Chapter 26 - Belle
BELLE
Nothing quite prepares you for watching your future brother-in-law poison your fiancé's scotch.
It really redefines "family dysfunction."
The post-sex endorphins are still humming through my system, but my brain has already shifted into tactical mode.
Because Declan isn't just a threat anymore—he's a dead man walking.
He just doesn't know it yet.
Now we just need to catch the rat in a trap he won't see coming.
Conor backs out of the office like he's stumbled into a sex tape filming, which, fair.
I'm still sitting casually on Luca's desk, looking thoroughly debauched.
"So," I smooth down my clothes for the sake of dignity, "your brother's a psychopath."
Luca's eyes are steel now. "I'm going to take him down tonight."
"Whoa, slow down, Rambo." I slide off the desk. "You can't just go guns blazing. He'll see you coming from a mile away."
"I don't care if he sees me." Luca's voice is murder. "He tried to poison me and sent men into my home. My daughter was here."
I step closer, placing my hand on his chest. "Exactly why we need to be smarter than him. You go at him directly, he'll have a contingency plan. He might have allies we don't know about."
"What do you suggest?"
"We force him into the open where everyone can see his true colors. And I'm going to be the bait."
Luca's expression transforms from fury to something far more dangerous—the kind of protective rage that starts wars. "Over my dead body."
"Listen to me before you go all alpha caveman." I step closer, hands on his chest. "Declan's already marked me as your weakness. He's tried to use me against you before. So let's give him exactly what he wants—the chance to take me down."
He told those men to grab me, remember? I'm the leverage he wants."
His jaw tightens. That muscle ticks, and I can practically hear the mutiny in his head: No. "He's already tried you once, during a council meeting. I think that was enough."
"You're not getting it, are you?" I say. "He'll try again. If I cause a public scene, he'll pounce. He'll be dying to discredit me. The faster he moves, the sloppier he gets."
"Belle." He shakes his head.
"I'm not made of glass, and I'm not a trophy you keep on a shelf." I lean forward. "You want him? Let me help you take him."
"Oh, I don't know," he looks like he's in agony. "To use you as bait… that's low."
"Luca, I'm already involved. I'm pregnant with your child, for God's sake." The words hang between us—the first time I've acknowledged it directly since he found the test. "Let me help end this and protect our family."
He turns, eyes softening just a fraction.
"I'll cause a scene. Something public that he can't resist using against you." I'm on a roll now. "We'll stage a fight. Make it look like I'm leaving you. He'll come after me—either to hurt me or to use me against you. And that's when we'll have him."
"You want to pretend to leave me." His voice is flat. "In public."
"At that dinner you're hosting tomorrow. All the family will be there, right?" I raise an eyebrow. "Big audience. Maximum drama."
Luca shakes his head, but I can see him considering it. "It's too dangerous."
"Not if we plan it right." I take his face in my hands. "Let me help. Please."
A long beat where he stares into my eyes, then he exhales. "If we do this, you don't move alone. I own every angle. You follow my voice, even if you hate me for it."
I press my forehead to his and smile. "Deal."
"Fine. We draw him to a place he thinks is safe for him and exposed for you. He'll feel clever. He'll feel in control." He looks at me like I'm the only thing that ever mattered. "And he'll be wrong."
Holy shit. It's happening, all right and Belle, it's too late to back out now.
Even if I'm trembling like a fucking coward.
But hey, I'm doing this for Sofia and our baby. For the family.
Fuck fear.
Luca puts his most trusted men in position throughout the house.
Maps are drawn. Signals established. Every possible exit is covered.
Sofia will be kept far away, in the east wing. Once I cause a scene, I'll run off to her.
He'll never think to find me near the kid.
And while he hunts for me, Luca will have him by the balls.
I get dressed that evening and to stop the crowding in my head, try to look as damn good as I can.
Choosing the right shade of lipstick, believe it or not, dulls every unhelpful thought.
I walk into the dining room on trembling legs.
God damn it, Belle. Run.
Ten men and their wives, the most dangerous families in the city, sit around and sip cocktails like we're vacationing in Aruba.
It looks like just another party… but I see the claws in those vultures.
Luca sits at the head of the table, every inch the don.
He watches with a cold smile as I take my seat to his right, nervously twisting my napkin under the table.
We wait through soup. Through fish. Through the kind of laughter that feel like teeth straight through your skin.
I find Sofia with my gaze every other minute, until the nanny whisks her away.
She looks over her shoulder, waving at me. I wiggle my fingers back, and then—
Luca puts his hand around my wrist and squeezes once. Now.
I put my hand down.
"A toast," Luca stands suddenly, raising his glass. "To family. The most important thing in our world."
Everyone raises their glasses. Declan narrows his eyes. It's showtime.
I stand. My chair thunders backward. The room stops.
Heads lift. Glasses set down with tiny clicks.
"Are we done pretending?" I say, loud enough for the dead to hear. "Because I am."
Luca doesn't look at me for a second.
He stares ahead like he's choosing which part of me to slice off first.
