Chapter 42 Ren
Ren
I stand by the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse and watch the city of Verona. The sky is a bruised purple as the sun begins to dip behind the skyline. I can hear Amelia in the other room. She is moving furniture and setting up a makeshift command center on the dining table. The sound of her dragging a heavy chair across the hardwood floor is a constant reminder that she is never truly at rest. She is a soldier in a silk cage and she is already looking for a way to break out.
The drive into the city was an exercise in restraint. I sat next to her and listened to her detail exactly how she plans to dismantle my life. She wants me to rot in a cell. She wants to watch my empire turn to ash. She said it with such cold conviction that I almost wanted to applaud. The irony of the situation is a weight in my chest. I am the man she wants to destroy and I am the only reason she is even alive to try.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and see a message from Marco. He is waiting in the secure stairwell two floors down. I leave the living room and make sure the door to Amelia’s suite is closed before I slip out into the hallway. I take the private elevator down to the landing where Marco is standing. He looks like he has not slept in two days. His eyes are darting to the security cameras and his hand is resting near his holster.
"You are losing your mind, Ren," Marco says before I even step out of the lift. "You brought her back to the center of the nest. Valentino is circling the city like a shark and you just handed him the bait on a silver platter."
"She was going to come back with or without me, Marco," I say. I lean against the cold concrete wall of the stairwell. "At least this way I know which roof she is under. I can control the variables here."
"You can't control Valentino," Marco snaps. He steps closer and lowers his voice. "He is ruthless and he is unpredictable. What happens the moment he decides to get bored of this game? What happens if he walks up to her and tells her exactly who you are? He knows you are Luca D'Angelo. He knows you are the Shadow. If he reveals your identity to her, this whole thing ends in a bloodbath."
I look at Marco and I feel a strange sense of calm. I have spent the last hour dissecting Valentino's behavior at the crash site. I have played that encounter over in my head a hundred times. A man like Valentino Russo does not do anything without a reason. He is a creature of ego and tradition.
"He won't tell her," I say. My voice is steady. "Not yet."
"How can you be so sure?" Marco asks. "It would be the easiest way to destroy you. He tells his sister the truth and she pulls the trigger for him. It's clean and it's poetic."
"It's too simple for a man like Valentino," I reply. I shake my head. "If he exposes me to Amelia, she arrests me. The war ends immediately. I go to prison and the Moretti empire becomes a vacuum for the state to fill. Valentino loses the opportunity to destroy me himself. He wants the victory to belong to him and not to a military captain who happens to be his sister. He is too proud to hand that win to her."
Marco scoffs and rubs his face. "You're betting your life on his pride? That is a hell of a gamble, Ren."
"I am betting on his ambition," I correct him. "Valentino wants something bigger than my head on a plate. He wants to prove he is the superior predator. He wants to ruin me by his own hand. If he tells Amelia, he becomes a witness. If he keeps the secret, he remains the executioner. He will stay silent because he wants to be the one to watch me burn."
"And if you're wrong?" Marco asks. "If he decides that the truth is a better weapon than a bullet?"
"Then I deal with the consequences," I say. I push off the wall and look at the door. "But for now, he is our silent partner in this lie. He will keep his mouth shut as long as he thinks he can still win the game on his terms."
Marco doesn't look convinced, but he nods because he has no other choice. He gives me a quick update on the warehouse district. My men have already scrubbed the Northern Logistics facility. We have moved the primary shipments to the southern docks and left a trail of breadcrumbs that lead to a dead end. Amelia will find just enough to keep her interested, but not enough to hurt us.
I leave Marco and head back up to the penthouse. When I enter, the lights are dim. I find Amelia in the dining area. She has spread her manifests across the long table. She has her laptop open and a notebook filled with scribbled coordinates. She doesn't look up when I walk in. She is completely focused. She is biting her lower lip in a way that makes my chest tighten.
She believes she is hunting Ren Moretti. She believes she is getting closer to the heart of the beast. She has no idea that the beast is standing only a few feet away and watching the light from the screen reflect in her eyes.
I walk to the kitchen and pour a glass of water. I watch her work. I think about how dangerous this is. I am not just worried about Valentino anymore. I am starting to realize that Amelia doesn't need a gun or a badge to destroy me. The closer I keep her, the more the lines between Luca and Ren begin to blur. She is looking for a monster and I am starting to wonder if she will even recognize me when the mask finally falls.
"Find anything interesting?" I ask.
She finally looks up. Her gaze is sharp and determined. "I found a discrepancy in the transit logs. I'm going to the docks tomorrow, Luca. I'm going to find where those trucks are going."
"Be careful, Amelia," I say. I offer her a small smile. "The docks can be a very unforgiving place for someone looking for the truth."
"I'm not looking for the truth," she says as she turns back to her screen. "I'm looking for a target."
I turn away and look out at the city. She is right. We are both looking for targets. I just hope that when the smoke clears, we are not the ones standing in each other's sights.
I step out onto the balcony and close the glass door behind me.
The noise from the dining area fades at once. The city of Verona stretches below the penthouse like a sea of gold and shadows. Lights blink on one by one across the skyline and cars crawl along the narrow streets. Somewhere far below a motorcycle roars past and disappears into the night.
I rest my hands on the railing and stare at the city.
Inside the house Amelia is still moving around the dining table. I can hear the faint scrape of chairs and the quiet shuffle of paper. She is building her command center with a lot of focus. She is planning a hunt for Ren Moretti.
I close my eyes for a moment and let out a slow breath.
