6. Maria
— · —
Maria
Two days after the wine incident, the video has three million views.
I’m sitting in Luca’s office, watching the comments scroll by on his laptop. Half of them are calling me a hero. The other half are calling me a psycho.
“‘Team Maria! That sister got what she deserved!’” Luca reads aloud. “‘Hashtag wine throw, hashtag queen behavior.’”
“That’s... surprisingly supportive.”
“The tide is turning. People love an underdog.” He scrolls down. “‘She’s clearly unstable. Feel bad for the husband.’ Okay, that one’s less supportive.”
“Tommy’s PR team?”
“Probably.” He closes the laptop. “The point is, the narrative isn’t as one-sided as Victor hoped. The wine throw might actually work in our favor.”
“How?”
“It shows you’re human. Emotional. Not the ice queen they’re trying to paint you as.” He leans back in his chair. “Renata can spin it. ‘My client was confronted by her sister, the woman who destroyed her marriage, and reacted with understandable emotion.’”
“That’s... actually not bad.”
“I know. I’m good at this.”
He grins. That rare, real smile that makes something flutter in my stomach.
Stop it. Focus.
“So what’s next?”
“Now we wait. The filings went in yesterday. Tommy’s lawyers will respond within the week. And then-”
The office door bangs open.
***
Luca
I know who it is before I turn around.
I’d recognize those footsteps anywhere. Heavy. Arrogant. The walk of a man who’s never been told no in his life.
Tommy.
He storms into my office like he owns the place - which, I suppose, he’s used to doing everywhere he goes. His face is red. Veins are bulging in his neck. Behind him, two men in expensive suits hover near the door.
Victor’s lawyers. The attack dogs.
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Tommy’s voice is loud enough to rattle the windows. He’s not looking at Maria, not yet. He’s looking at me.
“Hello, brother.” I keep my voice calm. Controlled. “Nice of you to knock.”
“You hired my brother?” He wheels on Maria now. “MY brOTHER? You couldn’t even wait for the ink to dry before you ran to him?”
Maria stands. I see her hands shaking, but her voice is steady when she speaks.
“Renata Volpe is my attorney of record. Luca is-”
“I know exactly what Luca is.” Tommy steps closer to her. Too close. “He’s a bitter, washed-up failure who’s been waiting for any excuse to destroy this family. And you just handed him one.”
I’m on my feet before I realize I’ve moved.
“Step back, Tommy.”
“Or what?” He turns to me. His face is twisted - ugly with rage in a way I haven’t seen since we were kids. “You’ll hit me? Run to the board again? Make up more lies about Dad?”
“I didn’t make up anything. And you know it.”
“What I know is that you’ve always been jealous. Of me. Of what I have. Of everything Dad gave me that he didn’t give you.” Tommy’s smile is cruel. “And now you’re trying to steal my wife, too?”
“She was never your wife.” The words come out before I can stop them. “You made sure of that the first time you put your hands on her sister.”
Tommy’s face contorts.
And then he swings.
***
Maria
It happens so fast.
Tommy’s fist flies toward Luca’s face. I open my mouth to scream-
But Luca is faster.
He catches Tommy’s wrist. Twists. And in one brutal motion, he has Tommy’s arm wrenched behind his back, face slammed against the wall.
“Try that again,” Luca says, his voice ice-cold, “and I’ll break it.”
“Get off me-”
“Are you going to behave?”
Tommy struggles. Luca twists harder. I hear Tommy gasp in pain.
“FINE. Fine. Let me go.”
Luca holds him for one more second, making a point, then releases him. Steps back. Positions himself between Tommy and me.
Tommy straightens his suit. His face is red with humiliation. The lawyers behind him look deeply uncomfortable - this isn’t how Morettis are supposed to behave in public.
“This isn’t over,” Tommy spits. “You think you can take me on? Take the family on? You’re nothing, Luca. You’re a disgraced exile with a shitty office and a vendetta.”
“Maybe. But I’m also the one who knows where all the bodies are buried.
” Luca’s voice is calm. Almost bored. “I know about the Swiss accounts. The shell companies. The real estate in Monaco under fake names. And I know that if you don’t back off, every financial regulator in Europe is going to get a very interesting anonymous package. ”
Tommy’s face pales.
“You’re bluffing.”
“Try me.”
Silence. The two brothers staring at each other. Five years of hatred crackling in the air between them.
Tommy blinks first.
He turns to me. And the rage in his eyes makes my blood run cold.
“You’ll regret this. Both of you.” His voice drops. Dangerous. “You think my brother is going to save you? He destroys everything he touches. Everything. And when he’s done using you, you’ll have nothing.”
He storms out. The lawyers follow.
The door slams behind them.
And I realize I’ve been holding my breath.
***
Luca
She’s shaking.
I can see it, the tremor in her hands, the way she’s wrapped her arms around herself like she’s trying to hold herself together.
