing but the clothes on your back. If I ever see your face in this city again, you will disappear permanently.”
Vanessa didn't argue. She scrambled to her feet, her black cocktail dress ruined with dust and fear, and ran down the hallway, flanked instantly by two armed guards.
The vault room was suddenly very quiet.
Luca let out a long, heavy exhale, rolling his broad shoulders as the tension finally began to leave the room. He turned around, stepping carefully over the shattered green glass, and walked toward Nora.
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He didn't order a guard to help her. He knelt down on the hard marble floor himself, placing himself eye-to-eye with the maid who had saved his empire.
“It’s over, Nora,” Luca said softly.
