Chapter 14
Sienna
"I'm pleased you came, Sienna."
I spun to find a silver-haired man in an expensive suit.
Uncle Giuseppe. I'd seen him at the wedding two months ago, all smiles and congratulations. The man standing before me now bore little resemblance to that performance. This was the real Giuseppe—the one my father had warned me about.
"Uncle."
"You've grown into quite the beautiful young woman." He stepped closer, eyes cold. "Though perhaps not of your recent... choices."
My hand moved instinctively to my stomach. "You sent the message. Pretended to be my father's doctor."
"I needed you to hear the truth before Luca Romano buries you in lies." He gestured to the envelope. "That contains everything—your father's real medical files showing he has weeks, not months. Documentation of Luca's arrangement with your father. Proof of how your 'escape' was orchestrated."
"Why should I believe you?"
"Because unlike your husband, I'm offering you reality." He pulled out his phone. "Listen to this."
My father's voice filled the air: "The girl is stubborn. She'll resist any arrangement we make openly."
Then Luca's voice, cold and calculated: "Then we create a scenario where she believes she's choosing. Where I appear to be the lesser evil. Once the marriage is secured, I'll keep her under control."
The words carved through me.
"Luca Romano engineered your escape from the church," Giuseppe continued. "Paid someone on the inside, knew exactly which exit you'd choose. He made you think you were choosing him, but it was all manipulation."
"And you're telling me this out of what? Familial concern?"
"I'm telling you because that child shouldn't be raised by a man who views you as property." He lowered his voice. "Come with me now. I'll protect you and the child. Your father's empire will remain in Moretti hands, where it belongs."
For a moment, I wavered. Then I saw the calculation in his eyes—the same cold assessment I'd seen in my father's face a thousand times.
"No," I said quietly.
Giuseppe's expression hardened. "You're making a mistake."
"Maybe. But it's my mistake to make. And what about Isabella?" I asked suddenly. "Where does my sister fit into your grand plans?"
Something flickered in his eyes. "Isabella is young. Impressionable. She'd be... cared for."
"You mean controlled. Married off to whoever strengthens your position." The realization made me sick. "That's why you wanted me gone. Not just for power, but so you could use her next."
"She's a Moretti. She has obligations—"
"She's seventeen!" My voice cracked. "She's a child who deserves to choose her own life. Not be sold like I was."
"Step away from my wife."
Luca's voice cut through the terminal like a blade. I turned to find him twenty feet away, gun drawn, Marco and Angelo flanking him.
Giuseppe's men materialized from the shadows—at least six, all armed. Civilian passengers scattered, screams echoing.
"Let her make her own choice," Giuseppe said calmly.
"She already did," Luca replied. "When she walked away from you."
"Tell him about the recordings, Sienna," Giuseppe pressed. "About the proof."
Luca's jaw tightened. "Whatever he told you, it's lies."
"Is it?" I asked sharply. "Because he played me recordings of you and my father discussing me like property."
Something flickered in Luca's expression. "Context. He gave you words without context."
"Then give me the context. Right here, right now."
"Not here," Luca said finally. "But I will tell you everything. On my word."
"Your word," Giuseppe scoffed.
"My word," Luca repeated, his gaze locked on mine. "As your husband. As the father of your child."
I looked between them—Giuseppe with his evidence and cold promises, Luca with his guns and complicated truths.
But only one had ever looked at me like I was more than a pawn.
"I'm going with Luca," I said.
Giuseppe's expression darkened. "You're a fool."
"Probably. But I'm tired of other people making my choices for me."
Luca moved forward until he reached me, pulling me behind him protectively.
"This isn't over," Giuseppe said. "That child changes everything."
"Watch me," Luca replied.
The drive back was silent, tension suffocating. When we reached the club, Luca practically dragged me to his office, slamming the door.
"You lied to me!" I hurled the words at him, hands shaking. "Everything has been carefully measured half-truths!"
Luca stood rigidly by the desk, jaw clenched so tightly I could see the muscle jumping. His hands were fisted at his sides, knuckles white with restraint. "You deliberately disobeyed me, stole security credentials, and walked into a trap. And you're angry with me?"
"Yes! Because I wouldn't have needed answers if you'd been honest!"
"What could Giuseppe possibly have told you that was worth risking our child's life?"
"He told me about your arrangement with my father. How you engineered my escape, knew which exit I'd choose. The recordings of you discussing keeping me under control."
"Taken out of context. Edited to turn you against me."
"Why should I believe you? You've kept me in the dark from the beginning!"
A wave of dizziness washed over me. Nine weeks pregnant, these moments came more frequently. I pressed a hand to my stomach.
Luca noticed immediately, concern flashing across his face before anger returned.
"You think I see you as fragile? As stupid?
" He advanced, backing me against the wall.
"I see you as fierce. Stubborn. Brilliant.
And carrying my child—the heir to two empires.
Do you have any idea what kind of target that makes you? "
His proximity was overwhelming—his scent, his heat, the intensity that made my heart race despite my anger.
"Then tell me everything," I demanded. "Now."
