Chapter 3 - The Lockdown|
"Rocco," Luca growled without taking his eyes off Hannah.
His security chief stepped forward instantly from the edge of the head table, his hand resting on his sidearm holster under his tailored coat. "Boss?"
"Lock the doors," Luca commanded softly, every inch of the terrifying mafia Don returning to his frame. "Nobody leaves this ballroom. Tell the hotel manager that the Moretti family is occupying the grand suite on the top floor."
"Mr. Moretti, please," Hannah gasped out, panic breaking through her tears as she tried to disengage from Sophia. "I have a shift. My manager—"
"Your shift is over, Miss Carter," Luca interrupted, his tone devoid of debate.
He reached down, gently scooping Sophia into his broad arms. The little girl let out a soft whine of protest, reaching her small hands out toward Hannah.
"Don't let her leave, Daddy!" Sophia cried. "She said if I tried really hard to walk every day, she'd find me when I was strong enough!"
Luca looked at Hannah, his gray eyes flashing with an unreadable, intense heat.
"She isn't leaving," Luca promised his daughter. "She's coming upstairs with us."
Five minutes later, the private executive elevator rose in complete silence toward the penthouse suite of Harbor Lights.
Rocco stood in the corner of the lift, his arms crossed, watching Hannah closely. Hannah stood near the mirrored wall, clutching her waiter's tray against her chest like a shield, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
Luca stood in the center, holding his daughter against his broad chest. Sophia’s head rested on his shoulder, her small hand reaching across the narrow space to hold two fingers of Hannah’s apron.
"Why didn't you stay?" Luca asked softly into the quiet elevator. "Three years ago. When the divers came."
Hannah looked down at her sensible black work shoes. "If I had stayed, Mr. Moretti... your family's doctors wouldn't have been the only ones asking me questions."
The elevator chimed smoothly, opening directly into the grand penthouse suite.
Luca carried Sophia inside, setting her down gently on the plush velvet sofa near the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the dark harbor.
"Rocco," Luca ordered, walking over to a mahogany bar in the corner and pouring two fingers of amber scotch. "Bring Dr. Aris to the suite immediately. I want a full neurological sweep of Sophia’s lower spine."
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"Right away, boss," Rocco bowed his head and exited, locking the double doors behind him.
Luca drained his glass in one long swallow, set it down with a quiet click, and turned around to face the woman who had just rewritten his entire universe.
