Chapter 6 - The Ex-Boyfriend’s Mistake
Three days later, we relocated to a high-security penthouse in Manhattan—a heavily fortified fortress occupying the top three floors of a high-rise I owned outright.
While my lieutenants dismantled the Moretti family’s financial networks from the shadows, Marcus Miller made the fatal mistake of letting his greed overcome his intelligence.
He had followed Hannah’s scent through her former landlord, discovering that she had been listed as a beneficiary on a high-level private health insurance policy issued by the Rossi Enterprise.
It was 9:00 PM when my private phone rang. It was an unlisted, burner number.
"Lorenzo Rossi?" a harsh, raspy voice sneered through the speaker.
"Who is this?" I asked calmly, motioning for Dominic to initiate a digital trace.
"I’ve got something that belongs to your new little house-pet, Hannah," Marcus Miller chuckled nastily. "Her mother’s wedding ring and her personal birth documents. She left them in my apartment when she ran away like a coward."
"What do you want, Miller?" I asked, my voice flat.
"I want five hundred thousand dollars," Marcus spat. "I know she’s living like a queen in your penthouse while I’m hiding from the cops. If you don't drop the cash at the Pier 42 warehouse by midnight, I’m going to the tabloids with photos of her past—the hospital records, her violent history, everything. I’ll make sure the whole world thinks the great Lorenzo Rossi hired a crazy, unstable woman to feed his heir."
I stood up, walked over to the floor-to-ceiling glass window, and looked down at the glittering lights of the city.
"Pier 42?" I asked smoothly.
"Midnight. Come alone, billionaire," Marcus sneered before hanging up.
I set the phone down and turned around. Hannah was standing in the doorway of the living room, holding Leo, her face pale. She had heard every word through the speakerphone.
"Lorenzo, please... don't go," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Marcus is crazy. He’s cruel, he’s violent, and he has nothing left to lose. He’ll set a trap for you!"
I walked over to her, reaching out to gently touch her cheek. "Marcus Miller put his hands on you three weeks ago, Hannah. He caused the loss of your daughter. Do you really think I’m going to let him draw another breath on this earth?"
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Hannah bit her lip, tears swimming in her eyes. "I don't care about the ring, Lorenzo. I don't care about the photos! I just... I can't bear the thought of anything happening to you."
"Nothing will happen to me," I promised, leaning down until my forehead rested gently against hers. "Because I have a family to come home to now."