For a moment, he said nothing. Then, with a sound between curse and surrender, he stepped back.
"Fine. Yes, your father and I had an arrangement planned before my release.
But not the way you think." He moved to the bar, pouring a drink.
"Your father approached me through intermediaries.
The Calabrese family was working with your uncle to stage a coup.
Don Moretti couldn't move openly without triggering war, so he offered an alliance through marriage.
" Luca turned to face me. "I refused initially. "
"You refused?"
"I had no interest in a mafia princess. I had my own plans." His expression darkened. "What changed was learning your uncle and Ricci were targeting you specifically. Planning to force you into marriage with Ricci's nephew—a man who'd destroyed women, left bodies behind."
A chill ran through me.
"So this was strategy," I said bitterly. "Opportunity."
"And saving you from a fate worse than this arrangement." He met my gaze. "Your father told me you were stubborn. So we created a scenario where I would appear to be the lesser evil. Where you would choose me."
"You never gave me a choice. You manufactured one."
"And if I hadn't? You'd be dead, or the property of a sadist."
We were both breathing hard, the space between us charged with rage and something dangerous.
"You're not in a cage, Sienna. It was just made to look that way."
"Then why do you make decisions about my life without consulting me?"
He closed the distance, his hands framing my face with unexpected gentleness.
"Because the thought of losing you tears me apart," he growled. "Because I don't know how to want someone this much. It makes me vulnerable. Weak. In prison, I survived by feeling nothing. By making myself stone." His voice dropped. "You make me feel everything. And it terrifies me."
"It makes you human," I whispered.
Something fractured in his expression. Then he surrendered.
His mouth crashed into mine, a collision of hunger and possession. The wall bit into my back as he pressed me against it, his body hard and relentless.
"You want to show me?" he growled. "Then show me how much you need me."
My fingers tangled in his hair, nails scraping his scalp. I fumbled with his shirt buttons, tearing some, revealing the sculpted chest beneath. I traced his abs, feeling the power barely contained.
He hissed as I raked my nails down his back. His hands gripped my thighs, lifting me as I wrapped my legs around his waist.
"You're mine, Sienna," he snarled. "Say it."
"Yours," I whispered.
He carried me to the couch, laying me down. I felt him press against my entrance, and I rocked my hips.
"Now, Luca," I pleaded. "Please."
He thrust into me, slow at first, then faster, harder. The sensation overwhelmed me. I cried out, nails digging into his shoulders as he moved with a punishing rhythm.
"You feel so good," he groaned. His words sent heat through me. He reached between us, fingers finding my clit, rubbing in time with his strokes.
The pleasure built, coiling tighter.
"Together," I whispered. "I want to come with you."
He growled and increased his pace. The world exploded, my orgasm crashing over me. He followed, his release powerful and intense.
As our hearts slowed, he pulled me into his arms.
"You showed me," he murmured.
"And what did I show you?"
"That surrender isn't destruction."
Afterward, we lay together, my head on his chest.
"There's still so much you haven't told me," I murmured against his skin.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Starting with why my uncle and Ricci want me dead."
Luca's jaw tightened. "Your father is dying."
My throat closed. I'd known he was sick—had known for months. But—"How bad?"
"Cancer. Advanced. Weeks at most, maybe only days."
The timeline Giuseppe had hinted at in his message. The truth my father had been hiding. My legs felt weak, and I sat down heavily on the couch.
"Weeks," I repeated hollowly. "He told me months. Said he had time for treatment, that it was manageable." My voice cracked. "He lied to me about how little time we had left."
Luca crouched in front of me, his hands on my knees. "He's kept the real prognosis hidden from everyone except his inner circle—and me."
"Why wouldn't he tell me the truth?" The question broke on a sob I tried to suppress. "I'm his daughter. Didn't I deserve to know how bad it really was?"
Luca's voice was careful. "When he dies, control of the Moretti empire passes to you..."
The room tilted. I sat down heavily on the couch, the world narrowing to that single truth. My father—the man who'd controlled every aspect of my life, who'd arranged my marriage like a business merger, who'd never once asked what I wanted—was dying.
And he hadn't told me.
"How long have you known?" My voice came out hollow.
"Since before the wedding."
Understanding dawned. "So if I married Ricci's nephew..."
"The Calabrese would control everything. But your marriage to me disrupted that. And now that you're pregnant, our child becomes the uncontested heir. Your uncle loses everything."
I rose, gathering my clothes. As I buttoned my blouse, my elbow knocked papers from his desk. I froze at the letterhead: Calabrese Family Enterprises.
An ultimatum dated yesterday: Surrender Sienna Moretti and the unborn child, or face total war. Deadline: 48 hours.
"When were you going to tell me?" I asked, voice hollow.
Luca took the letter. "I wasn't."
"Because you'd already decided? Without consulting me?"
"Because there is no decision. I don't negotiate with threats."
"This isn't just about you anymore. This is about our child."
"Which is why I will handle it. My way."
The old pattern reasserting itself.
I took the letter back, holding it between us.
"No," I said quietly. "This time, we both decide." I met his gaze steadily. "Choose, Luca. Me or your empire."