CHAPTER 3 – THE MAN WHO FOLLOWED HER TO CHICAGO
The moment the plane landed, I knew something was wrong.
Maybe it was instinct.
Maybe it was trauma.
Or maybe fear had trained me too well.
The passengers stood and reached for their bags, filling the cabin with the usual chaos of travel. Overhead compartments opened. Phones came out. People rushed to leave as though the extra thirty seconds mattered.
But Luca Moretti remained seated.
Calm.
Still.
Watching.
His dark eyes scanned the cabin one row at a time.
Not casually.
Methodically.
Like a soldier searching for threats.
Or a predator looking for another predator.
The realization made my stomach tighten.
I looked down at my hands.
The bruises hidden beneath my sleeves seemed to ache again.
"We're not getting off yet," Luca said.
I looked up.
"What?"
His attention remained fixed toward the front of the aircraft.
"We wait."
My pulse quickened.
"Why?"
For a moment he didn't answer.
Then:
"Because someone is waiting at the gate."
The air seemed to vanish from my lungs.
No.
No.
No.
Luca slowly turned his head toward me.
"He found you."
I stared at him.
The terror must have shown on my face because his expression softened by the smallest fraction.
Not enough to make him look gentle.
Just enough to make him look human.
"David?"
Luca nodded once.
The world tilted.
My carefully planned escape.
The cash.
The flight.
The lies.
Everything.
Worthless.
Somehow David had found me anyway.
The familiar panic began rising.
The panic I knew too well.
The panic that always came before obedience.
Before surrender.
Before survival.
Luca noticed immediately.
His voice remained calm.
"Look at me."
I couldn't.
"Look at me."
Something in his tone made me obey.
His eyes met mine.
Steady.
Unmoving.
Certain.
"You're not going back."
The certainty in his voice almost hurt.
Because certainty had become foreign to me.
"How do you know?"
His jaw tightened.
"Because I won't allow it."
The answer should have frightened me.
Instead...
It felt strangely safe.
A flight attendant approached.
"Mr. Moretti."
Luca nodded.
"Clear?"
"Not yet."
The attendant wasn't really a flight attendant.
I realized that suddenly.
The posture.
The awareness.
The earpiece barely visible beneath dark hair.
Security.
Professional security.
Working for him.
My heart skipped.
Who exactly was Luca Moretti?
The plane continued emptying.
Eventually only a handful of passengers remained.
Then Luca stood.
"Stay beside me."
The words weren't a command.
Not exactly.
But I found myself obeying anyway.
We exited the aircraft together.
The jet bridge was empty.
Too empty.
At the terminal entrance stood two massive men in dark suits.
The same men from first class.
The "friends."
One approached immediately.
"Boss."
Boss.
The word landed heavily.
Luca accepted a phone from him.
Read something.
Then cursed quietly in Italian.
I didn't understand the words.
I understood the tone.
Danger.
The larger bodyguard glanced toward me.
Then toward Luca.
"He brought three men."
My blood froze.
David.
He had actually come.
Luca's expression hardened.
"Armed?"
The bodyguard nodded.
"Possibly."
Possibly.
As though armed men at an airport were merely inconvenient.
My legs felt weak.
Luca handed the phone back.
Then looked directly at me.
"Your cousin's name."
"What?"
"The cousin you're staying with."
I hesitated.
He waited.
I finally told him.
Luca immediately turned toward his bodyguard.
"Move her."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
"Now."
The bodyguard nodded.
Already reaching for his phone.
I stepped backward.
"No."
Every instinct screamed.
Control.
Orders.
Men deciding things for me.
No.
Not again.
Luca noticed instantly.
His expression changed.
Not annoyance.
Understanding.
A dangerous man trying very hard not to look dangerous.
"No one is forcing you."
I stared at him.
Then why did it feel that way?
His voice lowered.
"You're free to walk away."
Silence.
"But if David is here..."
He paused.
"...walking away would be a mistake."
