CHAPTER 1: THE BEGINNING OF RUIN
The first hint that something was wrong? Silence. No phone calls. No frantic texts. Just an empty sort of quiet where there should've been the usual chaos meetings, deals, people running around. You don’t get that kind of quiet owning one of the country’s biggest business empires.
Alessia Moretti stood in her father’s office, heels echoing softly against the marble as she turned, scanning the room. Something felt off. Too still. Too eerie.
Maria, her father’s assistant, sat behind her desk, frozen. Pale, shaky. Hovering over a phone she refused to answer.
“Maria?” Alessia’s tone cut through the heaviness. “What’s happening?”
Maria looked up, terrified. “Miss Moretti… you need to see this.”
She turned her screen around.
Alessia leaned in, frowning, and then everything just crashed.
MORETTI GROUP UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR FRAUD AND ILLEGAL TRANSACTIONS
Her stomach dropped out.
“No way,” she shot back, shaking her head like it could somehow erase the headline. “That has to be fake.”
But more notifications piled in, one after another.
INVESTORS PULL OUT OF MORETTI GROUP
SHARES PLUMMET OVERNIGHT
CEO ALESSANDRO MORETTI FACES POSSIBLE ARREST
She whispered, “No…”
This wasn’t some ugly rumor. This was total destruction.
Alessia gripped the edge of the desk, her mind racing. Her father was careful painfully careful. He never slipped up, never left anything to chance. So what had happened?
The office doors crashed open.
Her father staggered in.
Alessia froze. Alessandro Moretti a man who built an empire from nothing, who never showed weakness looked shattered. Tie loosened, hair a mess, face blank and drained.
“Papa?” She rushed to him. “Please, tell me this isn’t real.”
He poured himself a drink, glass trembling in his hands. The sound clinked through the silent room.
“It’s real,” he said finally.
That hurt more than anything else.
Alessia stared at him, desperate. “No. We can fix this. We always fix things.”
He laughed, a sound empty and cruel.
“Not this time.”
Fear swept over her, squeezing tight.
“What do you mean, not this time?”
He turned, and for the first time in her life, she saw defeat in her father’s eyes.
“We’ve been targeted,” he murmured. “This was no accident. Someone planned it.”
Her pulse raced. “Who?”
He hesitated, and that pause said everything.
“Papa, who did this?”
He looked at her like he was about to drop a bomb.
“A man who doesn’t forgive.”
That sent chills down her arms.
“What are you talking about?”
He finished his drink. “Years ago, I made a choice. A bad one. Cost someone everything. Now he’s back.”
Before she could react, the doors opened again.
But this time, it wasn’t chaotic. It was almost calm. Just a shift in the air.
She felt it before she saw him slow, purposeful steps on marble.
Her heart hammered in her chest.
She turned.
He stood in the doorway, tall, commanding, dressed in an immaculate black suit. His gaze swept the room, then locked onto her. Cold. Dangerous.
Something inside Alessia twisted.
“Who are you?” she demanded, trying to sound strong.
No answer right away. The man stepped forward, steady and deliberate like a predator sizing up its prey.
Her father stiffened beside her.
“Alessia…” he warned, voice low.
Too late.
The stranger stopped mere feet from her. Close enough for her to feel the intensity of his presence. Close enough to steal her breath.
Finally, he spoke.
“Rafael De Luca.”
The name slammed into the room.
Alessia felt a shiver without even knowing why.
Her father went rigid.
Now she knew. This was the man who was tearing them apart.
Anger surged through her. “You,” she bit out. “You did this.”
Rafael didn’t flinch.
“If I did,” he replied, calm as ever, “you wouldn’t be asking.”
Alessia’s fists clenched. “I should call the police.”
He almost smiled just a flicker, dark and mocking.
“Go ahead.”
His confidence made her hesitate, and he caught it.
“Your company is already under investigation,” he said, voice smooth. “Your accounts are frozen. Your allies are gone.” His gaze locked on hers. “No one’s coming to save you.”
The silence was suffocating.
Alessia held herself together. “What do you want?”
Because someone like him always wanted something.
Rafael let the moment hang staring, making her skin crawl.
Then he finally broke it.
“I’m here to make you an offer.”
Her heart skipped.
Her father’s breath came out harsh. “No.”
Rafael ignored him. His gaze never left her. “You can save your family,” he said, barely loud enough.
Hope. It flickered and stung.
“How?” She blurted out.
His lips twisted. Not quite a smile. Something colder.
“Marry me.”
Everything tilted sideways.
Alessia stared, certain she’d misheard.
“What?”
“Marry me,” he repeated, voice steady, tone absolute. “Do that, and I make everything disappear.”
Her pulse roared.
“That’s insane.”
He shrugged. “Is it? Or is it your only option?”
She shook her head, stepping back. “Why would you why me?”
He looked at her then, letting something darker slip through. “Because your family owes me a debt.”
A chill slid through her veins.
“And you,” his eyes darkened, “are how they’re going to pay it.”
Silence pressed in from all sides.
Alessia’s heart pounded, the weight of his words squeezing tight. This wasn’t a lifeline. It was a trap.
And now? She was caught dead center.
