Chapter 2 - The Dinner Invitation
Emma spent the entire day trying to convince herself she would not accept Luca's invitation.
By six o'clock, she had changed her mind three times.
By seven, she was standing outside the Romano estate.
The mansion looked less like a home and more like a private kingdom.
Iron gates opened automatically.
A long driveway curved through manicured gardens toward a massive stone house overlooking Lake Michigan.
Emma stared through the car window.
"I shouldn't be here."
Luca glanced at her.
"You can leave."
She looked at him.
"That's the first reasonable thing you've said."
A faint smile appeared.
"But you came."
"My mother taught me not to refuse dinner invitations."
"Your mother sounds wise."
Emma looked away.
"She is."
They entered the house.
A woman in her seventies waited at the top of the staircase.
Silver hair.
Elegant black dress.
Pearls.
Warm eyes.
"So," she said, smiling, "you're Emma."
Emma blinked.
The woman descended the stairs and took both her hands.
"I'm Sofia Romano."
Emma smiled nervously.
"Nice to meet you."
Sofia looked at her son.
"She's prettier than you described."
"Mother."
"What? You said she was brave. You forgot beautiful."
Emma laughed.
The tension disappeared.
Dinner was nothing like Emma expected.
There were no servants hovering nervously.
No interrogation.
No condescending questions.
Sofia asked about Emma's childhood.
Her father.
Her work.
Her mother.
Emma slowly relaxed.
Then Sofia noticed the way Emma avoided talking about money.
"You work two jobs?"
Emma nodded.
"The diner during the day. Office cleaning at night."
Luca's expression hardened.
"Why?"
Emma looked at him.
"Because my mother is sick."
"What does she need?"
"Treatment."
"How much?"
Emma immediately shook her head.
"No."
"I only asked."
"I know what happens after people ask that."
"What happens?"
"They offer money."
"And that's bad?"
"Sometimes."
Luca leaned back.
"Why?"
"Because money always comes with strings."
Sofia watched them carefully.
Then she smiled.
"Your father taught you that too?"
Emma's eyes lowered.
"My father taught me that if someone helps you, remember the kindness. But never surrender your dignity."
Luca went silent.
He understood suddenly why she had affected him.
She had very little.
Yet somehow she possessed something many powerful people lacked.
Self-respect.
After dinner, Sofia asked Emma to stay for tea.
Luca stepped onto the balcony.
Marco joined him.
"Boss."
"What?"
"We found her."
Luca turned.
"Tell me."
"Emma Carter. Twenty-four. No criminal record. No financial misconduct. No connections to organized crime."
"Family?"
"Mother—Margaret Carter. Chronic kidney disease. Father—Daniel Carter. Deceased seven years ago."
Luca's expression changed.
"How?"
"Car accident."
"Where?"
Marco hesitated.
"There's something unusual."
"What?"
"The accident report was sealed."
Luca turned fully toward him.
"Why?"
"That's what we're investigating."
Inside, Emma laughed at something Sofia said.
Luca looked through the glass.
He felt an unfamiliar instinct.
Protective.
He didn't like it.
He had spent years training himself to eliminate emotional weaknesses.
Now one had appeared wearing a cheap jacket and carrying grocery bags.
The next morning, Luca received a call.
His face hardened.
"What happened?"
Marco's voice came through the phone.
"Someone followed Emma home."
Luca stood.
"Who?"
"We don't know."
"Where is she now?"
"At the diner."
Luca looked toward the window.
Rain had begun falling again.
"Put two men near her."
"Already done."
"Make it four."
Marco hesitated.
"Boss, if someone is watching her, four men might attract attention."
"I don't care."
"Understood."
Meanwhile, Emma had no idea.
She was wiping a table when Rick, her manager, approached.
"That man from yesterday."
"What about him?"
"He's dangerous."
Emma frowned.
"You know him?"
Rick lowered his voice.
"Everyone in this city knows Luca Romano."
Emma froze.
"Luca?"
"That's his real name."
She remembered the stranger's voice.
Lucas.
The expensive suit.
The four SUVs.
Her stomach dropped.
"Who is he?"
Rick glanced toward the window.
"A man people don't say no to."
Emma's heart began pounding.
She suddenly understood why everyone in the diner had been terrified.
She also understood something else.
Luca had lied to her.
That evening, she waited outside the diner.
Luca arrived alone.
Emma stepped toward him.
"You lied."
He stopped.
"About your name."
"I did."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted one night where someone didn't know who I was."
Emma stared at him.
"Who are you?"
"Luca Romano."
"I searched your name."
"I assumed you would."
"You own half the businesses in Chicago."
"Not half."
"People are afraid of you."
"Some are."
She stepped closer.
"Should I be?"
Luca looked into her eyes.
"No."
Emma wanted to believe him.
But before she could answer, a dark sedan sped around the corner.
A window lowered.
Luca's expression changed instantly.
He grabbed Emma and pulled her behind him.
A gunshot cracked through the night.
The diner window shattered.
Emma screamed.
Luca shoved her to the ground.
His security team appeared from nowhere.
Within seconds, the sedan disappeared.
Silence returned.
Emma looked up.
Luca was kneeling beside her.
His hand rested protectively over her shoulder.
His face was cold.
Not frightened.
Furious.
"Emma."
She looked at him.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
"No."
Luca stood.
Marco approached.
"Boss."
Luca stared down the road.
"Find them."
Marco nodded.
Emma slowly stood.
"Why would someone shoot at me?"
Luca looked at her.
That was the question he couldn't answer.
Because until tonight, he had assumed Emma was simply an innocent stranger.
Now he wasn't so sure.
Someone knew about her.
May you like
Someone wanted her frightened.
And Luca was beginning to suspect the broken car on the rainy road had not been an accident after all.
