Chapter 3. The War Has Just Begun
1180 Words
Elena's pleas didn't sway Matteo Moretti in the slightest.
As far as he was concerned, she needed to learn one thing from the moment she stepped into the Moretti mansion in Chicago:
No one defied him.
Without another glance in her direction, Matteo walked back inside the mansion. The remaining guests watched him in uneasy silence. Some whispered among themselves. Others exchanged awkward looks.
What was supposed to strengthen business alliances had turned into the talk of the night—all because one woman had dared to challenge him in front of everyone.
The door to his study slammed shut.
Silence swallowed the room.
Matteo shrugged off his suit jacket, loosened his tie, and tossed both onto the couch. His jaw tightened.
In all the years he'd spent building the Moretti name, no one had ever humiliated him like this.
Except Elena.
She hadn't begged.
She hadn't backed down.
She'd looked him straight in the eye like she didn't know what fear was.
And somehow, that only made him angrier.
"She needs to learn," he muttered.
Not how to like him.
How to survive in his world.
In this house, every decision came from him.
Everyone lived by his rules.
He turned on his computer and pulled up the security cameras.
The feed immediately switched to the room where Elena was being held.
Instead of finding her crying or begging to be let out, he watched her pacing the room, pounding on the door, then reaching up as if she could somehow disable the camera mounted in the corner.
Matteo let out a slow breath.
"Still fighting..."
Weirdly enough, that only made him more curious.
Most people would've broken long before this.
But Elena wasn't like most people.
The harder he pushed...
The harder she pushed back.
He shut off the monitor.
Then he grabbed his phone and called the head of security.
"Tighten security."
"Yes, sir."
"No one's allowed in without my permission. And don't let her leave."
"Understood."
The call ended.
Matteo walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Chicago. The city's lights glittered against the night sky.
People thought power meant freedom.
Truth was...
It was the exact opposite.
The higher you climbed, the heavier the burden became.
The Moretti family survived because of discipline.
Because of fear.
Because everyone believed the head of the family could never afford to look weak.
And Matteo had no intention of changing that.
The office door suddenly opened, pulling him from his thoughts.
Enzo walked in without knocking.
Matteo turned immediately.
"Forget how to knock?"
Enzo didn't flinch.
"I want an explanation."
"I didn't invite you in."
"Don't care."
They locked eyes.
The tension in the room became almost suffocating.
Matteo finally walked back toward his desk.
"Fine. Talk."
"I heard there's a woman moving into this mansion."
"That's right."
"Why?"
"None of your business."
"If she's being dragged into my life, then yeah... it is."
Matteo let out a quiet sigh.
"You argue too much."
"I'm asking because I deserve the truth."
Matteo studied his son for a long moment before speaking.
"I need an heir."
Enzo slowly shook his head.
"So it's true."
"You're the future of the Moretti family."
"I never asked for that."
"You were born into it."
Enzo let out a dry, humorless laugh.
"Born into it? All I've ever gotten from you are orders."
"You're letting your emotions get in the way."
"No. I'm being realistic."
Matteo's hand curled into a fist.
"I raised you to be a leader."
"No. You raised me to live the life you wanted."
Silence settled over the room again.
Neither of them was willing to back down.
Their relationship had been fractured for years.
Ever since Enzo chose his own path, Matteo had never truly accepted him.
And Enzo had long since stopped seeing his father as someone he could lean on.
To him, Matteo wasn't a father.
He was a man who always chose the family name over his own son's happiness.
"You can hate me," Matteo finally said.
"But as long as I'm alive, this family follows my rules."
Enzo looked at him with nothing but disappointment.
"The only thing your rules create is fear."
"Fear keeps people alive."
"Or it makes them lose themselves."
For a split second...
Matteo had no response.
But only for a second.
"Elena is staying here."
Enzo shook his head again.
"You're destroying her life."
"I'm protecting this family's future."
"You seriously call this protection?"
Matteo didn't answer.
Leaders didn't need approval.
They needed results.
Enzo let out a frustrated breath.
"This isn't over."
"That isn't your call."
Enzo gave his father one last look before turning toward the door.
The door slammed behind him, echoing through the entire office.
Matteo remained where he stood.
Silence returned.
Only the ticking of the clock filled the room.
He stared at the closed door.
Enzo had changed.
Years ago, the boy would've lowered his head whenever he was scolded.
Now, he looked back with a courage that was dangerously close to hatred.
This wasn't the relationship Matteo had ever wanted.
But the day he took over the Moretti family, he realized something.
A man couldn't always be both a great leader and a great father.
Sometimes the family came before personal feelings.
He still remembered the day his own father handed him control of the family.
He wasn't even thirty yet.
There were no congratulations.
No heartfelt advice.
Just one sentence.
"Never let the Moretti name fall because of your weakness."
Those words had echoed in his mind for years, slowly shaping the man he'd become.
To him, compassion was a luxury leaders couldn't afford.
That was why he'd never allowed himself to hesitate—not even when his decisions hurt the people closest to him.
He believed that one day Enzo would understand.
Even if, by then...
His son hated him.
For the first time that night, exhaustion showed on Matteo's face.
His doctor had warned him more than once.
His health wasn't what it used to be.
He probably didn't have as much time left as everyone assumed.
Which was exactly why he refused to leave the future of the Moretti family to chance.
Not for himself.
For the legacy generations before him had built.
Matteo closed his eyes for a moment.
But Elena's face appeared in his mind again.
Not because he felt sorry for her.
Because she was the only person who still had the guts to stand up to him without fear.
And to Matteo...
Someone like that could either become his greatest threat...
Or his most valuable asset.
The anger he'd been holding back kept burning inside him.
He needed something to take the edge off.
He picked up his phone again.
"Vanessa."
"I'm here."
"Meet me in the Red Room. Now."
Vanessa was the only woman who could satisfy the desire he'd kept under control for so long.
Matteo looked back out at the Chicago skyline.
The night was far from over.
And so was the war that had just begun inside the Moretti mansion.
- Writer
