Chapter 7 - Reign of Fire
Twenty minutes later, in the grand parlor of the estate, a terrified Catholic priest standing beside Dante read the sacred vows.
Clara stood wearing a simple ivory dress that one of the maids had fetched from her wardrobe. Rico stood beside her in his charcoal suit, his hand holding hers so tightly her ring finger throbbed.
"Do you, Ricardo Rico Moretti, take this woman..."
"I do," Rico interrupted sharply, staring directly into Clara's eyes.
"And do you, Clara Vance, take this man..."
"I do," Clara said clearly.
Rico didn't wait for the priest to pronounce them husband and wife. He pulled a massive, flawless five-carat diamond ring—an heirloom that had belonged to his grandmother—from his pocket and slid it onto her finger. Then he pulled her into his arms and branded her lips with a kiss that sealed her fate forever.
The heavy iron front gates crashed open outside just as the priest finished the paperwork.
A fleet of state trooper vehicles and black SUVs pulled up the driveway. A sleek lawyer in an expensive grey suit stepped out, flanked by four armed officers, holding a white envelope.
Rico walked out onto the front stone porch, holding Clara's hand firmly in his left, while his right hand rested casually inside his jacket. Dante and twenty heavily armed Moretti guards lined the balcony above.
"Ricardo Moretti!" the lawyer announced smugly, holding up the papers. "I have an emergency order from Judge Miller granting temporary custody of Leo Moretti to his maternal uncle, Liam O'Connor. You are ordered to surrender the child immediately."
Rico smiled—a cold, terrifying expression that sent a visible shiver down the lawyer's spine.
"I think your papers are out of date, counselor," Rico said smoothly.
Clara stepped forward, holding her hand up so the massive diamond caught the gray afternoon light.
"I am Clara Moretti," she said, her voice echoing across the courtyard with absolute authority. "Leo's legal mother. Any motion regarding our son must be served on our family attorneys at Moretti & Associates. And if you or your officers set one foot on these steps without a federal warrant, my husband will consider it an act of armed trespass."
The lawyer looked at the ring, then at Clara, then at the twenty submachine guns aimed directly at his chest from the balcony. His smug face turned ash-grey.
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"This... this isn't over, Moretti!" the lawyer stammered, backing away toward his vehicle.
"It is over," Rico called out, his voice dropping an octave into pure vengeance. "And tell Liam O'Connor that I'm coming for his court, his docks, and his life."
