Chapter 7 - The Trap Springs
Before I could answer, a sharp, flashing light cut through the dim hallway.
*Click. Click. Click.*
My blood ran instantly cold.
I whipped my head toward the end of the apartment corridor. Crouched near the lobby elevator doors, half-hidden behind a decorative fern, a man with a heavy telephoto lens lowered his camera.
“Got it!” the photographer snarled, turning to sprint toward the stairwell.
“Hey!” Luca roared, all hesitation vanishing. He lunged down the hallway with terrifying speed, tackling the photographer against the drywall just as he reached the fire exit.
The camera slipped from the man’s hands, clattering against the concrete floor.
“Give me that memory card!” Luca demanded, pinning the man by his jacket collar.
“Get off me, Moretti! You can’t stop this!” the photographer laughed, spitting blood from a split lip. “Evelyn’s legal team already paid for exclusive rights to the story! By morning, the whole world is going to know the billionaire’s secret family!”
My breath hitched. Evelyn.
She hadn't just sent lawyers; she had deployed private investigators to track Luca’s every move, knowing he would inevitably break and come running to us.
“Luca, let him go!” I shouted, running down the hall. “If you beat him up, they’ll use that too! Come inside, quick!”
Luca glared down at the man with murderous fury, then ripped the SD card straight out of the camera body, snapping it in half with his bare fingers. He shoved the photographer back. “Get out of my sight before I forget I’m a civilized man.”
The photographer scrambled up and fled down the stairwell, cursing under his breath.
Luca slammed the fire door shut, breathing heavily, his chest heaving as he walked back toward me. His face was dark, set in lines of cold, ruthless determination.
“They’ve declared war,” Luca said quietly, looking down at me. “Evelyn and her family. They think they can corner me, destroy my reputation, and force me to sign away my shares.”
“And what about my children, Luca?” I snapped, a sudden wave of protective fury overriding my fear. “Because of your mess, my kids are now targets for the tabloid press! If someone takes a picture of Leo and Maya tomorrow morning, I will never forgive you!”
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“They won't,” Luca said, his voice dropping into a tone of absolute, chilling finality. “Because by morning, Evelyn Shaw won't have the power to destroy anyone.”
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