The Will
1052 Words
Amara stared at the man in front of her, certain she had heard him wrong.
"A mafia boss?" she repeated.
The room remained silent.
No one laughed.
No one corrected him.
The realization settled heavily in her chest.
This wasn't a joke.
Her father had been a criminal.
Not just any criminal, but someone powerful enough to command the respect and fear of every man in the room.
She shook her head. "No. You're lying."
The man in black watched her calmly.
"My name is Luca De Santis. I don't lie about matters that concern business."
Amara's eyes narrowed. "I don't care who you are. My father owned construction companies."
Several men exchanged knowing looks.
Luca's expression didn't change.
"Those companies existed. They were simply the legal side of his empire."
Empire.
The word made her stomach turn.
Antonio stepped forward and placed a thick file on the table.
"Everything you need to know is in here."
Amara glanced at the file but made no move to touch it.
Her thoughts were racing.
The father she thought she knew was already difficult to understand.
Now she was being told he had lived an entirely different life.
A dangerous life.
A deadly one.
"So why am I here?" she asked. "If he was involved in all of this, what does that have to do with me?"
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
The men around the table became tense.
Luca's gaze hardened.
That was answer enough.
Amara's pulse quickened.
"What?"
Antonio cleared his throat.
"Your father's lawyer is on his way."
"For what?"
No one answered.
Minutes passed in uncomfortable silence.
Amara remained standing while the men resumed their seats.
The lawyer arrived shortly after.
He was an older man with silver hair and tired eyes.
He carried a black briefcase which he placed carefully on the table.
"Thank you all for coming," he said.
Amara wanted to laugh.
Thank you for coming?
As though this were some family gathering.
The lawyer opened his briefcase and removed several documents.
"I am Richard Hayes, personal attorney to the late Vincenzo Moretti."
Hearing her father's name made something twist painfully inside her chest.
She had spent years convincing herself she didn't care about him.
Yet now she would never have the chance to ask why he left.
Why he never came back.
Why he chose this life.
Richard unfolded a document.
"This is Mr. Moretti's final will and testament."
The room became deathly quiet.
Every eye focused on the lawyer.
Richard adjusted his glasses.
"To my daughter, Amara Moretti, I leave all personal assets, properties, and financial holdings."
Several men immediately began whispering.
Amara barely listened.
She didn't want his money.
She didn't want his houses.
She wanted answers.
Then Richard continued reading.
"And as my sole surviving heir, I appoint Amara Moretti as successor to the Moretti organization."
The room exploded.
Men jumped from their seats.
Voices overlapped.
Arguments erupted instantly.
"This is madness!"
"A woman?"
"She knows nothing about our world!"
"Vincenzo has lost his damn mind!"
Amara sat frozen.
Successor?
Organization?
What organization?
Then she remembered.
Mafia.
The blood drained from her face.
Richard slammed his hand on the table.
"Gentlemen!"
The shouting slowly died down.
Amara looked at the lawyer.
"There has to be some mistake."
"There isn't."
"I don't want it."
The room fell silent again.
Several men looked relieved.
Others looked suspicious.
Richard sighed.
"It doesn't work that way."
"What do you mean it doesn't work that way?"
"The position passes to you automatically."
Amara stood abruptly.
"No."
Richard looked genuinely sympathetic.
"I'm afraid that's impossible."
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
"No. Find someone else."
A dark chuckle echoed through the room.
Amara turned sharply.
Luca was watching her.
His expression was almost amused.
Almost.
"You think you have a choice?"
She glared at him.
"Of course I do."
Luca leaned forward.
"No, Amara. You don't."
Something about the way he said her name unsettled her.
It sounded too familiar.
Too confident.
As though he already knew exactly how this would end.
"You don't understand the position you're in."
"Then explain it."
Luca rose from his seat.
The room instantly paid attention.
Even the older men seemed cautious around him.
He walked toward a large window overlooking the city.
"The moment news of your father's death spreads, every rival family will come after his territory."
Amara folded her arms.
"I still don't see what that has to do with me."
Luca turned.
Everything about him seemed dangerous.
His eyes.
His posture.
Even his silence.
"They won't stop at territory."
The room grew cold.
"They'll come for you."
Amara swallowed.
For the first time since arriving, genuine fear crept into her chest.
"What are you talking about?"
"You are Vincenzo Moretti's heir."
His voice remained calm.
Steady.
As though discussing the weather.
"To some people, that makes you valuable."
A pause.
"To others, it makes you a target."
The weight of his words settled over the room.
Amara suddenly understood why so many armed guards were outside.
Why everyone seemed tense.
Why she had been brought here instead of informed over the phone.
Someone wanted her dead.
The thought made her skin crawl.
Richard closed the will.
"There is one final condition."
Every head turned toward him.
The lawyer looked uncomfortable.
Very uncomfortable.
Amara didn't like that.
Not one bit.
"What condition?"
Richard exhaled heavily.
"If Amara Moretti is to inherit control of the organization, she must marry the individual named by Vincenzo Moretti."
The room froze.
Amara blinked.
"What?"
Richard looked down at the document.
"That is the condition written in the will."
Her chest tightened.
"This is insane."
Nobody disagreed.
Richard continued.
"The marriage must take place within ninety days."
Ninety days.
Amara felt sick.
She had gone from learning her father was dead to discovering she was heir to a mafia empire and now she was apparently being forced into marriage.
"Who?" she asked quietly.
The lawyer hesitated.
A terrible feeling settled in her stomach.
Slowly, Richard looked toward the head of the table.
Toward the man dressed in black.
Toward Luca De Santis.
Amara's heart stopped.
"No."
The lawyer lowered his gaze.
"I'm sorry."
Luca said nothing.
He simply watched her.
Patiently.
Like a wolf waiting for the exact moment its prey realized there was no escape.
- Writer
