CHAPTER 97: GHOST IN THE HALL

The rain had been falling for hours, soft and steady, washing the blood of the past from the DeLuca estate. The air inside was thick with the scent of wet earth and iron, an echo of all that had happened. Aria stood by the great hallway window, her hand resting gently on her stomach, her thoughts caught between the present and the ghosts that lingered in the marble floors.

It had been days since the council meeting. The alliances had steadied, the threats subdued, yet something still stirred in the air, an unease that even Luca couldn’t fully hide. The house was quieter than usual. Fewer men in suits, fewer whispers in the corridors. But for Aria, the silence was heavier than the chaos had ever been.

She turned when she heard the soft click of a door opening behind her. Luca stepped in, his black shirt open at the throat, his expression carved from stone. "You’re awake early."

"I couldn’t sleep," she admitted. "The rain keeps me up."

He crossed the room to stand beside her, his reflection blending with hers in the glass. "You used to love the rain."

"I still do," she said quietly. "But now it sounds like footsteps."

Luca’s brow furrowed. "Footsteps?"

Aria hesitated, then nodded toward the corridor. "Sometimes I think I hear him. Matteo. His voice, his shoes on the marble. I know it’s just my mind playing tricks, but"

Luca reached out, taking her hand. "You don’t have to be afraid of the past. It doesn’t live here anymore."

She gave a faint, bitter laugh. "You keep saying that, Luca. But every corner of this house is filled with memories you refuse to bury."

His jaw tensed. "You want me to forget my brother?"

"No," she said softly. "I want you to forgive yourself."

For a moment, the room filled only with the sound of the rain. Then, Luca exhaled slowly and turned away. "There’s no forgiveness for what I’ve done. I built this life on loyalty, and when it mattered most, I put a bullet through my own blood."

Aria stepped closer, her voice barely above a whisper. "You did it to protect me."

"That doesn’t make it right," he said sharply, though his tone softened when he met her eyes. "You shouldn’t have to carry my sins."

"I’m your wife," she said simply. "Your sins are mine too."

He smiled faintly, almost painfully. "You shouldn’t say things like that, amore mio. It makes it too easy to love you."

Before she could answer, Nico appeared at the doorway, soaked from the rain, his face pale and grim. "Luca, we have a problem."

Luca straightened immediately. "What kind of problem?"

"Someone’s been in the west wing," Nico said. "The old rooms. We found one of Matteo’s safes broken open."

Aria’s stomach turned. "Broken open? By whom?"

Nico shook his head. "We’re not sure. But whoever it was left this." He handed Luca a small envelope, plain, unmarked, and slightly damp from the rain.

Luca tore it open, scanned the contents, then froze. His eyes darkened, his fingers tightening around the paper until it nearly tore.

"What is it?" Aria asked.

He didn’t answer immediately. Then he said, low and controlled, "It’s a message. From someone who shouldn’t know anything about Matteo’s dealings. It says, ’The ghost still lives. And the bloodline isn’t finished.’"

Aria felt the chill crawl up her spine. "The ghost still lives? That sounds like a threat."

"It’s more than that," Luca said, pacing now. "It’s a challenge."

Nico frowned. "You think Matteo had a partner?"

Luca’s expression hardened. "No. I think Matteo had a child."

The words hit like a gunshot. Aria’s breath caught. "A child?"

"Matteo was reckless," Luca continued. "Before the family fell apart, he was involved with a woman from the Romano side. If she survived, it’s possible."

Nico swore under his breath. "Then the letter isn’t just a threat. It’s a claim. A blood claim."

Luca nodded slowly. "Exactly. And that means we’re not just fighting ghosts. We’re fighting the next generation of them."

When Nico left, Luca sank into a chair, elbows on his knees, the letter dangling from his hand. Aria sat beside him, the weight of his silence pressing down on them both.

"Do you think it’s true?" she asked finally.

He didn’t look at her. "It doesn’t matter if it’s true. It’s dangerous enough that someone wants me to believe it."

