Chapter Four — The Other Queen
214 Words
Isabella Moretti chose a restaurant with glass walls and too many witnesses.
She was elegance sharpened into a weapon—every movement intentional, every word calibrated. When Elena arrived, Isabella stood to greet her, a gesture meant to appear gracious while establishing dominance.
“You’re difficult to reach,” Isabella said lightly.
“So I’ve been told.”
They sat.
“You’ve caught Luca’s attention,” Isabella continued. “That’s rare. And dangerous.”
“I didn’t ask for it.”
“No one ever does.” Isabella smiled thinly. “But you’re benefiting from it.”
Elena leaned back. “You invited me here to warn me?”
“To understand you,” Isabella corrected. “Women don’t enter Luca De Luca’s orbit by accident.”
“Elena,” Luca said later that evening, when he learned of the meeting.
He didn’t raise his voice. He never did.
“You’re being evaluated,” he continued. “Not just by her.”
“And by you?” Elena asked.
A long pause.
“Yes,” Luca said. “By me most of all.”
“And what happens if I fail?”
He looked at her then—really looked.
“That,” he said, “depends on what you think failure is.”
- Writer
