Chapter 9 - the ledger of sixteen
An hour later, the gala guests had been cleared, and the estate was locked down under heavy guard.
In Luca's private holding facility beneath the west wing, Arthur Bennett sat strapped to a chair, trembling uncontrollably as Luca, Elena, and Sophia stood before him.
"Talk, Arthur," Elena commanded, her voice cold and analytical as she leaned against the stone wall in her champagne gown. "Why did you lie to Sophia about a debt?"
Arthur looked up at his daughter with tear-filled eyes. "I had to, Sophia! Fifteen years ago, when I left the Bellandi family, I didn't steal thirty million dollars for myself. I hid the money in a trust fund for you!"
Sophia stared at her father in disbelief. "What?"
"Your mother... before she passed away... she was the sister of the late Moretti boss," Arthur revealed, his voice shaking. "You are Luca's second cousin by blood through the maternal line, Sophia! You inherit the master share of the northern trade routes on your twenty-fourth birthday!"
The room went dead silent.
Luca stared at Arthur, then turned his gaze slowly toward Sophia. The pieces of the grand puzzle finally fell into place.
Arthur hadn't arranged a fake marriage to save himself—he had brought Sophia to the Moretti estate because her twenty-fourth birthday was next week, and Victor Bellandi was planning to assassinate her before she could claim her legal inheritance!
"The debt story was a cover," Arthur sobbed. "I knew if I told you the truth, you would refuse to go hide in a Mafia estate. So I made up the debt... knowing Luca would marry you to honor his father's old promise to protect our bloodline!"
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Sophia turned to Luca, her heart beating fast. "You knew about the promise?"
"My father told me on his deathbed to protect Arthur's family if they ever came calling," Luca admitted softly, his blue eyes filled with profound emotion. "I thought I was just fulfilling an obligation... I didn't know I was marrying the woman who would save my soul."
