Chapter 6 - WAR ROOM
Ten minutes after Victoria Shaw’s call, my front door was nearly knocked off its hinges.
Luca burst into my home, flanked by three men in dark suits carrying heavy leather briefcases. Behind them walked Marco. Luca looked furious, his eyes flashing with a terrifying, predatory fire.
"I know she called you," Luca spat out without greeting me. "Marco intercepted the phone records from the Shaw estate."
"She threatened to take them from me, Luca!" I shouted, trembling with rage. "She threatened to use her political judge friends to challenge my custody!"
"She won't touch a single hair on their heads," Luca said, stepping closer and grabbing my hands in his. His grip was warm, tight, and fiercely protective. "Look at me, Nia. Look at me."
I met his gaze, seeing the ruthless titan that the business world feared so deeply. But this time, that terrifying power wasn't directed at me. It was aimed at the world to protect us.
"I signed the divorce papers with Evelyn an hour ago," Luca declared flatly.
I gasped. "You... what?"
"I am ending my marriage. I am pulling all Moretti Global funding from the Shaw political campaign, and I have liquidated our joint ventures," Luca said, his voice cold as steel. "They thought they could threaten you to protect their reputation. They didn't realize that you and those children are the only things in this world I will burn everything down for."
One of the men in suits stepped forward. "Ms. Carter, I am Arthur Vance, Mr. Moretti’s primary legal counsel. We have prepared a ironclad trust fund for Leo and Maya, along with a petition for voluntary acknowledgment of paternity that guarantees your sole custody while establishing Mr. Moretti’s legal obligations. No judge in this state— Shaw-appointed or otherwise—will touch this."
I stood stunned, looking from the lawyer to Luca. Seven years ago, when the world pressed down on us, he had retreated into his work and left me to drown. Now, he was laying waste to his entire personal and political life just to stand as a wall between us and the Shaws.
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"Why are you doing this?" I whispered, tears blurring my vision. "You're destroying your reputation."
"My reputation means nothing if I lose you again," Luca said quietly, gesturing for his lawyers to leave the room. Once the door closed, he stepped closer, reaching up to gently wipe a tear from my cheek with his thumb. "I spent seven years living in a palace built on regret, Nia. I won't let them hurt you. Not again."
