Chapter 11 – Luca #2
What happened to their house? And the garage? Surely, she could have sold them to clear her debt and start fresh. Angrily, I read on. Surely there’s more to this.
Something is missing.
The final page covers her family, and it reads like a tragedy in bullet points.
The family business and adjacent home, which were badly damaged in a fire years earlier, were uninsured, and the land was sold by the bank to cover outstanding mortgages and debts.
Mother deceased four years ago from cancer.
That’s why she dropped out. She went home to help, saddling herself with even more debt in the process for a partial degree she never got to finish and put to use.
Once her parents were gone, Sienna moved, daughterly duty done, as far from their home as she could. My own sister Delia did the same thing after our mother died, but for very different reasons.
I close the file and stare at the wall, stunned. All these years, I assumed she was living her best life, had moved on and left me behind, choosing to be a normal college student over eloping with me.
But with two parents that needed to be cared for and never-ending debts? She never got the chance. The uncharitable part of me that spent years hating her is initially a little bit smug, thinking it’s karma for what I endured when she stood me up.
The older, wiser man inside me, however, knows she was right to go, because there’s no leaving this life once it has you in its grips. Once it’s in your blood.
And it seems she’s suffered her fair share already.
My phone buzzes, and I growl, irritated by the disruption until I see it’s Tony.
"Tell me she didn't go to the police station, and you’re on your way to my house." I could do with some good news.
"She didn't go to the police station. But…"
Damn it. I thought the tail would spook her into accepting my help. Apparently not.
"But she's home?"
“For now.” Tony hesitates. "She’s getting evicted. So it won’t be her home for long. A week, max."
“Interesting.” I close the file in front of me and rest my palm on the cover. This should be good news, but now that I fully understand just how dire her situation is, it doesn’t give me the joy it should.
"But…” Tony stops again, and I bite back my frustration at his hedging.
“Just spit it out, Tony.”
“There's no chance she's coming to you for help. She made that very clear." Of course, she did. “‘Luca Calvano is the last person I’d rely on for anything’ were her exact words, and she really seemed to…”
I cut him off, interrupting what I’m sure is just going to be another tirade guaranteed to send my blood pressure sky high.
"Anything else?"
“She hit the gym. Fed the cat. No friends or visitors.” The pause is even longer this time. "She made me stop at the hospital. Left flowers for Miss O'Sullivan at reception."
Staring down at the minus figure on her bank statement, I frown. "Flowers?"
"From a corner store, carnations and whatnot. Spent her last twenty on them, best as I could tell."
I don't respond. Can't, for a moment. She's about to be thrown out on the street, and she spent her last bit of cash on flowers for a woman she doesn't know, a woman who has more money than sin, and might never even get to see them.
"Boss? What do we do now?"
I know Tony’s thinking the same thing I am. That there’s no way to keep her safe if she’s sleeping in her fucking car.
And possibly, that she’s a good person who doesn’t deserve to be caught up in this.
But it’s too late now.
"Keep watching her. Call me if anything changes."
She'll cave. She has to. Her options are running out, and she knows it. All she needs is a push in the right direction.
Luca: Just look at some photos. I’ll pay you for your time. Generously. Plus give you a place to stay and protection until this is all sorted.
I watch the screen and wait. Three dots appear, then disappear. Then appear again.
Her response, when it comes, is short and not so sweet. Three words.
Sienna: Leave me alone.
Sitting back, feet up on the desk now, I stare at the message. She's broke and about to be homeless. She has no job, no family, and no alternatives that I can see.
Luca: Don’t be stupid, Sienna. You’re about to be evicted. Help me, and I’ll help you.
Why is this a hard decision? What am I missing?
Sienna: No thanks.
My empathy evaporates in the blink of an eye. Sienna appears to think she’s dealing with some average schmuck that she can speak to however she pleases. That she can refuse.
Who the fuck does she think she is? She walked away from me once with no consequences, she damn well isn’t going to do it again.
Steam coming out of my ears, I call Bruno, the looming disaster with the Irish spurring me on.
"Those photos from outside the restaurant, the ones you killed before The Tribune could run them?" I don’t bother with pleasantries. There’s nothing pleasant about the business we do.
"You want me to destroy them?" Bruno’s in the car, distracted, the steady thrum of wipers telling me it’s still raining out.
"No." I pat Sienna's file again, deciding she just needs one last little nudge to accept defeat. "Release them.”
As I say the words, the pieces of the puzzle slowly slot into place, and I grin, downright pleased with myself.
It’s the right call. This might solve all of our problems in one fell swoop.
A pause and a sharp inhale. Bruno’s paying attention now. “Are you sure?” I don’t dignify that with an answer. “You understand what that means, for both of you, Luca."
It bothers me less than it should. Maybe I really have turned into the cold-hearted bastard everyone says I am.
"Just call her an old family friend and let the paparazzi do their thing. People can assume what they want.”
It’s a risky move, but for the first time in a long time, I’m excited to roll the dice and see how the chips fall.
"It could get ugly. Very ugly."
"I don't care."
And I really don’t.
For ten years, I’ve done nothing but work and make money for this family. Now, it’s time for me to have a little fun of my own.
Bruno replies with just one word before the line goes dead. "Understood."
By tomorrow morning, Sienna’s face will be everywhere.
Reporters will be camped outside her door; her relationship to me suddenly becoming public knowledge.
Even Sienna will have to accept that her position will become untenable, with nowhere to hide, and no one to turn to without putting them in danger.
Finally, she'll have no choice but to come to me.