Chapter 5 - The Return to Lucia’s
Forty-eight hours later, Marco was thirty thousand feet in the air, sleeping peacefully inside a specialized medical jet soaring toward Baltimore, accompanied by a team of pediatric specialists funded by Moretti’s private trust.
Bella stood behind the host stand at Lucia’s Ristorante, mechanically handing menus to an elderly couple while her mind drifted three states away. The world around her felt entirely different, yet agonizingly normal. The smell of scorched garlic still hung in the air; the busboys were still dropping silverware; and manager Frank was still shouting at the kitchen line about ticket times.
The heavy oak doors swung open, and a blast of cold autumn air swept into the dining room.
Bella looked up, expecting the usual dinner rush crowd of Wall Street brokers and local politicians.
Instead, three men in dark, perfectly tailored suits walked in, led by Vinnie Gallo. They didn't look like diners. They moved with the synchronized, protective perimeter of secret service agents clearing a room.
The entire restaurant went quiet instantly. Regular diners lowered their forks, remembering the scene from two nights ago.
Vinnie walked straight up to the host stand, tipping his fedora slightly.
“Evening, Bella.”
“Vinnie,” Bella said, crossing her arms defensively. “If you’re here to tip a hundred dollars for a glass of water again, save your breath. I’m on the clock.”
“I’m not here to tip,” Vinnie said, smiling warmly. He stepped aside, revealing the man stepping through the doorway behind him.
Alessandro Moretti wore a charcoal overcoat over a black suit, his tall, imposing frame dwarfing everyone else in the room. He didn’t look at the other customers; his dark, intense eyes locked immediately onto Bella.
Manager Frank came scurrying out of the back office like a startled rat, wiping his hands on a greasy apron. “Mr. Moretti! Welcome—table twelve is ready, of course, the best booth in the house, right away—!”
“Table twelve is occupied,” Alessandro said smoothly, his voice carrying effortlessly across the silent room.
Frank blinked, looking at the empty leather booth. “Uh—no, sir, it’s completely empty—is there something wrong with it?”
“Yes,” Alessandro said, stepping closer to the host stand until he was standing just inches from Bella. “It lacks proper management.”
Frank looked completely lost. “Sir?”
Alessandro turned his dark gaze back to Bella. “Isabella has just been promoted.”
Bella’s jaw dropped. “What? Promoted to what? I’m a server!”
“You are now the Director of Operations and Guest Relations for Lucia’s Ristorante,” Alessandro announced calmly, pulling a crisp, newly minted employment contract from his coat and sliding it onto the host stand. “Effective immediately. Your salary has been increased by four hundred percent, and your shifts will be adjusted to allow you unlimited time off to travel to Baltimore whenever your brother requires your presence.”
Frank’s eyes bugged out of his head. “Wait—hold on! You can’t just promote my staff—I own this place!”
Vinnie stepped forward, gently placing a heavy hand on Frank’s shoulder. “Actually, Frank, Moretti Holdings acquired the commercial mortgage on this building this afternoon. You still own the restaurant. But Alessandro owns the roof over your head.”
Frank swallowed hard, looking between Vinnie, Alessandro, and Bella. He slowly raised a trembling thumb in the air. “Congratulations, Bella. Excellent... excellent career move.”
Bella stared at Alessandro, a mix of sheer astonishment and simmering defiance bubbling up in her chest. She grabbed the contract, looked at the numbers, and looked back into his impenetrable eyes.
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“You bought the mortgage on the building just so you could bully my boss into promoting me?” she asked, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper.
“I bought the mortgage to ensure my Director of Operations is not overworked by incompetent management,” Alessandro corrected smoothly. He leaned down, his voice dropping low enough that only she could hear. “And because I wanted to ensure you never have to work a double shift on my account again.”
