CHAPTER 4 – THE WAR FOR THE WOMAN HE COULD NOT LOSE (next)
The first rule of power was simple.
Never reveal what you love.
Because enemies could not destroy what they could not find.
For years, Luca Moretti had followed that rule.
He had built walls around his emotions.
He had trained himself to never hesitate.
Never trust.
Never need.
The world knew him as a man without weaknesses.
A man who could walk through fire without blinking.
But then Ava Bennett walked into his life carrying nothing but a nurse’s bag and a broken heart.
And suddenly…
The most dangerous man in Chicago had something to lose.
The Moretti estate was unusually quiet.
Too quiet.
Luca stood in the war room beneath the mansion, staring at the photographs spread across the table.
His uncle.
His family.
The people he trusted.
The people who had been standing beside him while secretly preparing his downfall.
Matteo stood nearby.
“We confirmed everything.”
Luca did not look up.
“Say it again.”
Matteo understood.
Sometimes Luca needed to hear the truth more than once.
“Your uncle, Vincent Moretti, has been working with the Hale family for almost a year.”
Silence.
“Financial transfers. Private meetings. He gave them information about your companies.”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
“How much?”
“Enough to weaken the empire.”
A bitter smile appeared on Luca’s face.
“Family.”
The word sounded almost foreign.
Matteo watched him carefully.
“You want me to bring him in?”
Luca finally looked up.
“No.”
Matteo frowned.
“No?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
Luca looked at the photograph of Vincent.
“Because I want to know why.”
Matteo shook his head slightly.
“That man betrayed your father.”
“I know.”
“He betrayed you.”
“I know.”
“Then why hesitate?”
For a moment, Luca said nothing.
Because Matteo was right.
The old Luca would have already acted.
The old Luca would have removed the threat before sunrise.
But Ava had changed something.
She had reminded him that not every battle was won by destroying the enemy.
Sometimes…
You had to understand them first.
“I want the entire truth.”
Matteo nodded.
Then hesitated.
“There is something else.”
Luca looked at him.
“What?”
“The Hales know about Ava.”
The room changed.
Not physically.
But everyone inside felt it.
Luca’s expression became colder.
“How?”
“We don’t know.”
“Find out.”
“Yes.”
“And Matteo?”
“Yes, boss?”
Luca’s voice dropped.
“If anyone gets near her…”
He didn’t finish.
He didn’t need to.
Matteo understood.
Ava hated feeling helpless.
It was the one thing she could not tolerate.
At Mercy General, she could control chaos.
She could stop bleeding.
Calm frightened families.
Make decisions when everyone else panicked.
But sitting inside Luca Moretti’s world…
She felt like a stranger.
A beautiful prison.
That was how it felt.
The Moretti mansion was enormous.
More expensive than anything she had ever seen.
But it felt empty.
Like nobody actually lived there.
Ava stood near the window, looking down at Chicago.
“Do you always look like you’re waiting for an attack?”
Luca’s voice surprised her.
She turned.
He stood in the doorway.
No suit jacket.
No intimidating group of guards.
Just Luca.
A man.
Not a legend.
“Do you always walk into rooms silently?”
A small smile touched his lips.
“Usually people notice when I enter.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It is.”
Ava looked back at the city.
“Why am I here?”
Luca stepped closer.
“Because someone is trying to use you against me.”
She frowned.
“I barely know you.”
“I know.”
“Then why would anyone care?”
That question bothered him.
Because Ava did not understand.
She didn’t realize what he saw.
What he felt.
To her, she was just Ava.
A nurse.
A woman who lived a simple life.
But to Luca…
She was the first person in years who looked at him without fear.
“The people who want to hurt me don’t need a reason.”
Ava studied him.
“You’re not telling me everything.”
“No.”
The honesty surprised her.
“You admit that?”
“I don’t lie to you.”
She almost smiled.
“Except by omission.”
Luca looked away.
Because she was right.
Ava crossed her arms.
“I’m not someone you can lock away.”
“I know.”
“Then why does it feel like you’re doing exactly that?”
His expression softened.
“Because I know what happens when people close to me get hurt.”
Ava saw something in his eyes.
Pain.
Real pain.
Not the kind powerful men showed.
The kind they hid.
“What happened?”
Luca was quiet.
Then:
“My mother died because of my family.”
Ava’s expression changed.
“She was caught in a war she didn’t start.”
His voice became distant.
“I was seventeen.”
Ava said nothing.
“I learned that day that love creates weaknesses.”
She looked at him.
“Or maybe it creates reasons to fight.”
Luca stared at her.
Nobody had ever answered him that way.
Nobody.
That night, Ethan Carter made the biggest mistake of his life.
He came to see Ava.
Alone.