The honesty surprised me.
No manipulation.
No pressure.
Just truth.
For some reason, I trusted that.
A terrible idea.
But I trusted it anyway.
The bodyguard escorted me through a private exit.
Luca remained behind.
Watching the terminal.
Watching the hunt.
Watching for David.
Ten minutes later, I sat inside a black SUV.
My hands shook uncontrollably.
The bodyguard sat across from me.
Silent.
Professional.
After several minutes he finally spoke.
"My name is Marco."
I nodded.
"Anna."
"I know."
Of course he did.
People like Luca probably knew everything.
The SUV remained parked.
Waiting.
The silence stretched.
Then Marco's phone rang.
His expression darkened immediately.
"Boss?"
A pause.
Then another.
Marco slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, they looked deadly.
My stomach tightened.
"What happened?"
Marco looked toward me.
For a moment he seemed unsure whether to answer.
Then he sighed.
"Your husband found Mr. Moretti."
The world stopped.
"What?"
"At the terminal."
Fear surged through me.
"Oh God."
Marco shook his head.
"No."
His voice sounded almost sympathetic.
"Not for Mr. Moretti."
I didn't understand.
Not yet.
Twenty minutes later, Luca entered the SUV.
Not a hair out of place.
Not a wrinkle in his suit.
Not a visible injury.
Nothing.
He sat beside me.
Calm.
Collected.
Impossible.
I stared.
"What happened?"
Luca loosened his tie slightly.
"Your husband made several poor decisions."
The answer somehow terrified me more.
"What does that mean?"
His dark eyes met mine.
For the first time, I saw something beneath the polished surface.
Power.
Real power.
The kind newspapers never described accurately.
The kind that existed in shadows.
The kind that changed outcomes.
"He approached me."
I swallowed.
"And?"
Luca's expression remained unreadable.
"He threatened you."
My chest tightened.
Of course he did.
David always threatened.
That was his language.
His weapon.
His identity.
Luca continued.
"He informed me you belonged to him."
The words made me sick.
Even now.
Even after leaving.
Belonged.
As though I were property.
A possession.
An object.
Silence settled inside the SUV.
Then Luca said something unexpected.
Something quiet.
Something dangerous.
"No one belongs to anyone."
The words hit harder than they should have.
Because nobody had ever said them before.
Not like that.
Not as an opinion.
As a fact.
As a law.
As something absolute.
I looked away quickly.
My eyes burned.
The city lights reflected against the windows.
Chicago.
Huge.
Beautiful.
Unknown.
For the first time since boarding the plane...
Hope returned.
Small.
Fragile.
But real.
Then Luca's phone rang again.
He answered.
Listened.
His expression changed.
Instantly.
Dangerously.
"What is it?" Marco asked.
Luca ended the call.
Silence filled the vehicle.
Then he looked at me.
And for the first time...
The calm disappeared.
Someone had crossed a line.
A serious one.
"What happened?" I whispered.
Luca's voice was ice.
"Your husband broke into your cousin's house."
My heart stopped.
"He what?"
"He arrived before we did."
Panic exploded through me.
"My cousin—"
"She's alive."
I exhaled shakily.
"But frightened."
Luca's eyes darkened.
Very dark.
The kind of darkness that belonged to men capable of terrible things.
Marco cursed softly.
"What now?"
For several seconds nobody spoke.
Then Luca gave an order.
Three simple words.
The words changed everything.
"Bring him to me."
A chill ran through the SUV.
Even Marco looked uncomfortable.
And suddenly I understood.
Not completely.
But enough.
Luca Moretti wasn't merely wealthy.
Wasn't merely powerful.
Wasn't merely connected.
He was something else entirely.
Something David had failed to recognize.
Something David should never have provoked.
As Chicago's skyline rose around us, glowing beneath the night sky, I realized my husband had spent years making me fear him.
But now...
For the first time...
May you like
I thought David might finally understand what fear actually felt like.
To Be Continued...