Her voice echoes in my head. She told me she would make sure I rot in jail. She said if she dies she will take me with her. I rub my thumb along the cold metal of the railing. I am the monster she is looking for and I am standing ten feet away from her.
The situation is dangerous.
I pace slowly along the balcony. A question is forming in the back of my mind and it refuses to stay silent. No matter how I try to get it out of my mind, nothing works. I wonder what will happen when the truth finally comes out. The truth always has a way of tearing through walls.
If Amelia discovers that Luca D’Angelo and Ren Moretti are the same man she will try to arrest me. It is what she believes in. Law and justice are the only things she cares about. If she cannot arrest me then she will try to kill me. She is not the type of person who backs away from a fight.
I think about the real possibility that she will point a weapon at me one day. Or maybe Valentino will reach her first and the confrontation will happen sooner than I want. I ask myself if I will be able to pull the trigger on Amelia Russo.
The night air feels colder suddenly. I shudder as I feel a chill creep down my body.
I stare at the lights of Verona and think about all the times I have killed before. I never hesitated because you cannot survive in my position if you hesitate. Power requires clarity and decisions must be made without emotion.
But Amelia is different.
I saved her life and I carried her out of that car myself. Now she sleeps under my roof and eats at my table. Every time I look at her something inside my chest tightens. The idea of killing her feels wrong.
If she becomes a threat I will have to choose between my empire and her. Ren Moretti has never struggled with a decision between power and anything else. Power always wins. I let out a slow breath and realize this is dangerous thinking. One I'm not ready for and one I don't think I'll ever be ready for.
I push away from the railing and turn toward the glass doors.
The moment I step back into the living room one of my guards appears from the hallway. He looks uncomfortable.
"Boss," he says.
"What is it?" I ask.
"There is a woman downstairs asking to see you. She refuses to leave."
"What is her name?"
"Sophia."
I stop walking.
I press the elevator button and step inside without another word. When the doors open I find her standing near the entrance of the private lobby. Sophia Morelli looks exactly the way she always does. She has dark hair and she is wearing a black dress. Her heels click against the marble floor as she turns toward me.
"Well," she says. "Look who finally decided to appear."
"Sophia," I say.
"You disappeared for days," she says. "Your men refuse to answer my calls and then I hear rumors that you were seen with a woman. So I came here to see for myself."
"You should have called first," I tell her.
"I did, many times," she replies. She studies my face. "And now I find a woman living in your penthouse."
I stay silent.
Sophia tilts her head and smiles. It is a wolfish grin.
"I am guessing she does not know your real identity," she murmurs.
"She is a guest," I say.
"Do you often bring mysterious guests into the place you swore no one would ever enter?" she asks.
I don't respond. "Come upstairs," I tell her.
We get into the elevator and the doors close. She watches me the entire time.
When we step back into the penthouse Sophia walks in first. Her eyes move slowly around the room and then they stop. Amelia is sitting at the dining table with her laptop. Papers cover the surface and a pen is tucked behind her ear.
Amelia looks up and her eyes land on Sophia. They stare at each other for a few seconds.
"So this is your guest," Sophia says.
Amelia stands up. "And you are?"
"Sophia. A friend of Luca’s."
I stand between them as the silence in the room stretches thin. I clear my throat and look at Amelia.
"Amelia, this is Sophia. Sophia, this is Amelia."
Amelia gives a short, sharp nod. She doesn't offer a hand.
Sophia doesn't seem to notice. She walks toward the dining table and begins to circle it slowly. Her eyes scan the mess of maps and manifests I allowed Amelia to spread out.
"You seem very comfortable here," Sophia says. Her voice is light, but it carries a bite.
"Luca insisted," Amelia replies. She doesn't look intimidated. She just looks back at her laptop.
Sophia turns her head to look at me. Her eyebrow arches.
"Did you now?"
"I did," I say.
Sophia leans against the edge of the mahogany table, right over a map of the north district. She looks at Amelia again.
"And how exactly did you two meet?"
"It was an accident," I say before Amelia can get a word out.
Sophia smirks.
"That sounds like the beginning of a very bad story."
Amelia crosses her arms over her chest and leans back in her chair.
"You could say that."
Sophia studies her for a long moment. She is taking in the oversized hoodie and the way Amelia holds herself like she is ready for a fight even while sitting down.
Sophia turns her attention back to me.
"You have interesting taste in guests, Luca," she says. "Do the families know you are hosting strangers in your private residence?"
"They do not need to know," I answer.
"You are engaged to me, Luca," Sophia says. She says it clearly, making sure the word hangs in the air. "Bringing another woman into your home tends to raise questions."
Amelia’s head snaps toward me. Her eyes are wide with a mix of surprise and something I can't quite identify.
"Engaged?"
"Yes," Sophia says with a sweet, sharp smile.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and feel a headache beginning to bloom.
Sophia walks closer to me. She lowers her voice so it is just for my ears, though I know Amelia is listening to every breath.
"You should have warned her, Luca," she whispers.
"I did not think it was necessary," I tell her.
Sophia studies Amelia one more time. She looks at the girl’s stubborn jaw and the files on the table. She turns toward the hallway door.
"If this turns into a mess, the families will not be pleased," she says.
"I will handle it," I say.
"Make sure you do," Sophia replies. She pauses at the entrance and looks at Amelia, then back at me. "You are playing a dangerous game."
The door closes behind her with a soft click.
The penthouse goes quiet.
Amelia doesn't say anything for a long time. She just sits back down at the table and stares at her blank screen.
I walk toward the window and look out at the lights of Verona again.
Sophia is right about one thing. This is a dangerous game and I am no longer sure who is going to lose and who is going to win.