“Maria.” I keep my voice soft. “He’s gone. It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay.” She laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “He just - he looked at me like he wanted to-”
She stops. Presses her hand to her stomach.
And I know.
I’ve known since the party, really. The sparkling water instead of wine. The way she keeps touching her stomach when she thinks no one’s watching. The ginger tea.
She’s pregnant.
With Tommy’s baby.
And she hasn’t told me.
“Maria.” I step closer. “Are you okay? Is the - are you-”
“I’m fine.” She drops her hand. “I’m just shaking. Adrenaline.”
“Okay.” I don’t push. Not yet. “Come on. Sit down. I’ll get you some water.”
I guide her to the couch. Get her water. Watch her drink it with trembling hands.
And I try very hard not to think about what I want to do to my brother for putting that look on her face.
***
Maria
The water helps. A little.
But I can feel Luca watching me. Studying me. Waiting.
He knows. He has to know.
“There’s something I haven’t told you,” I say quietly.
“I know.”
I look up at him. He’s standing a few feet away, arms crossed, expression carefully neutral.
“How long have you known?”
“Since the party. The way you kept touching your stomach. The sparkling water. The morning appointments.” His voice is gentle. “I’m an attorney, Maria. I notice things.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because it’s your secret. Your choice when to share it.” He pauses. “And because I figured you had reasons for keeping it.”
I laugh. It comes out wet, close to tears.
“I found out the same day he gave me the papers. I was about to tell him when Giuliana showed up.” I press my hand to my stomach. “I was going to tell him we were finally having a baby. That all those years of trying had finally worked.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No.” I meet his eyes. “Because I saw Giuliana’s face. I saw the way she looked at me, like she’d won. And I realized that if I told them, if they knew about the baby... they’d use it. Somehow. They’d find a way to take this from me too.”
Luca is silent for a long moment.
Then he crosses to me. Sits down on the couch. Close, but not touching.
“You were right not to tell them,” he says. “The second Tommy knows about this baby, he’ll use it as leverage. Custody threats. Parenting plans. Ways to control you for the next eighteen years.”
“You think he’d do that?”
“I think Victor would do that. And Tommy does whatever Victor says.” His jaw tightens. “This changes things legally. But it doesn’t change anything else.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean we’re still going to win.” He meets my eyes. “I mean I’m still going to help you destroy him. I mean-” He stops. Starts again. “I mean you’re not alone anymore, Maria. Whatever happens. You’re not alone.”
I stare at him. This man who barely knows me. Who has every reason to see me as just a weapon in his revenge scheme.
But he’s looking at me like I matter. Like I’m more than a pawn on his chessboard.
Like he actually cares what happens to me.
“Why?” I whisper. “Why do you care so much?”
“I don’t know.” His voice is rough. Honest. “I’ve been trying to figure that out since the moment I saw you at that party.”
The air between us shifts. Tightens.
He’s close enough that I can see the flecks of gold in his dark eyes. Close enough that I can smell him - cedar and rain and warm skin. Close enough that if I leaned forward, just a little-
Don’t. You’re raw and terrified and reaching for the first person who was kind to you. That isn’t the same as being ready.
But I can’t stop looking at his mouth.
And I can’t stop wondering what it would taste like.
“Maria.” His voice is strained. “We can’t.”
“I know.”
“You’re still married. To my brother.”
“I know.”
“And if we - if I-” He swallows. “It would destroy everything. The case. Your credibility. All of it.”
“I know.”
But neither of us moves away.
His hand comes up. Hovers near my face. I can feel the heat of his palm, even though he’s not touching me.
“When this is over,” he says quietly. “When you’re free. Ask me again.”
“Ask you what?”
“Anything.” His eyes are dark. Burning. “Everything.”
My breath catches.
And then my phone buzzes.
***
The moment shatters.
I pull back. Grab my phone. Look at the screen.
Unknown number.
A text: “I know you’re pregnant. Meet me tomorrow. Alone. Or the whole family finds out.”
The number is unfamiliar. But the signature isn’t.
- Victor Moretti
All the blood drains from my face.
“What is it?” Luca is on his feet instantly. “Maria. What’s wrong?”
I show him the phone.
I watch his face go pale, then dark with fury.
“How does he know?” My voice is shaking. “Only you knew. Only-”
“He must have someone watching you. A PI. Someone at your doctor’s office.” Luca takes my hands. Squeezes. “It’s okay. We’ll handle this.”
“He’s going to tell Tommy. He’s going to-”
“He’s going to try to scare you into backing down. That’s what Victor does.” Luca’s voice is fierce. Certain. “But you’re not going to let him. Are you?”
I look at him. At the determination in his eyes. At the way he’s holding my hands like he’s never going to let go.
“No,” I say. “I’m not.”
“Good.” He pulls me to my feet. “Then let’s figure out how to handle Victor Moretti.”