Chapter 8 - The Billionaire's Trap
Luca’s dark eyes were completely devoid of any emotion.
"Step away from my children, Marcus," Luca ordered, his voice echoing loudly in the concrete garage.
Marcus slowly raised his hands, stepping cautiously in front of me and the twins.
"You don't understand what is happening, Luca," Marcus pleaded.
"I understand that you tried to kidnap my heirs in the middle of the night," Luca replied coldly.
I pushed past Marcus, shielding Leo and Mia with my own body.
"He is trying to save us from your psychotic wife!" I screamed at him.
Luca did not lower the heavy weapon.
"Evelyn is asleep in our bed, Nia."
"She came to my room tonight and told me she hired a hitman to stage my suicide," I cried desperately.
Luca’s jaw tightened visibly.
"You are hysterical, Nia, the psychological reports were accurate."
"She made those up to steal my babies!" I yelled.
Marcus took one slow step toward his brother.
"Luca, check the offshore accounts that paid off Nia's fertility doctor years ago."
Luca’s eyes flickered with a brief moment of hesitation.
"I already did," Luca stated.
"Then you know the money came from Evelyn's family trust," Marcus pushed.
"The money came from an anonymous shell corporation," Luca corrected him.
"A shell corporation that Evelyn controls," Marcus insisted fiercely.
Luca finally lowered his pistol slightly.
"How would you possibly know that, Marcus?"
"Because I was the one who accidentally introduced Evelyn to that offshore banker five years ago," Marcus confessed.
The silence in the garage became incredibly heavy.
Luca stared at his estranged brother, his brilliant, calculating mind furiously processing the new information.
"Evelyn manipulated you into leaving Nia so she could slide directly into your billionaire empire," Marcus revealed.
Luca looked at me, his eyes filled with a sudden, agonizing realization.
"She convinced me you were lying about the fertility treatments," Luca whispered, his voice finally breaking.
"I never lied to you, Luca, I loved you," I sobbed openly.
He dropped the gun completely, running his trembling hands through his dark hair.
"My God, what have I done?" he breathed.
He took a step toward me, reaching out a shaking hand.
"Nia, I am so sorry."
For a fleeting second, I actually saw the man I had married so many years ago.
Before I could reach back, the heavy steel doors of the garage violently burst open.
A dozen armed mercenaries swarmed into the room, surrounding us instantly.
Evelyn walked through the crowd of gunmen, dressed flawlessly in a silk robe.
She held a silenced pistol entirely casually in her right hand.
"This is incredibly disappointing, Luca," Evelyn sighed dramatically.
May you like
She pointed the weapon directly at my children.
"Kill the brother and the mother, but put the twins in the nursery," Evelyn ordered her men.
