????MAFIA POSSESSION ????????
( HIS ADDICTION ????)
BY, ROYAL DIADEM ❣️
CHAPTER 23
LUCA FOUND it very difficult to pay attention to the wedding rehearsal. Acursory glance around the sanctuary told him he might not be the only one.
Giovanni wore his fake smile well, as did Lorna, though they stood too farapart for anyone to believe they were about to be married. Alessandro had a
stormy expression that he didn’t even attempt to hide, and Antonio fixatedon a stained-glas-swindow, slightly sulky like all the tension in the roomwas getting to him.
Luca shifted on his feet while the priest droned on about the beautifulgift of marriage. He didn’t need to pay attention. He knew the wedding
would go smoothly. He’d split up tasks for himself and Lorna’s maid ofhonor and between the two of them and Luca’s mother, he knew everythingwould go off without a hitch.
He’d settled into a routine over the last several days. Go out in themorning with Gio and help where he could, then come home, makeCaroline dinner, and fu-ck her. Somewhere along the line, that part became
more emotional. He felt more now than he did the first or second time. Hestill loved the sounds she made and the way her face scrunched up whenshe came and how maddened green her eyes looked when they were red
from tears. He loved to ruin her, to take her apart piece by piece, but everytime he put her back together, he felt like he lost some piece of himself in
her. He wouldn’t call it love—not yet—but she mattered to him. He wantedher to feel safe and cared for.
While she slept, he’d been watching the old security feeds from herdad’s shifts. They were boring. Uneventful. Nothing happened. He noticedthat a few went missing during the days he was cleaning at the Moretti residence. That in itself wasn’t unheard of. It was very easy to accidently
delete security footage. But Luca didn’t believe in coincidences. He also
didn’t know what his next step should be. He didn’t have much to go off of
in terms of why the footage might be missing or who had caused that to
happen.
A clap on his shoulder pulled Luca out of his thoughts. Antonio
mumbled something about going to dinner and Luca nodded. Dinner, and
then he’d go home to Caroline and try to find anything else that might be a
clue to what happened to her father.
He arrived at the restaurant a little before the rest of the wedding party.
He greeted the Bianchi’s politely. He’d actually always liked Mrs.
Bianchi.
She shared her recipe for gnocchi with him at a Christmas party and Luca
still used it because it was the best. She looked tired, and no doubt she was
with her husband in the hospital and her daughter about to get married.
Luca took a seat next to his father. He noted that his brothers sat farther
away, probably feeling guilty for whatever they were hiding from him. Luca
also felt guilty, but he knew how to act like the model son. “Tell me the
cake will be red velvet,” he started conversation easily,
thinking he’d take
advantage of the opportunity to question his father. They shared a fondness
for red velvet cake, even if Luca liked to think that was where the
similarities ended.
His father leaned over conspiratorially. “I heard your mother talking
about angel food.”
Luca huffed an exaggerated gro-an of frustration. “Might as well just
feed us air.”
His father laughed, seemingly unaware of the tension crackling in the
air between the ‘happy couple’ across the table. He nodded his head toward
Gio and Lorna. “You’re next, you know.” He jabbed an elbow into Luca’s
ribs. “Your baby sister and your older brother beat you to it. You’ll be the
next to tie the knot.”
Luca rolled his eyes and shook his head. Anything else would be
suspicious. “I don’t think so.”
His father took a drink and looked Luca up and down. “Come on.
You’ve got to be seeing someone.”
Luca smiled wistfully. “Haven’t had time. Weddings are busy business.”
His father scoffed his agreement and Luca continued. “Last cute girl I sawwas the reporter you had me take care of.” His father laughed loudly and clapped him on the back. Luca laughed along. “Didn’t spend much time
with her, but she did mention something about you killing her father andthat’s what the whole vendetta thing was about.” Luca waved his hand in
the air as a question, but his father wasn’t laughing anymore.
He glanced at his wife who happened to be looking their way andgrabbed Luca’s arm to pull him toward the salad bar away from everyone.
“Just leave it alone, Luca. She’s dead anyway. It doesn’t matter.” Defensive.Threatened.
“Of course.” Luca bowed his head respectfully, but he didn’t like theway his father brushed that off. He didn’t usually keep things from them.
Among family, he wasn’t shy about who he’d killed. That set off somealarms in Luca’s brain.
He didn’t have time to properly sort them out though, because his fatherpulled him to the small dance floor near the bar and caught a woman’s arm.
“Mina, this is my son, Luca.” Mina smiled and wiggled her fingers in a
little wave. “Mina is Lorna’s maid of honor. Why don’t you take some timeto get to know each other?” His father looked proud of himself for
theintroduction and winked at Luca.
Luca put on a smile for Mina. It wasn’t her fault that his father wasdeflecting and avoiding uncomfortable questions, though the fact that hewould go so far to get Luca to drop it meant that it was no small thing. “It’snice to meet you,” he told her. She was pretty enough. Long dark hair,trendy gla-sses neat clothes, and cla-ssy red li-pstick. But she didn’t look like
his type and he had someone waiting at home.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” she said. “So you’re Giovanni’s brother?”
“Yes. Younger by a year and a half.” It was easy for Luca to slide into a
friendly, pleasant persona. “Are you a friend of Lorna’s?”
