Chapter 8 - LUCA KNEW WHO I WAS BEFORE OUR FIRST DATE
Luca always told me we met by accident.
A charity auction.
He spilled champagne near my dress.
I laughed.
He asked for my number.
Romantic.
Apparently incomplete.
Elena’s emails showed Luca had received an internal profile on me two weeks before the event.
Hartwell family connection.
Approximate shareholding.
Estimated trust value.
Professional history.
Social events.
He knew I would be there.
I confronted no one.
Rachel did.
Through formal discovery.
Luca admitted he knew my identity before our first date.
He insisted attraction was real.
Maybe.
That almost made it worse.
He may have loved me.
And still used me.
People want betrayal to be simple.
Fake love.
Fake relationship.
Villain from day one.
Reality can be uglier.
Someone can love you and still decide your boundaries matter less than what they want.
Then we learned Wendy had encouraged the relationship.
Not openly.
She arranged seating.
Invitations.
Shared charity committees.
Created “coincidental” encounters.
Luca thought he was choosing me.
His family had been nudging him the whole time.
Then the Apex investigation exploded.
The supposed $22 million receivable was largely unsupported.
Several customer contracts had side agreements reducing their actual value.
Apex was worth far less than advertised.
Hartwell formally withdrew from acquisition discussions.
Vincent’s lenders seized pledged collateral.
Moretti Capital did not collapse overnight.
But Vincent lost control of major assets.
Then Wendy called me.
I answered once.
“You destroyed this family.”
“No.”
“You could have handled things privately.”
“That’s what you counted on.”
Silence.
Then:
“Luca loves you.”
I almost laughed.
“Maybe.”
She sounded shocked.
“You believe that?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Because love doesn’t make what he did safe.”
Another silence.
Then Wendy said:
“He’s falling apart.”
“That is not my emergency.”
That sentence felt unfamiliar.
Powerful.
Terrifying.
Then she made one final mistake.
“You have no idea what Luca sacrificed for you.”
I paused.
“What?”
She stopped.
Too late.
Rachel later uncovered the answer.
Six months before our wedding, Luca had sold part of his own Moretti Capital interest.
Proceeds:
$1.8 million.
I had never seen that money.
Where did it go?
Into a company called:
HALCYON ADVISORY LLC.
Owner undisclosed.
Until corporate records updated.
Owner:
May you like
PHOEBE HART.
My maid of honor.