She reached out, covering his hand with hers. "Then we find out. Together."

He turned to her, eyes burning with something fierce and unspoken. "You’ve already given me everything, Aria. Your love, your loyalty. I won’t let this world take more from you."

"It’s not taking," she said softly. "It’s standing beside you."

He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers, his breath warm and ragged. "You have no idea what you do to me."

"Yes," she whispered. "I do."

They stayed like that for a moment, silent, breathing each other in, the storm raging outside like an echo of their lives.

Later that night, when the rain had softened to a whisper, Aria walked the west wing alone. The hallway was dimly lit, shadows curling around the edges like living things. The air smelled faintly of dust and memory. She paused outside Matteo’s old study, the one that had been sealed since his death.

Her hand hovered over the doorknob. Then, slowly, she turned it.

The door creaked open, revealing a room preserved in time. Papers scattered across the desk. A whiskey glass still half full. The faint scent of cedar and smoke lingered in the air.

She stepped inside, her fingers brushing the old furniture, the worn leather chair, and the faded photograph on the wall. It was a picture of Luca and Matteo as children, two boys with matching smiles and wild eyes.

Her throat tightened.

She moved toward the desk and saw the safe, its door hanging open. Inside were files, some burned at the edges, others untouched. She reached for the top folder and flipped it open.

Her breath caught.

It was a birth certificate. The name blurred, but the mother’s name stood out clearly: Diana Romano.

The father’s section was marked only with one letter: M.

Aria’s pulse quickened. She pulled another paper from the stack, this one a photograph. A woman with dark hair, holding a baby. Her eyes, sharp and hauntingly familiar, stared straight into the camera.

Before she could study it further, a shadow moved behind her. She turned sharply, only to find Luca standing in the doorway.

"I told you not to come here," he said quietly.

"I had to see," she whispered, holding up the photograph. "Luca, look at her. She looks just like you."

He stepped forward, his expression unreadable. "That’s not what matters."

"Then what does?"

He took the photo from her, staring at it for a long moment before setting it back on the desk. "What matters is that Matteo’s sins didn’t die with him. Someone out there thinks they have a claim to what’s ours."

Aria crossed her arms, meeting his gaze. "Then they’ll have to come through me first."

He gave a small, dark smile. "That’s my wife."

When he reached her, his hand found her waist, pulling her close. "Do you have any idea how dangerous you sound when you say things like that?"

She smiled faintly. "You like it."

"I love it," he admitted, his lips brushing against her temple. "You’ve become the only thing that makes this chaos worth surviving."

"Then promise me," she whispered, looking up at him. "Promise me you won’t face this alone."

He kissed her then, deep and desperate, a promise sealed in the dark. "Never alone," he murmured against her lips. "Not again."

As the rain finally stopped outside, the storm within them quieted too. But neither of them knew that, in the distance, someone else was already watching, waiting, Matteo’s ghost reborn in flesh and vengeance.

And soon, the past would come knocking once more.

The revelation hung over the estate like a shroud, turning every shadow into suspicion. Luca mobilized quietly, no fanfare, no leaks. Trusted men scoured records and traced Diana Romano’s last known movements. She’d vanished years ago, presumed dead in a "car accident" Matteo had orchestrated to protect his secret. But secrets, like ghosts, had a way of resurfacing.

As Aria’s pregnancy kept advancing, Aria refused confinement. "I’m not fragile," she insisted during strategy sessions in the war room, maps spread like battle plans. Luca relented, but only with guards shadowing her every step. Mornings brought nausea, eased by ginger tea Luca brewed himself, his large hands surprisingly gentle. "For you and our little fighter," he’d say, kissing her belly.

Nico uncovered the first lead: a small apartment in Rome, rented under a false name linked to Elena. Luca’s team raided it at dusk, finding children’s drawings taped to walls and a boy’s scrawled signature: Alex. Age: seven. The pieces fit, Matteo’s fling during a fragile truce and the child hidden to avoid family wrath.