"You what?"
"I pursued him. Relentlessly. I knew it was wrong, knew it would destroy everything, but I couldn't stop myself. For the first time in my life, I wanted something that wasn't part of Francesco's plan."
Pietro shifts in his chair. "So you seduced both brothers."
"I fell in love with one brother while using the other." Luna doesn't flinch from the truth. "Lorenzo was my mission. Riccardo was my choice."
"When did it start? The affair."
"Three months after you introduced me to the family. Riccardo held out for three months before he..." She stops herself. "Before we crossed that line."
Three months. While I was planning our future, talking about marriage, my oldest brother was fucking the woman I loved.
"Continue," I tell Luna. "The affair started. Then what?"
"We met in secret. Always careful, always guilty. Riccardo hated himself for it, hated me sometimes too. But we couldn't stop."
I watch Luna's face as she continues, searching for the lie. But all I see is exhaustion.
"Francesco got impatient." Her voice drops. "Six months of me being with you, and all I had to show for it was dinner dates and stolen kisses. He wanted results. Real intelligence. Something he could use."
My jaw tightens. I know what's coming.
"That shipment." The words taste like ash in my mouth. "The one that went wrong. Four of my men died."
"Yes." She doesn't look away. "Francesco threatened to pull me out, send someone else. Someone who'd be more... aggressive in their methods. I panicked. I knew about the shipment because you'd mentioned it during dinner. Just casual talk about being busy that week."
Pietro's fist slams on his desk. "Four men died because of casual dinner conversation?"
"I gave Francesco the route, the time, nothing more. I didn't know he'd—" Luna stops herself. "No. That's a lie. I knew exactly what he'd do with that information. I just didn't want to admit it to myself."
Luna continues. "Two days after the shipment, I found out I was pregnant. I was on my way to meet Riccardo, to tell him, when Bruno intercepted me."
Bruno shifts in his wheelchair but stays silent.
"He was going to kill me." Luna looks directly at Bruno now. "Had the gun pressed to my temple in that alley behind Riccardo's small city apartment. I could see it in his eyes. I was already dead."
"Should have pulled the trigger," Bruno growls.
"I told him I was pregnant." Luna's hands flex behind her back. "That stopped him. Then I saw recognition in his face. He knew. Somehow, he knew about me and Riccardo."
I turn to Bruno. "How?"
Bruno's jaw works. "Followed him one night. Saw them together. Was planning to tell you, but then the shipment happened. Our men died. I went to handle it myself."
"But you didn't."
"She was pregnant." Bruno's voice turns bitter. "Could have been Riccardo's kid. Could have been yours. Either way, it was Sartori blood."
Luna nods. "Bruno gave me a choice. He'd fake my death, set me up somewhere far away, cover me financially for life. In exchange, I disappear completely. Never contact anyone, never come back."
"Or?" Sophia asks quietly.
"Or he'd tell everyone everything. About the affair, about the pregnancy, about my role in the shipment. It would have destroyed your family from the inside." Luna looks at me. "Riccardo would have confessed everything to you. You two would have killed each other. Francesco would have used the chaos to take over. There was no good ending."
"So you ran," I state.
"I ran. Bruno staged the car bomb that night. Everyone believed I was dead. I went to Switzerland first, then Prague. Had my son there." Her voice softens on the last words. "Raised him alone for thirteen years while Bruno sent money every month. Never missed a payment."
