Chapter 12 - The Scandal That Nearly Destroyed Them
I resigned the next morning.
Not from Moretti Holdings.
From Luca.
There is a difference.
My promotion remained valid.
My new office was twelve floors below his.
I reported to the COO.
Professionally, I had never been more secure.
Personally, I needed distance.
Luca accepted it.
That was how I knew he had changed.
He didn’t argue.
He didn’t send flowers.
He didn’t manipulate schedules so we would “accidentally” meet.
He sent one message.
I understand.
Nothing else.
For four days.
I hated every minute.
Christmas came and went.
I spent it with my parents in Connecticut.
My mother asked about Luca seven times.
My father asked once.
“Do you love him?”
I stared at the Christmas tree.
“Yes.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“He makes decisions for people.”
“So do you.”
I looked at him.
“I do not.”
He laughed.
“Emma, when you were eight, you organized our entire family vacation because you didn’t trust me to reserve a hotel.”
“That was different.”
“You created an itinerary.”
“You lost the reservation the year before.”
“Still.”
I smiled despite myself.
Dad became serious.
“Love doesn’t mean trusting someone never to make mistakes.”
“I know.”
“It means deciding which mistakes they’re willing to stop making.”
That stayed with me.
The next morning, the scandal exploded again.
A document appeared online.
FAKE RELATIONSHIP AGREEMENT — LUCA MORETTI AND EMMA BENNETT.
My phone filled with notifications.
The document looked real.
Payment terms.
Confidentiality.
Public appearances.
Even a clause suggesting I would receive a bonus after Luca’s thirty-fifth birthday.
It was completely fabricated.
But believable.
Too believable.
Social media turned vicious.
GOLD-DIGGING ASSISTANT PAID TO PLAY GIRLFRIEND.
BILLIONAIRE’S CHRISTMAS ROMANCE EXPOSED.
MORETTI BOARD MISLED.
My mother read the article beside me.
“This is garbage.”
“I know.”
My father looked furious.
“Can you sue?”
“Eventually.”
But the damage was immediate.
Moretti Holdings shares fell again.
The board called Luca back from leave.
Reporters appeared outside my parents’ home.
Then someone found the signed employment promotion.
They connected the dates.
Now it looked like payment.
My promotion became “evidence.”
The exact document Luca created to protect me had been turned against us.
At noon, the company issued a statement denying the agreement.
Nobody cared.
At one, Isabella called.
“I know who created it.”
I stood.
“Who?”
“Felix Dunn.”
Victor’s lawyer.
“How do you know?”
“He used a confidentiality template from Rinaldi Capital.”
“Can you prove it?”
“I think so.”
“Think?”
“My father can.”
Silence.
“Will he?”
“No.”
Of course not.
“Why are you helping me?”
Isabella was quiet.
Then she said,
“Because I know what it feels like when powerful men write your life on paper and expect you to sign.”
I closed my eyes.
“What do you need?”
“To get my father to talk.”
“How?”
“You.”
That was unexpected.
“Why me?”
“Because he thinks you destroyed his alliance.”
“I did.”
“No.”
Her voice became firm.
“My father destroyed it by treating me like a bargaining chip.”
I remembered the sadness in Isabella’s face that first night.
“What do I say to him?”
“The truth.”
Two hours later, I met Carlo Rinaldi in a private room at a Manhattan restaurant.
No Luca.
No lawyers.
Just me.
Carlo studied me.
“You’re braver than I expected.”
“I’m angrier than you expected.”
“Probably.”
He poured espresso.
“I did not create the fake agreement.”
“Did you know Victor would?”
“No.”
“Did you fund the investigation into my family?”
He didn’t answer.
“That means yes.”
“I was protecting my interests.”
“You were blackmailing me.”
“I never authorized threats.”
“You paid the people who made them possible.”
He looked away.
For the first time, I saw discomfort.
“Your daughter left because of you.”
His face tightened.
“That is private.”
“So was my father’s bankruptcy.”
Silence.
I leaned forward.
“You wanted Luca to marry Isabella because you thought it would secure your family’s future.”
“Yes.”
“Instead, you may lose her completely.”
His hand tightened around the espresso cup.
I had found the wound.
“Help us prove Victor created the agreement.”
“Why?”
“Because if you don’t, he wins.”
Carlo gave a humorless smile.
“You think I care about Luca?”
“No.”
I paused.
“I think you care whether your daughter ever trusts you again.”
That hit.
Ten minutes passed.
Then Carlo reached into his jacket.
He placed a flash drive on the table.
“Felix sent me drafts.”
My heart accelerated.
“Of the fake agreement?”
“Not under that name.”
“What name?”
“Contingency narrative.”
I almost laughed at the arrogance.
“Why keep it?”
“I keep everything.”
Of course he did.
I reached for the drive.
He covered it with his hand.
“One condition.”
“No.”
His eyebrows rose.
“You don’t even know what it is.”
“If your condition involves Luca marrying Isabella, leaving the company, paying you money, or me disappearing, the answer is no.”
For the first time, Carlo laughed.
“You truly are the woman Luca would choose.”
I said nothing.
He removed his hand.
“No condition.”
I took the drive.
“Why?”
His expression aged suddenly.
“Because my daughter told me this morning that if I helped Victor ruin you, she would never speak to me again.”
He looked toward the window.
“I have already sacrificed too much for power.”
Then he met my eyes.
“I won’t sacrifice her.”
I left with the evidence.
Outside, snow began falling again.
My phone buzzed.
One message from Luca.
No pressure.
No declaration.
Just:
Are you safe?
I stared at it.
Then typed:
Yes.
Three dots appeared.
Then vanished.
He respected the silence.
And for the first time, I understood that Luca’s biggest proof of love might not be fighting for me.
May you like
It might be learning when not to.
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