Chapter 25
The silence of Arianna’s estate was deceptive—a thin veil hiding the lethal vigilance of the guards stationed throughout the property. Their movements were precise, their presence constant, but Luca knew how to move unseen. Years at Marco’s side had taught him how to slip through shadows where men like these never thought to look.
Crouched against the far wall of Arianna’s study, Luca’s pulse thudded steadily in his ears as he waited for the footsteps outside to fade. One guard lingered longer than he liked, the beam of a flashlight sweeping across the hallway floor through the crack beneath the door. Luca didn’t move, barely breathing as the light paused for an agonizing second. Then, mercifully, it passed, and the footsteps faded down the corridor.
He exhaled quietly, rising to his feet and moving toward the desk. Arianna’s office was coldly elegant—sleek dark wood, leather-bound books lined neatly on shelves, and an almost surgical order to everything. It was the kind of place where any imperfection would stand out. Luca had to be careful.
Sliding open a side drawer, he pulled out the stack of carefully fabricated documents Carmen had handed him earlier. Forged financial statements, coded correspondences, and false records all pointed to Arianna as the architect behind the recent De Luca attack—a move that had cost Marco dearly.
It has to look real, he reminded himself. If Marco was going to believe it, it couldn’t feel forced.
Luca tucked the first document deep within an already disorganized folder labeled Imports/Exports, making it appear as though Arianna had hastily shoved it there in her rush to hide something. He slid another between correspondence from unnamed “allies,” ensuring that her fingerprints—figuratively—would be all over the betrayal.
As he reached for the final sheet, the sound of muffled voices in the hall made him freeze. Two guards were speaking, their footsteps slowing as they neared the door.
“You check in here yet?” one of them asked, his voice muffled but clear enough to send a chill through Luca.
“No. Probably empty,” came the reply.
Luca’s fingers twitched toward the knife hidden in his boot. He didn’t want to kill anyone—not here, not tonight—but if they opened the door…
A long pause. The handle rattled slightly, and Luca slipped into the shadows beside a tall bookshelf, pressing his body flat against it. His heartbeat slammed against his ribs as the door creaked open, spilling faint light into the room.
“Nothing here,” one of them said after a beat.
The door clicked shut again, and Luca waited for their footsteps to retreat before he exhaled quietly. He moved fast now, tucking the final document into place before easing toward the window. He cracked it open just wide enough to slip through, the cool night air brushing against his face as he dropped silently onto the gravel below.
Luca straightened, blending into the darkness as he worked his way to the back fence of the estate. He didn’t stop until he was outside the property entirely, slipping into the shadows of the nearby tree line.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he sent a single text to Carmen: “It’s done.”
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Arianna stood in her study the next morning, her sharp gaze sweeping over the room. Something was wrong. She could feel it—a ripple in the perfect order she maintained so meticulously. Her office was private, secured, untouchable… and yet, it wasn’t.
The realization gnawed at her as she rifled through her files. At first, nothing seemed amiss. The folders were where she’d left them, her correspondence untouched. But then her eyes landed on it—a document she didn’t remember. It was barely visible, tucked into a folder she hadn’t touched in days.
Arianna pulled it free, her brow furrowing as she skimmed the page. The records detailed payments—large ones—tied to the De Luca family. Her breath caught as she flipped to the next sheet: coded messages discussing planned attacks against Marco’s operations.
“What the hell…” she whispered, the words catching in her throat.
The documents were perfect—too perfect. Arianna’s pulse quickened as suspicion clawed its way into her mind. Someone had planted this. Someone had slipped into her private sanctuary, intending to frame her.
She slammed the file shut, her face pale with rage as she spun toward the door. “Gianni!” she barked, her voice echoing down the hallway.
A tall guard appeared seconds later, his face taut. “Yes, ma’am?”
“Double security,” she ordered sharply. “Check every inch of this estate for weaknesses—entrances, exits, everything. Someone’s been here. I want to know how, and I want to know who.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied quickly, retreating with a nod.
Arianna stood alone for a moment, the anger simmering beneath her calm exterior. She turned back to the desk, her eyes narrowing on the forged evidence. Someone was moving against her—someone clever enough to know exactly where to strike.
“Marco…” she whispered to herself, her lips curling faintly into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You still don’t see the wolves at your door, do you?”
But even as she spoke, her confidence flickered. If someone had managed to breach her estate, they were dangerous. And if Marco saw these documents before she could control the narrative, it could undo everything she’d built.
She tightened her grip on the folder, already planning her next move. Whoever had done this would regret it.
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Carmen sat on the edge of the couch in Vincent’s study, phone in hand, her fingers trembling slightly as she drafted the anonymous message. Luca had done his part. Now it was time to set the next piece of the plan in motion.
Her thumb hovered over Marco’s contact—saved under a name she hadn’t seen light up her phone in weeks. She wouldn’t call him. Not yet. But the documents needed to get to him, and they needed to make him question everything.
She typed the message slowly, carefully:
“Marco—You don’t know me, but you need to see this. Arianna isn’t who she says she is. Look at what she’s been hiding. If you don’t, you’ll lose everything.”
She attached the digital versions of the forged documents, every piece meticulously formatted to look like Arianna’s work. The truth was buried beneath layers of lies, but Carmen knew this would force Marco to start digging.
She stared at the message for a long moment before hitting send.
Vincent entered the room just as she set the phone down, his eyebrow raised. “Is it done?”
“It’s done,” Carmen replied, her voice steady despite the tension curling in her chest.
Vincent studied her for a moment, then smirked faintly. “You know, there’s no going back after this.”
“I know,” she said quietly.
“Do you think he’ll believe it?”
Carmen looked down at the phone, the silence stretching between them. “Maybe not right away,” she admitted. “But it’ll plant the seed. And once that doubt takes root, Arianna won’t be able to hide for long.”
Vincent nodded approvingly. “Smart move. Now we wait and see who cracks first.”
Carmen leaned back against the couch, her shoulders tense as she stared at the fire flickering in the hearth. She knew this wasn’t over—not by a long shot. Arianna was dangerous, and when she realized the walls were closing in, she’d lash out harder than ever before.
But Carmen wasn’t afraid. For Marco. For herself. For their child. She would see this through to the end.
No matter what it cost.
