THE CEO’s POSSESSION

Chapter 1: DON’T GO

The Grand Moretti Hotel didn’t hire girls like Aria Bennett for anything but cleaning.

2:17 AM. Floor 80. Her cart squeaked.

$847 behind on rent. Mom’s hospital bill pinned to the fridge at home.

She just needed to survive this shift.

Room 801. (Do Not Disturb.)

But the door was cracked open. And a man was choking on the floor.

Luca Moretti.

She’d seen his face on the news. 29. CEO of Moretti Holdings. Worth billions.

Right now he looked human. Drunk. Drugged. Sweat soaking his white shirt.

Mr Moretti? She dropped to her knees. Sir, can you hear me?

His eyes fluttered open. Dark. Glassy.

He grabbed her wrist like she was the only solid thing in the room.

Water... please...

Aria ran to the bathroom. Got water. A cold towel.

For 15 minutes she stayed. Held his head up. Made sure he breathed.

Thank you, he whispered once. Don’t go.

He pulled her down to sit on the edge of the bed with him.

Do I know you, he murmured, eyes half closed.

Aria froze.

I’m just... a cleaner, she lied quietly.

He laughed under his breath. A broken sound.

Stay, he said. Just until the room stops spinning.

She should’ve left.

But he looked vulnerable. And no one ever saw Luca Moretti vulnerable.

Hours passed.

The city lights outside. The quiet. The way he kept reaching for her hand in his sleep like he was afraid she’d disappear.

At some point, she stopped fighting it.

When morning came, he was asleep. Peaceful for the first time.

She slipped out of the bed before he woke.

Then his eyes closed. Deep sleep. Or passed out.

She got up, put on her clothes.

That’s when she saw something.

On the marble nightstand, under the lamp light:

A gold wrist watch. Thick. Heavy.

A gold chain.

A black signet ring with an M.

His wallet. Open. $300 in cash.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Hospital. Payment due in 48 hours or we discharge your mother.

Her hands shook.

I’ll pay it back, she promised no one.

I swear I will.

She took it. All of it. Slid it into her uniform pocket.

Her heart was pounding so loud she was sure he could hear it.

She ran.

Took the service elevator. Clocked out.

By sunrise she had quit her job, packed one bag, and bought a bus ticket out of the city.

She didn’t look back.

---

One Month Later

Aria was throwing up into a gas station bathroom 3 states away when the test turned positive.

Positive.

Luca Moretti’s baby.

She cried. Then she wiped her face.

She couldn’t tell him. He’d either lock her up or take the baby.

So she disappeared better. New city. New job. New name on the lease.

She thought it was over.

Until she walked into Moretti Holdings for a janitor interview...

And the elevator doors opened.

Luca Moretti stepped out.

And he stopped dead when he saw her.

You, he said. His voice was low. Dangerous.

She’d spent a month running.

And in 3 seconds, he’d found her.

TO BE CONTINUED