Bought by the Mafia Prince: His Hidden Queen

Chapter Five

*At the Moretti Mansion*

The black SUV rolled to a smooth stop at the foot of a grand stone staircase leading to the Moretti Mansion. The driver got out, opening the door for Luca, the man who bought her, leaving Amelia to open her own door. Luca got out, adjusting his suit.

"Let's go."

Amelia nodded in response, but he sternly said to her,

"Words, Amelia."

She flinched at his tone.

"Yes, Sir."

He walked up the stairs into his mansion with Daniel, his bodyguard. Amelia trailed behind them, her eyes wandering across the mansion.

There were only a few bodyguards outside, which was odd for a man of his caliber.

Others would mistake the sparse security for arrogance given his status. But Amelia knew better, and she wasn’t just anyone. She looked towards the structures of the buildings and gasped.

There were hidden machines everywhere. Concealed gun turrets. Motion-triggered defense systems. And surveillance drones hidden beneath the stone eaves.

She figured one wrong move, and she’d never even make it past the entrance alive.

She looked towards the entrance and caught Luca glancing back at her over his shoulder with an unreadable expression. Then the corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly. Who is this man?

Amelia finally climbed the stairs, stopping just at the top.

She thought back to past events. Just hours ago, she was sold off at an auction and trapped inside a cage. Now she stood before one of the most heavily guarded mansions she had ever seen.

Everything had happened so quickly that none of it felt real. But she raised her head, let out a deep breath, and entered the mansion, bracing herself for what was to come.

She didn’t expect the interior to be like a normal house. But it was still luxurious.

She looked around the living room, still making sure not to overstep her boundaries. She still didn’t know why he bought her.

They both stopped in the center of the living room, with Luca sitting on his couch and loosening his tie. Amelia stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

“Sit.”

She slowly walked towards the grey leather couch opposite him and sat down. She folded her hands neatly in her lap, forcing her breathing into a steady rhythm despite the knot tightening in her stomach. Running wasn’t an option. She couldn’t even dream of fighting her way through. Listening was the only move she had left.

Once again she buried herself in her thoughts, thinking about the fact that she suddenly had no family to call her own. And no friends either. At the thought of friends, she suddenly thought of Cece. She had been the only person she had felt some kind of deep connection with, even though they had only met for a short while. Hmm, I wonder how she’s doing right now? She was oblivious to the fact that Luca was staring at her.

He watched her calm demeanor but noticed the slight twitches in her brows and lips, and how her eyes seemed to droop down. But he didn’t want to waste time watching her while she was lost in thought. So he cleared his throat to get her attention, and she flinched lightly, suddenly remembering where she was and who she was with.

“You seem to be lost in thought, Amelia.”

Her eyes snapped to his. So he does know my name. I thought he was going to keep calling me that number. But I still don’t know who he is, much less his name.

“I’m sorry. I was just overwhelmed. Sir”

“Hmm”

He pulled a brown cigar, Macanudo 1968, from his breast pocket. His movements were unhurried and fluid. From his pocket, he drew a silver lighter.

Clink.

The mechanical snap of the lid echoed in the living room. Daniel was no longer with them. He brought the flame to the tip, inhaling it slowly. The amber glow illuminated the sharp angles of his face, the dark intensity of his eyes, and the effortless grace of his broad shoulders. He exhaled a slow, perfect plume of smoke, his gaze never once leaving her face.

The air grew thick, charged with a sudden, suffocating heat that had nothing to do with the fire.

She swallowed, her throat dry, entirely paralyzed by the sheer, magnetic weight of his presence. He dominated the room in an instant without saying a single word. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic rhythm triggered by a dangerous, intoxicating mix of fear and an involuntary, heavy pull towards him.

Luca lowered the lighter, but he didn't put it away. He let it rest in his palm, his long, elegant fingers tracing the polished silver casing.

"You're staring. Again," he said. His voice was a low, baritone, smooth as velvet, yet carrying the rigid authority of a man born to rule. It sent a sharp electric shiver down her spine.

Amelia didn't deny it. "What's that? That carving on the lighter."

A faint smile touched his lips. He slid the lighter across the marble table between them. It stopped inches from her hands.

"An heirloom," he murmured, his eyes tracking the way her chest rose and fell with her shallow breaths. "It's called El Escudo Del Silencio."

She hesitated, then picked it up. Her fingertip brushed the silver, still warm from the heat of his hand. She traced the elegant script curling beneath a jagged, broken tower and two snarling wolves. "The Shield of Silence. And the words underneath?"

"Silencio y Fidelidad."

He didn't translate it immediately. He just watched her, his unblinking stare studying every flicker of emotion on her face before rising back to her eyes. The silence between them, thick with a heavy, unspoken friction that made it hard to breathe.

"It means Silence and Loyalty, principessa," he said, his voice dropping an octave, becoming a dangerous whisper that seemed to echo in the space between them.

"It's a blood vow. Your mouth stays shut to protect what's ours, or your blood stops flowing. Loyalty is paid in life. Silence is bought in death."

She froze, the silver lighter suddenly feeling too heavy to bear.

He leaned back, taking another slow drag of his cigar, leaving her breathless, terrified, and unable to look away, despite every instinct telling her to.

She carefully placed the lighter back on the table and placed her hands back on her lap, looking anywhere but his eyes.

“Ahem, so, what would I be doing here, sir?”

He let out a puff of smoke before answering. “You’ll know soon enough. For now, pick any of the rooms on the second floor. That is where you will be staying.”

She nodded in response. She waited for any of the maids to show her, but nobody moved. She realized she was really on her own now. Every decision she made would be hers to bear and bear alone, no matter the consequence. Not knowing what else to say, Luca got up, and Amelia took that as a signal to stand as well. He was about to leave until,

“Sir, what can I call you?”

He turned around, removing the cigar from his lips. “Luca Moretti. But you, principessa, may call me Luca. Now get some rest, you’re gonna need it.” He walked away.

Amelia’s heart hammered in her chest. You mean to tell me the Luca Moretti bought me? The Mafia Prince?