Chapter 4 - The Ghost from the Past
“Gregory?” Nora asked, her voice dropping into a cold, metallic register. “How did you get this number?”
Through the speaker, Gregory’s voice sounded frantic, stressed, and jarringly desperate—completely stripped of the arrogant smugness he had worn like armor during their divorce.
“Nora, listen to me, you have to help me,” Gregory stammered, ignoring her question entirely. “The federal investigators showed up at my office this morning. They froze all my corporate accounts, seized my assets, and slapped me with an emergency audit for financial fraud and tax evasion!”
Nora stared blankly at the wall, feeling a slow, vindictive sense of poetic justice wash over her. “That’s unfortunate, Gregory. But I’m retired from managing your illegal balance sheets.”
“No, you don't understand!” he yelled, his voice cracking with panic. “They found offshore shell companies registered under my name that I didn't even know existed! They say I’m facing twenty years in federal prison! The only way out is if you sign an affidavit stating you managed the accounts independently and take the fall, or—or you can help me leverage your new connections. I heard rumors you landed some high-society gig out in Chicago. Who are you with, Nora? Who is paying your bills?”
Next to her, Luca Castellano had heard every single word through the high-end speaker sensitivity of Nora’s phone.
A dark, dangerous smile touched the corners of Luca’s mouth. He gently reached out, took the phone right out of Nora’s unresisting hand, and brought it slowly to his own ear.
“Mr. Whitmore,” Luca spoke into the phone, his voice dripping with icy, lethal authority.
There was a stunned silence on the other end of the line. Then Gregory’s voice squeaked nervously. “Wh—who is this? Where is Nora? Put her back on the phone!”
“Nora is busy being my wife,” Luca replied smoothly. “As for your federal audit, your offshore accounts, and your upcoming prison sentence... allow me to personally welcome you to the consequences of your own actions. I’m the one who handed your financial ledger over to the DOJ yesterday morning.”
“You?!” Gregory shrieked in horror. “You ruined my life! Who the hell are you?!”
“My name is Luca Castellano,” the mafia boss said softly, every word landing like a sledgehammer. “And you spent seven years abusing, belittling, and underestimating the most brilliant woman I have ever known. Consider this your final bill.”
Luca didn't wait for Gregory’s terrified reply. He calmly tapped the red end-call button, powered the phone off completely, and tossed it onto a silver side table.
Nora stood frozen, staring at him. A mixture of shock, awe, and profound liberation washed over her. For seven years, she had been told she was worthless, weak, and replaceable. And now, standing in a multi-million-dollar estate, a dangerous syndicate boss was looking at her as if she were the most valuable treasure on earth.
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“You didn't have to do that,” Nora whispered, though her lips were trembling with a smile.
“I told you,” Luca said, stepping closer until she could feel the heat radiating from his chest. “Nobody touches my family.”