The Moretti guards stopped him immediately.
But Ava saw him from the window.
“Let him in.”
The guards looked uncertain.
Luca was not there.
“Ava—”
“Let him in.”
Minutes later, Ethan stood inside the mansion.
And for the first time in his life…
He looked afraid.
Ava noticed.
“You look different.”
Ethan gave a weak smile.
“I’m not the person you think I am.”
“No.”
Ava’s voice was calm.
“I finally understand exactly who you are.”
Pain crossed his face.
“I was trying to protect you.”
She almost laughed.
“Protect me?”
“Yes.”
“By destroying me?”
Ethan looked down.
“There were things happening that you didn’t know.”
“Then you should have told me.”
“I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
He hesitated.
“Because they would have killed you.”
The room went silent.
Ava stared.
“What?”
Ethan stepped closer.
“The Hale family wanted information about Luca Moretti. They knew I was close to you.”
“You were never close to me because you loved me.”
His silence answered.
Ava looked away.
The pain was still there.
But something else had replaced it.
Disappointment.
“I was supposed to be your way in.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
The truth hurt.
But she needed it.
“Why did you agree?”
Ethan’s voice broke.
“Because they threatened my family.”
Ava looked at him.
For a second, she saw the man she used to love.
The scared man.
The imperfect man.
But then she remembered the restaurant.
The laughter.
The humiliation.
“You could have warned me.”
“I was going to.”
“When?”
Ethan had no answer.
“After I got hurt?”
Silence.
Ava shook her head.
“You didn’t leave because you were protecting me.”
She looked him directly in the eyes.
“You left because you were protecting yourself.”
Ethan had no response.
Because she was right.
Across the city, Vincent Moretti watched security footage.
Ava.
Walking beside Luca.
Talking.
Smiling.
His expression darkened.
“So it’s true.”
His assistant stood behind him.
“Sir?”
“Luca cares about her.”
A cruel smile appeared.
“After everything I taught him…”
He laughed quietly.
“He finally found a weakness.”
The assistant hesitated.
“What should we do?”
Vincent looked at Ava’s picture.
“Take her.”
The next morning, Luca received the call.
He was in the middle of a business meeting when his phone rang.
Only one person had permission to call him during meetings.
Matteo.
Luca answered immediately.
“What happened?”
A pause.
Then Matteo’s voice.
“Boss…”
Luca stood.
“What?”
“We lost contact with Ava.”
Everything stopped.
The room.
The conversation.
The world.
“What do you mean?”
“She left the mansion thirty minutes ago.”
“Why?”
“She received a message.”
Luca’s eyes darkened.
“From who?”
“We’re checking.”
Luca grabbed his coat.
Then Matteo said the words that changed everything.
“The message came from your phone.”
Silence.
Luca froze.
Someone had copied his number.
Someone had used his identity.
Someone had taken the one person he could not lose.
Ava woke up slowly.
Her head hurt.
The room was dark.
Cold.
She tried to move.
She couldn’t.
Her hands were tied.
Fear finally entered her chest.
Not because she was kidnapped.
But because she understood why.
A door opened.
A man entered.
Older.
Elegant.
Calm.
A man she had never met.
But Luca’s reaction to his name told her everything.
“Hello, Ava Bennett.”
She stared.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
“My name is Vincent Moretti.”
Her blood turned cold.
“Luca’s uncle.”
“Yes.”
He walked closer.
“I wanted to meet the woman who made my nephew forget who he was.”
Ava said nothing.
Vincent smiled.
“You know what’s interesting?”
“What?”
“For years, Luca Moretti had no weakness.”
He leaned closer.
“And then you appeared.”
Ava looked at him.
“He’s coming for me.”
Vincent laughed.
“That’s exactly what I’m counting on.”
Meanwhile…
Luca stood outside the abandoned warehouse where the signal from Ava’s phone disappeared.
The rain began falling again.
Just like the night they met.
But this time…
He wasn’t saving a stranger.
He was saving the woman who had changed him.
Matteo approached.
“We found him.”
Luca looked toward the building.
“Vincent?”
“Yes.”
Luca’s expression was terrifyingly calm.
“Then tonight…”
He loaded his weapon.
“Family ends.”
Inside the warehouse, Vincent smiled as the lights suddenly went out.
Ava looked toward the darkness.
Then she heard footsteps.
Slow.
Controlled.
Fear moved through the room.
Not hers.
The kidnappers’.
Because everyone in Chicago knew one thing.
When Luca Moretti came for someone…
There was no escape.
The door opened.
A silhouette appeared.
And the most feared man in Chicago walked into the darkness.
Not as a mafia boss.
May you like
Not as an emperor.
But as a man fighting for the woman he could not lose.