“Her cousin, actually.” Mina rocked back on her heels and steppedbackward to regain her balance. She probably wasn’t used to wearing fourinch pumps. “But we were always kinda close.”
“That’s great.” Luca was actively looking for a good way to escape, but
nothing presented itself.
“Do you want to dance?” Mina asked.
Decorum dictated that Luca say yes, so he did. He moved loosely on the
small dance floor, exchanging a few more niceties with Mina for the sake of
propriety. She struggled in her heels, but he didn’t want to touch her tosteady her. Firstly, that would draw attention to the fact that he noticed she was unsteady on her feet which seemed rude. And secondly, it might give
her the wrong idea.
She stumbled forward all at once and he caught her against his chest andpropped her back up with a quick sympathetic laugh to brush away herapologies.
A lull in the general ambiance of the restaurant allowed Luca to
overhear Lorna say with confident defiance, “Don Moretti, Giovanni and Iwould like inform you that we won’t be getting married tomorrow. Orever.”
Luca’s head snapped toward them and he exhaled a single impressed
“ha,” while Mina ducked her head down to cover her cough with a fist, his
father spluttered, his mother’s jaw dropped, Lorna’s mother pressed her li-pstogether very tightly and inhaled sharply throu-ghher nose, and Tessa andAntonio looked at each other in mute shock. Luca drifted closer to the tablewith Mina following close behind. The draw of good drama was too strong
to resist.
“I’m sorry,” Luca’s father didn’t sound sorry at all. “Did you say youare refusing to marry my son?”
“Those weren’t my words, but you may take them as such. Yes. I refuseto marry Giovanni,” Lorna said clearly. “He’s a wonderful man, but I don’t
love him, and I never will.” She threw him an unapologetic smile. “BecauseI’m in love with Alessandro.”
Luca bit back another laugh and glanced up at Alessandro still sitting atthe bar. He stared at Lorna like he’d never seen another human being before
and was thorou-ghly convinced she was some sort of alien imposter.
Luca involuntarily flinched at the outrage in his father’s voice. “This isabsolutely uncalled for. Unprofessional. I really expected better from you,Lorna.”
Giovanni shared a look with Luca, who nodded once. This was hischance to get what he wanted, and he shouldn’t waste it. Luca knew that if
his chance ever came, he wouldn’t throw it away for the sake of propriety.
“I agree with Lorna,” Giovanni announced. “This marriage is superficialand unnecessary.”
Luca, standing behind his parents, allowed himself to smile in genuineadmiration of the balls it took to mouth off to their father like that. Luca
already had a great amount of respect for his older brother, but it multiplied to the point he felt like he should kneel and swear fealty to his lord and
savior, Giovanni Moretti.
Lorna spoke with confidence. “Giovanni and I are the future leaders ofour families. We’ve been groomed and guided by our fathers, and we’reexpected to carry on. You both have had this trust in us. Trust that we can
have the capacity to create and secure an alliance without getting married.”
“Father, this isn’t up for debate.” Giovanni sounded calm and logical.
“In no way do we want to disrespect our families, but you have made it
quite clear that we are the future of these great families. If future decisions
are ours, then this should be too.” He looked at Lorna and then back at his
father. Luca had to clap a hand over his mouth when Giovanni said, “The
wedding is off,” like he owned the world.
Luca grabbed Antonio’s arm in flabbergasted excitement and Antonio
grabbed him back in breathless, scandalized, astonishment. Beside him,
Luca heard Mina whisper, “But the flowers…”
Luca’s mother looked around in helpless bewilderment. “Now? You
really chose now to tell us now?”
“We’re so used to following orders and being unquestionably devoted to
our leaders, it took time for us to come to the conclusion that the wedding is
superficial and unnecessary.” Lorna borrowed Giovanni’s words. “I realize
the timing isn’t convenient, and I apologize for that, but the fact remains.”.
She looked over at Alessandro who had picked his jaw up off the floor, butstill stared at her with his eyes bugging out of his head. “I will not marryGiovanni.”
Luca shook Antonio by the arm he was still holding. The tension hadboiled over, and this was the most exciting thing to happen at a Moretti
family gathering that Luca could ever remember. He could only dream ofdefying his father that way, of standing up for himself, of fighting for what
he actually wanted, what he actually believed. And Giovanni’s calm,unwavering confidence was toxically inspiring. Because if Gio could do it,
maybe Luca could too. Maybe when the time came, he could be likeGiovanni and bite back, refuse to give in. This drama didn’t only change the
course of Giovanni and Lorna and possibly Alessandro’s lives, this couldchange everything.
Antonio pulled his arm from Luca’s iron grip and clapped his handstogether softly like she’d just finished the most inspiring speech he ever
heard. Luca swatted his hands quickly because this was not their moment to steal and clapping was not appropriate no matter how much he wanted to
give Lorna and Giovanni a standing ovation. His mother covered her mouthwith one hand, apparently overwhelmed. Lorna’s mother didn’t say a word.
Luca patted Antonio on the back and took the opportunity to leave andspare himself the fallout. He shared a lingering look with Giovanni that he
hoped conveyed all his respect and admiration and left the restaurant.
Caroline would be waiting for him and he was buzzing with defiance andready to find evidence that his father killed Caroline’s Father.
TBC