Chapter 3
The air in the ballroom seemed to freeze instantly. Luca Moretti’s piercing, intense eyes narrowed into lethal slits. The light stubble on his sharp jawline bristled as his jaw clenched with enough force to crack teeth.
"Matteo. Marcus. Secure the perimeter!" Luca barked, his commanding presence immediately snapping his bodyguards into action. "Clear the ballroom. No one leaves this hotel without my personal authorization. Get these people out of my sight!"
"Move it! Everyone toward the grand lobby!" Marcus, the heavily built head of security, yelled as the bodyguards began aggressively herding the panicked, wealthy guests out of the massive mahogany doors.
Luca knelt down, ignoring the sticky apple juice staining his expensive tailored black trousers. He reached out to gently pry his daughter from the waitress’s arms.
"Sophia, sweetheart, come to Daddy," Luca said, his deep voice softening into a desperately gentle tone.
"No!" Sophia cried, tightening her grip on Hannah’s white apron, her pale-yellow floral dress bunching up in her tiny fists. "Hannah is a good lady! She sang me the safe song when the bad men had guns! Don't hurt her, Daddy!"
"I am not going to hurt her, angel," Luca promised, his dark brown hair falling slightly forward as he looked directly into Hannah’s terrified eyes. "But she and I need to have a very private conversation. Right now."
Hannah swallowed hard, gently kissing Sophia’s forehead. "It's okay, sweetie. Let your daddy hold you. I won't leave you. I promise."
Reluctantly, Sophia let go. Luca scooped his daughter into his muscular arms, holding her tightly against his chest, the dark tattoos on his forearms pressing against her layered ruffles. He stood up, towering over Hannah.
"Get up," Luca ordered coldly. "Walk in front of me to the VIP suite behind the stage. If you make a single wrong move, I will empty my weapon into you right here on the marble."
Hannah scrambled to her feet, her mint-green service dress clinging damply to her knees. She kept her head down, her soft blonde-brown hair falling around her warm, tear-stained face, and walked quickly toward the private doors behind the orchestra stage.
Once inside the luxurious, soundproofed VIP suite, Luca locked the heavy oak door. He set Sophia gently on a plush velvet sofa, handing her a silk pillow. "Rest your legs, princess. You did amazing today."
Luca turned his full, terrifying attention to Hannah, who was trembling by the wet bar.
"Three years ago, a rival syndicate breached my heavily fortified estate," Luca stated, his voice a low, gravelly threat. "My wife was murdered in the hallway. I was told my infant daughter only survived because a newly hired night nurse hid her in the laundry chute before being gunned down while fleeing the grounds."
"They did shoot me," Hannah whispered, her expressive eyes filling with fresh tears as she instinctively touched her left shoulder. "I fell from the retaining wall into the river. The current carried me away. The police found a body downriver the next day in scrubs and assumed it was me."
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"Why didn't you come back?" Luca demanded, stepping closer, his imposing frame dominating the room. "I searched for the woman who saved my daughter for months! I would have given you anything!"
"Because I couldn't trust you!" Hannah cried out, her fear momentarily eclipsed by fierce emotion. "I couldn't trust anyone in your house, Mr. Moretti! The men who attacked your home didn't break in. They were let in. I saw it happen."
