Chapter 19 - The New Empire
A year changes everything.
It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon, exactly one year since the day Emma pointed at Vanessa Cole's stomach.
I sat at the head of the boardroom table in the glass-walled headquarters of Moretti Enterprises. The room was filled with legitimate businessmen, lawyers, and financial advisors. We had spent the last twelve months aggressively transitioning the family's assets into fully legal, highly profitable corporate ventures.
"The merger with the harbor logistics firm is complete, Mrs. Moretti," my lead counsel reported. "Our projections show a forty percent increase in quarterly profits."
"Excellent," I said, closing the file in front of me. "Make sure the union workers get their promised bonuses. We don't build empires by starving the foundation."
"Yes, ma'am."
As the meeting dispersed, my secretary buzzed my intercom. "Mrs. Moretti, there is a woman here to see you. She doesn't have an appointment, but she's... begging."
I frowned. "Send her in."
The heavy glass doors opened, and a woman shuffled into the room. It took me a full ten seconds to recognize her.
Vanessa Cole looked nothing like the glowing, haughty socialite who had humiliated me in the ballroom. Her designer clothes were replaced by cheap, wrinkled fabrics. Her hair was dull, her face gaunt, and her eyes hollow. With her father in federal prison and her brother dead, all of the Cole family assets had been seized by the government. She was destitute.
She stood before my massive mahogany desk, trembling.
"Elena... Mrs. Moretti," Vanessa choked out, her pride completely shattered. "I... I need a job. No one will hire me. My father's name is toxic. I’m being evicted from my apartment."
I leaned back in my leather chair, steepling my fingers, evaluating the woman who had once called my daughter a "filthy maid's brat."
Part of me—the part that had learned the ruthlessness of the mob from Alessandro—wanted to have security throw her out into the rain. I wanted to tell her she was getting exactly what she deserved.
But I looked down at my hands. I was wearing a multi-million dollar diamond, yes, but I still remembered the feeling of callouses from scrubbing floors. I remembered the sheer terror of not knowing how I was going to buy medicine for my sick child.
Alessandro destroyed his enemies. I preferred to neutralize them.
"I understand you have a degree in public relations," I said calmly.
Vanessa blinked, shocked that I even knew that. "Y-yes."
"Moretti Enterprises is opening a charitable foundation focused on housing for single mothers," I stated, pulling a blank business card from my drawer and writing an address on it. "Go to this office tomorrow at 8:00 AM. They need an entry-level clerk to manage the filing system. The pay is minimum wage, but it includes health benefits."
I slid the card across the desk. Vanessa stared at it like it was a lifeline thrown into a stormy sea.
"You... you're helping me?" she whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. "After everything I did to you?"
"I am giving you a job," I corrected coolly. "What you do with it is up to you. But Vanessa?"
She looked up, her eyes wide.
"If I ever hear that you have spoken a single negative word about my family, or if you fail to show up on time," I let my voice drop into a chilling register that would have made Alessandro proud, "you will find that minimum wage is the least of your concerns. Do we understand each other?"
"Yes, Mrs. Moretti," she sobbed, clutching the card to her chest. "Thank you. Thank you."
When she scurried out of the office, the door connecting my office to Alessandro's private suite opened. He stood there in his custom suit, leaning casually against the doorframe, a smirk playing on his lips.
"You are far too merciful, mia regina," he mused, walking over and resting his hands on my shoulders, massaging the tension from my muscles.
"Mercy builds loyalty, Alessandro. Fear only builds resentment," I reminded him softly.
May you like
He leaned down, pressing a warm kiss to my neck. "God, you are brilliant. Have I told you how much I love you today?"
"You could tell me again," I smiled, turning my chair to face him.
