The room was heavy with a profound, suffocating silence.

Looking down at Luca, I saw a man stripped of his billion-dollar armor. The ruthless tycoon whose name commanded terror in Chicago was kneeling at my feet, begging for a second chance. Part of me—the part that had loved him since we were broke twenty-somethings eating cold pizza over blueprints—wanted to reach out and pull him into my arms. But six years of independence, pain, and single motherhood stood like an iron wall between us.

“You can’t just erase six years with a confession, Luca,” I said softly, forcing my voice to remain steady. “You left me. You stood in our kitchen on a snowy night and told me you didn't love me the way you used to. Even if your mother lied to you, you were the one who chose to stop fighting for us.”

Luca closed his eyes, a deep shudder running through his frame. “I know. And that is a debt I will spend the rest of my life trying to repay. I don't expect you to take me back today, Nia. I don't even expect you to let me be a full-time father tomorrow. All I am asking for is a chance to prove to you that I can be the man you deserved six years ago.”

Before I could answer, Julian Vance’s phone buzzed sharply on the table.

Julian picked it up, listened for a few seconds, and his calm, professional demeanor suddenly dissolved into cold alarm.

“Mr. Moretti,” Julian said, stepping forward. “We have a major situation.”

Luca stood up instantly, his dark eyes snapping into focus. “What is it?”

“Eleanor just held an emergency press conference at the Moretti Global headquarters,” Julian revealed, holding out his tablet. “She learned about Dr. Harrison’s arrest twenty minutes ago. She realizes we are onto her.”

Luca grabbed the tablet. I leaned over his arm to watch the screen.

On the live broadcast, Eleanor Moretti—dressed in an immaculate cream-colored Chanel suit, her silver hair styled flawlessly—stood before a wall of reporters and microphones. She looked tragic, composed, and utterly manipulative.

“...It is with a heavy heart that I address the media tonight,” Eleanor’s polished voice echoed through the speaker. “My son, Luca, has recently fallen victim to a extortion scheme orchestrated by his ex-wife, Nia Carter. Miss Carter has suddenly resurfaced after six years, claiming to have children belonging to my son, demanding vast sums of money from the Moretti estate. When our family refused to succumb to her financial demands, she used corrupt elements in law enforcement to target our long-time family physician, Dr. Harrison.”

I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth. “She... she’s lying! She’s attacking me on live television!”

“She’s trying to control the narrative before the criminal charges hit her,” Julian explained grimly. “By publicly painting Miss Carter as a gold-digger attempting to extort the family, she’s setting up a public relations defense. If the media believes Nia is a fraud, any evidence we release later will be viewed as fabricated by a desperate ex-wife.”

Luca’s face went entirely white with fury. A dark, terrifying energy radiated off him—the true, unstoppable force of the Moretti empire unleashed.

“She crossed the line,” Luca whispered, his voice dangerously quiet. “She attacked my children. She attacked Nia.”

He turned to Julian. “Activate our media partners. I want an immediate injunction against Eleanor’s corporate voting rights at Moretti Global. Freeze her access to the family trust. And call the Chief of Police—tell him I am bringing in the original, certified lab documents personally tonight.”

“Right away, sir,” Julian said, immediately dialing his phone as he walked toward the door.

Luca turned back to me. His anger evaporated the moment he looked at my trembling frame. He stepped forward and placed his large, warm hands on my shoulders, grounding me.

“Listen to me, Nia,” Luca said, staring deeply into my eyes. “Six years ago, I failed to protect you from my mother’s poison. I let her drive you away. I swear on my life, on the lives of Eli and Mara, that will never happen again. I am going to end this tonight.”

“Luca, she has power, she has board members who obey her—”

“I am Moretti Global, Nia,” Luca interrupted, his voice ringing with absolute, terrifying authority. “She built a house of cards on a lie. Watch me burn it to the ground.”