Chapter 8 - THE LAST CARD OF VICTORIA BELLANDI
The peace didn't last long. A cornered animal is always the most dangerous, and Victoria Bellandi had one final, desperate card left to play.
On Friday afternoon, while Hannah was at the estate helping Owen practice his reading skills, the main security monitor in the study flashed red. A private courier had left a package at the main gate. Inside was a single, burner cell phone and a photo that made Hannah's blood turn to ice.
The photo showed Hannah’s younger brother, Leo, a college student at Northwestern University, walking across campus—with a red sniper reticle photoshopped directly over his chest.
The phone rang two seconds later. Hannah answered it immediately, her hands shaking.
"Do you like the view, Nurse Reed?" Victoria’s voice came through the speaker, sharp, hysterical, and dripping with an unhinged malice. "You thought you could just take my life, my husband, and my money, and walk away clean? You think Roman can protect everyone you love?"
"Victoria," Hannah said, her voice dropping into a fierce, protective growl that surprised even herself. "If you touch my brother, I swear to God—"
"Shut up!" Victoria screamed. "Here are my terms. You will tell Roman that you want a divorce. You will sign over the veto shares to my father's corporate lawyers by midnight tonight. If the transfer isn't confirmed by the bank, Silas's remaining men will take your brother’s head off before his morning lecture. Don't tell Roman, Hannah. If I see a single Moretti car near that campus, the boy dies."
The line went dead.
Hannah stood in the center of the dark study, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She looked at the photo of her brother, the sweet, innocent kid who had no idea his sister had married into a criminal empire. She couldn't tell Roman—Victoria had eyes on the estate.
She grabbed her medical bag, slipped her private keys into her pocket, and walked toward the service elevator. She had to handle this the way she handled everything in the ER: alone, fast, and without fear.
But as the elevator doors opened, Roman was standing inside.
He took one look at her pale face, the trembling phone in her hand, and the photo clutched against her chest, and his expression instantly transformed into a terrifying wall of black iron.
"What happened?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.
"Roman, I can't tell you," Hannah sobbed, trying to push past him. "She’ll kill him. She has a sniper on Leo."
Roman caught her by the shoulders, his grip firm and steadying. "Hannah, look at me. Look at my eyes."
She looked up, her tears spilling down her cheeks.
"You are a Moretti now," Roman said, each word falling like an anchor in the middle of her panic. "You don't face threats alone anymore. I knew Victoria would try something desperate. Marcus has had eyes on your brother since Monday morning. Leo isn't on campus; he was moved to a secured location in Wisconsin four hours ago. The photo she sent you is an old shot from their database."
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Hannah blinked, the relief washing over her so violently her knees buckled. Roman caught her, lifting her fully into his arms and holding her tight against his chest.
"I told you, Hannah," he whispered into her hair, his heart beating strong and steady against her cheek. "No one touches you again. And no one threatens my family. Marcus, initiate the final phase. Clear the Bellandis out of this city permanently."
