The dinner with Cynthia Calvano was held at *Le Sommet*, a restaurant so exclusive it didn't have a sign.
Luca arrived with Marco shadowing him, a necessary precaution that felt especially oppressive tonight.
Cynthia was already seated at the best table, a curtain of glass offering a dizzying view of the city's lights. She looked like a queen holding court.
"Luca," she greeted, her smile sharp. "I was beginning to think you'd stand me up."
"Business is business," he replied, taking his seat. The conversation was a masterclass in double-edged diplomacy.
They discussed harbor tariffs, zoning laws, and the upcoming city council vote, all while their words carried the subtext of a silent, brutal war.
Cynthia was brilliant, her mind as sharp and cold as a scalpel and also a tricky, Luca realized with a sinking feeling, a perfect match for the heir he was supposed to be.
"Your grandfather approves of this… détente," she said over dessert, swirling a glass of amber cognac.
"My grandfather approves of stability," Luca corrected.
"Stability," she mused, her eyes locking onto his. "It's so important, Especially when one has… distractions. Vulnerabilities." She let the word hang.
"That girl..the barista or whatever, She's quite the little scrapper, isn't she? Scholarship student, Sick mother...So… noble in her struggle" The way she said it stripped Melissa's life of its dignity, turning it into a pathetic narrative.
Luca's hand tightened around his glass. "She is irrelevant."
"Is she?" Cynthia's smile was venomous.
"I saw the way you looked at her. Like a man who sees a window in a room he's always found airless.
But Luca,Mark my words 'Windows can be opened, but they can also be broken' , And the shards… they tend to hurt the innocent inside." The threat was now explicit and chilling.
"Don't mistake my patience as weak,Cynn!"He greeted ,his teeth tighten as his fists shows how anger he is,She chuckled dramatically.
"No darling, I'm not.... I'm just reminding you who's powerful and more dirtier than the other"She said as adjusting off her glasses and put on table.
"She's not involved....and Stop following her"His voice spoke with burning intensity of anger and losing patience.
"Then you only have two choices... Enemy with me or let's unite the families in business' sake and your grandpa's sake, just one yes we'll no longer be enemies"she hissed her voice turned in her cold yet mafia tone.
"I don't negotiate anything with you.....this dinner was all about the business that we've already discussed"He leaned forward.
"These new details....you just add after the meeting is over,.....wasn't our agreement"He said.
"Fine!.... Suite yourself Babyboy, I feel sorry for a barista girl"She pouring whiskey in her glass slowly, observing how Luca's eyes burning in anger.
"I've already said and I'm not going to repeat myself Stop following her"his hands both on the table,formed fists his teeth tighten even more than before.
She smirked unimpressed and undistracted by his anger rather than enjoying the view.
"Come make me!"her response was clear she chose violence, war and enemy without waiting for him to declare or reply to the enemiship proposal.
The rest of the dinner passed in a blur of tension,As they stood to leave, "We understand each other, don't we? Our world has rules..... It's why it survives."she claimed.
He smirked angrily, giving a curt nod. He left her there, standing triumphant by the window, the city sprawling beneath her like a conquered kingdom.
He didn't go home driven by a restless, defiant energy, he found his car heading across town, toward the quiet, unlit streets of Melissa's neighborhood.
Marco, from the driver's seat, remained silent, his disapproval a palpable force.
Luca didn't get out, just watched the small apartment building from the darkened car, his heart questioning his decision.
It's unlike him to stand up for someone he barely know or not connected to before, he always do what his grandfather orders or advice him.
As his grandfather is everything he had growing up knowing him as a family and parent , Melissa's world changing the man.
Changing his mind,his way of thinking and creating new him , making decisions without his grandfather approval.
Still in back seat , wondering how's Melissa being or what's she's doing.