Then he speaks, voice silk over steel. "Sit down, Belle."
"No." I spear him with the kind of smile you only practice when you've been underestimated your entire life. "I'm calling off the wedding."
A ripple goes through the room. It's gorgeous. The way people lean toward blood.
He lifts his gaze to mine. It hits like a bullet every time, but tonight I let it punch through. "You don't get to make that call," he says softly.
"The hell I don't," I spit. "You bought me."
There it is. The truth we never say in polite company.
Gasps all around. Somewhere, a cousin clutches her pearls so hard they creak.
Luca turns to me, playing his part perfectly. "Belle, not now."
"When, then?" I stand, letting anger I've bottled up for weeks seep into my voice. "When were you planning to actually treat me like family instead of property?"
Declan leans forward, suddenly interested.
"You're making a scene," Luca growls in anger.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Is this embarrassing you?" I laugh with spite. "Imagine how embarrassing it is to be traded like a baseball card to cover your daddy's debts."
Luca's eyes flash. "You agreed to this arrangement."
"I didn't have a choice!" I throw my napkin down. "You backed my father into a corner and now you expect me to be grateful?"
The hurt in his eyes looks so real, I almost stop. But I push on, knowing Declan's watching every second.
"I thought I could do this." My voice cracks. "But I can't be the perfect mafia wife. I can't keep pretending."
Luca slams a fist on the table, crystal flying and falling back down. "And what are you pretending exactly, Belle?"
"That this is normal!" I gesture wildly around the room. "I want a simple life, Luca. You stole that dream from me!"
His face hardens, but I see the flicker of real pain. We've hit a nerve.
"You knew what you were getting into," he says quietly.
"Not to this degree, I didn't." For some reason, tears well to my eyes. "I didn't think I'd always be looking over my shoulder. All I wanted… was a family."
"This is a family," he whispers like a warning. "Just a different kind."
"We didn't start this from a place of love… how can that ever be a family?" My voice cracks, every fear I have leaking through the seams.
"Initially," he says, and his voice is a confession dragged over gravel. "Initially, yes. I bought myself a problem so I could solve it. But now—" His throat works. He looks at me like I'm the first sunrise he almost missed. "Now it's no longer that simple."
The ache that lives beneath my ribs flares. "You're a loyal man," I tell him, and my eyes burn. "So loyal you confuse loyalty with love. But can someone like you truly love a woman like me?"
"With all my heart," he whispers, paling in his face.
Fuck, Belle. You're hurting him.
Even though I know this is a game, every word rings true. Every fear, every confession.
And the one thing I know, as I walk out of here, is that Luca Moretti loves me with all his heart.
"I'm sorry," I whisper, letting a tear slide down my cheek. "But love isn't enough in a family that fears one another. I want simple, Luca. I want a house I can sleep in without looking out for monsters in the dark."
I pull the engagement ring off my finger and place it on the table with a soft clink.
"The wedding's off," I announce to the room. "I'm done being collateral goods."
Luca's face is a storm. "Belle, don't do this."
"It's done." I turn and walk toward the door, feeling everyone's eyes burning into my back.
"Belle!" His voice echoes behind me. "If you walk out that door—"
I whirl. "What? You'll what? I'm not yours to threaten anymore, Luca. I never really was."
And with that, I storm out, leaving chaos in my wake. Just as planned.
I slip through the east wing corridors, heart hammering.
Guards nod as I pass—they know the plan.
I reach the suite where Sofia is waiting, and the nanny slinks out to make herself scarce, shutting the door behind her.
"Belle!" She wraps her little arms around my waist. "I heard shouting. Were you and Daddy fighting?"
I kneel down to her level. "No, sweetheart. We were just pretending."
"Pretending?"
"It's like a play," I explain, guiding her to the couch. "Sometimes grown-ups have to pretend to be angry to trick bad people."
"Like spies?" Her eyes widen.
"Exactly like spies." I smile, pulling her close. "Your daddy and I love each other very much. We're just acting to catch someone who's been... naughty."
She nods solemnly. "Is it Uncle Declan?"
My blood freezes. "Why would you say that?"
Sofia shrugs. "He looks at Daddy funny."
Well, I'll be damned. Nothing passes by the kid.
"You're one smart cookie, Sofia Moretti."
She beams and goes back to coloring.
I strain to hear any sounds through the door, but there's only silence.
The plan is for Luca to act devastated, to retreat to his office.
Declan will make his move either on Luca or on me.
"I'm bored." Sofia looks up. "Can we play a game?"
"Sure, sweetie. What do you—"
The door handle turns. My skin goes cold, then hot.
Fuck me. I should have locked the door, just in case.
The door opens with deliberate slowness.
Declan steps inside, and the temperature drops ten degrees.
The gun in his hand isn't pointed at us—yet—but it doesn't need to be. The message is clear.
I shift Sofia behind me in one fluid motion, my body becoming a wall between her and the monster wearing a family face.
"Hello, Belle." His smile could freeze hell. "You've caused quite a stir tonight. Time to clean up the mess."