Chapter 7 - The Price of the Moretti Name
Luca’s statement lasted seventy-eight seconds and changed the story overnight. He stood alone in Moretti Global’s marble lobby while cameras crowded behind velvet barriers. No Celeste. No Evelyn. No attorney visibly whispering into his ear. “The two children photographed with my former wife are my biological son and daughter,” he said. “Their mother did not conceal them from me. She made documented attempts to inform me before and after their birth, and those communications did not reach me. Any suggestion that Nia Carter pursued me for money or publicity is false. The children are six years old. They did not choose public attention. Leave them alone.” Then he walked away without answering questions.
My phone nearly melted.
Half my clients sent supportive messages. The other half politely asked whether media might appear at our office. Theo’s school called. Lily’s best friend’s mother texted: Do I need to tell Emma anything? I wanted to move to Montana.
Instead, I went to work.
At noon, Luca appeared at my studio.
“You cannot just come here.”
“You need security.”
“No.”
“Nia.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Reporters know this address.”
“We have a receptionist.”
He stared at me.
“I have trained protection specialists.”
“And I have Denise.”
From the front desk Denise yelled, “DAMN RIGHT.”
Luca almost smiled.
We compromised on discreet security outside the building and school pickup for three days. I hated it. I also hated the reporter who followed Lily’s babysitter to a dance class, so compromise became necessary.
Moretti Global’s board reacted less kindly to Luca’s honesty. The company was finalizing a major hotel acquisition with Shaw Capital. Celeste still controlled a large voting block through family trusts. Graham Shaw disliked scandal even more than he disliked losing money. Evelyn called me that evening.
“My father wants Luca to walk back the statement.”
“How exactly does someone walk back two children?”
“He wants him to say there is a private dispute about the timeline.”
“There isn’t.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you telling me?”
“Because Luca told him no.”
I smiled before I could stop myself.
Evelyn heard it.
“You’re pleased.”
“I’m learning to appreciate basic decency.”
“The bar was very low.”
“You married into it too.”
“Fair.”
The acquisition stalled. Moretti stock dipped. Financial television speculated Luca had concealed heirs from shareholders, which made no sense but sounded dramatic. Then Celeste escalated.
A second article appeared.
SOURCE: NIA CARTER DEMANDED MILLIONS FROM MORETTI FAMILY AFTER DIVORCE.
The “source” cited a settlement proposal I had never signed.
The article claimed I demanded ten million dollars to keep the twins private.
I had demanded nothing.
I called Luca.
“That came from her.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“The draft agreement was in the family office.”
“What draft agreement?”
Silence.
“Luca.”
“My mother’s attorneys prepared one after your pregnancy letter.”
My hands went cold.
“You knew?”
“No. I found it today.”
“What did it say?”
“She proposed paying you five million to waive public paternity claims.”
“I never saw it.”
“I know.”
“Then why does the article say ten?”
“Because lies apparently need inflation.”
I wanted to throw the phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling a board meeting.”
“For what?”
“To remove Celeste from the family office.”
“Can you?”
“Maybe not.”
“You sound excited.”
“I’m furious.”
“With her?”
“With myself.”
That surprised me.
“I spent years calling her controlling while still letting her control every structure around me. My staff. Family trusts. Board alliances. Even my marriage to Evelyn.”
“You chose that marriage.”
“I know.”
Again, accountability.
Dangerous.
At the board meeting, Celeste arrived with three attorneys and enough votes to block her own removal. Luca could not force her out. So he did something no one expected.
He resigned as CEO.
The financial news alerts hit my phone while I was making Lily grilled cheese.
LUCA MORETTI STEPS DOWN AMID FAMILY GOVERNANCE CRISIS.
I called him immediately.
“What did you do?”
“I left.”
“Why?”
“Because the board wanted me to issue a statement calling the paternity situation a private disagreement.”
“You could have stayed and fought.”
“I am fighting.”
“You resigned from the company you spent your entire adult life building.”
“My father built half of it. I built the other half. Neither half is worth lying about my children.”
My chest tightened.
“Luca.”
“I’m still the largest individual shareholder. I’m not poor.”
“That was absolutely my concern.”
He laughed softly.
“Can I see them?”
“They’re eating.”
“I’ll bring dessert.”
“No expensive dessert.”
“What counts as expensive?”
“You have lost touch with civilization.”
“I’ll bring grocery-store cookies.”
“Theo hates oatmeal raisin.”
“I’m not a monster.”
Twenty minutes later, Luca sat at my kitchen table eating grilled cheese from a paper plate because Theo insisted “dads have to eat dinner too.”
It was absurd.
It was intimate.
It terrified me.
Then Theo asked, “Did you quit your job because of us?”
Luca glanced at me.
I let him answer.
“I quit because people at my job wanted me to pretend the truth was complicated when it wasn’t.”
“Are we the truth?”
Luca smiled.
“You’re the biggest truth I’ve ever met.”
Theo accepted this.
Lily did not.
“Do you have another job?”
“Not yet.”
She looked worried.
“Can you still buy food?”
I nearly choked.
Luca stared at her.
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Nia.”
I was laughing too hard to intervene.
“Probably forever,” Luca told her.
“That seems wasteful.”
He covered his face.
“You were correct about her.”
“About what?”
“She’s going to redistribute your wealth by age twelve.”
After dinner, Luca washed dishes.
Badly.
I stood beside him.
“You don’t have to prove anything tonight.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you scrubbing the same plate for three minutes?”
He looked down.
“Because I have no idea what normal fathers do after dinner.”
My chest ached.
“They clean the kitchen.”
“Then I’m doing outstanding work.”
“No. You’re terrible.”
He smiled.
For one dangerous second, we looked at each other the way we had when we were married.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from my largest client.
Nia, we need to pause our contract until the Moretti situation is resolved. Our board is concerned about reputational exposure.
My smile vanished.
Luca saw the screen.
His face hardened.
“No.”
“What?”
“My mother is not destroying your business too.”
I looked at him.
“What are you going to do?”
“Something she understands.”
“What?”
“Stop treating this like family drama.”
May you like
His eyes went cold.
“And start treating it like fraud.”
