Chapter 16 I Only Care About Profit
Lucas POV
The city lights glimmered beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass of the most exclusive restaurant in the district.
For the first time in a week, the air was fresh and relaxing. Since the "human bomb" incident at the warehouse, the shadows had remained silent.
No more leaked contracts or any other issues as my fifty-million-dollar donation had worked its magic, the headlines were filled with praise for the Moretti family’s "unmatched generosity." I was back in control again.
Because things had finally calmed down, I decided to throw a bone to Haley. She had been whining for months about a romantic evening, and after she used her influence with the Mayor to save my skin, I owed her. I didn’t do things out of love, I did them out of debt and strategy.
We were seated at a secluded corner table, the white linen and the silverware gleaming under the soft amber glow of the chandeliers. The waiters, moving like shadows, served the first course, a delicate truffle-infused soup.
"Lucas, this is beautiful," Haley said, her voice high and breathless with excitement. She reached across the table, her fingers brushing the sleeve of my suit. "Thank you for finally making time for us."
I nodded, my expression a practiced mask of calm. "You deserved a night out, Haley. You’ve been very helpful lately."
I watched her as she took a sip of her soup. She was beautiful, certainly and has spent thousands on her hair, skin, and her wardrobe. But as I watched her tilt her head and laugh at anything I say, a sudden, cold thought struck me.
She wasn't elegant.
There was something loud about her, something desperate and unrefined. My mind flashed to Bella. Bella had a natural, quiet grace and she could sit in a room of a thousand people and command it without saying a word.
I shook my head violently to clear the image. ‘Why am I thinking about a dead woman?’ Bella was gone. I needed to focus on the living and on the woman whose father controlled the city’s political system.
"Lucas? Are you okay?" Haley asked, her fork hovering mid-air. She looked at me with a frown, her eyes searching mine. "You just shook your head like you were trying to get rid of something."
"I'm fine," I snapped, my voice a bit harsher than I intended. I smoothed my tie and took a sip of my wine. "Just a bit of a headache…The office has been hectic."
Haley pouted, a look that was supposed to be cute but only made me feel a surge of irritation. "Well, forget about the office tonight. I want to talk about us. Now that… Well, now that everything is settled and Bella is officially gone, I think we should start making real plans."
I set my glass down. "Plans?"
"Marriage, Lucas," she said, her eyes gleaming with a hungry ambition. "There’s no reason to wait anymore. The mourning period can be short, everyone knows the marriage is struggling. If we get engaged now, we can solidify the alliance between your empire and my father’s office, and it would make you untouchable."
I felt a tightening in my chest, but it wasn't romance. It was a cold, calculating resistance. I wasn't prepared for this and I had no intention of marrying Haley yet.
The only reason I kept her in my bed was because her father was the Mayor. I needed his influence, his connections, and his team of experts. But I hadn't fully confirmed the Mayor's long-term standing.
If he lost the next election, Haley would be a useless weight around my neck. I didn't marry for love, I only marry for a return on investment. And right now, I wasn't ready to risk anything.
"Haley, it’s a bit soon to talk about…"
"Is it?" she interrupted, her voice rising. "I’ve been the one in the shadows for years, Lucas. I've helped you several times! I saved your reputation! I think I've earned…"
The sharp ringing of my phone cut her off and I felt a surge of relief at the interruption. I reached into my pocket and saw it was Brian. He knew I was on a date. He wouldn't call unless it was something that couldn't wait.
"What?" I asked coldly as soon as I picked up the call.
"Boss," Brian’s voice was shaking. I had never heard him sound so rattled. "Go online now. It’s Sasha… She’s at The Gilded Lily."
"What did that brat do now?" I hissed, my blood beginning to boil.
"Just look at the live feeds, Boss. It’s bad…It’s really bad."
I ended the call without a word. Haley was saying something about "respect" and "promises," but her voice was just background noise. I opened the trending tab on my phone.
And my heart immediately stopped.
The first video had over a million views already. It was titled, “MORETTI HEIRESS HAS TOTAL MELTDOWN: CLAIMS SISTER-IN-LAW’S GHOST IS HAUNTING HER.”
I clicked it and my hands began to tremble, a cold sweat breaking out across my back. The video showed Sasha in the middle of a crowded club, her hair disheveled, her face a mask of pure, insane terror. She was on her knees, screaming at the air, her voice hoarse.
"STOP HAUNTING ME! BELLA, PLEASE! I'll tell the truth! Just don't take me with you!"
I watched, frozen in horror, as she pointed a shaking finger at nothing.
"I wasn't the one who killed you!"
The camera panned to the crowd. People were laughing and mocking her. Some were shouting questions about the contract and the "accident." Then, the video showed my lead bodyguard slamming a fist into her neck to shut her up before carrying her out like a piece of luggage.
The anger that hit me was so sudden and so violent that for a moment, I couldn't breathe. Fifty million dollars…I had just thrown fifty million dollars into a hole to fix her image, and she had destroyed it in a single night of drunken madness. And she hadn't just embarrassed herself, she has indirectly revealed that Bella was murdered. She had screamed to a room full of people that she wasn't the one who killed her.
The "Moretti Miracle" was dead, in its place was a viral confession of a madwoman. The investors would see this and the whole world was watching my sister acting like a mad woman.
"Lucas? What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost," Haley said, leaning over the table to see the screen.
I looked up at her, but I didn't see her. I saw the ruin of my empire and the faces of the board members as they prepared to vote me out.
I saw the shadows closing in again and realized that this wasn't just Sasha being a brat. The way she screamed, she sounded like she had actually seen something.
Someone had clearly targeted her and had waited for her to be drunk and vulnerable and then they had pushed her over the edge.
Bella.
The name echoed in the back of my mind like a death bell. ‘Is it possible?’ No. It was impossible, but someone was playing the part of her ghost, and they were doing it to put fear in our minds.
"Lucas? Speak to me!" Haley grabbed my arm.
The touch was the final straw. My frustration, my panic, and my raw, unchecked rage boiled over.
"Get your hands off me!" I roared.
The entire restaurant went silent. The elite of the city turned to stare at our table, but I didn't care. I didn't care if she was the Mayor’s daughter or care about elegance.
I stood up, my chair screeching against the floor. My phone was still in my hand, the image of Sasha’s hysterical face glowing on the screen.I took the phone and slammed it onto the table with everything I had.
The screen shattered, glass flying everywhere. Haley let out a small scream, cowering back in her seat.
"Lucas! Where are you going? We haven't even finished!"
I didn't answer her or even look back. I stormed out of the restaurant, my footsteps echoing on the marble floor. My mind was a storm of murderous thoughts. I was going to find Sasha, and if she wasn't already unconscious, I was going to make sure she wished she was.
But more than that, I was going to find whoever was doing this. I was going to find the person who was using my dead wife’s name to dismantle my life. I had been calm for a week, thinking I had won. But the game clearly hadn't ended and I was on the losing end.