But we had each other. We had the truth. We had moments of joy like meeting Isabella, reminders that life continued beyond this nightmare.
CHAPTER 14: LUCA
FOUR MONTHS.
FOURmonths since our arrest, and we were finally seeing some small victories.
I sat in Emilio's office with Valentino beside me, watching our lawyer review the judge's rulings on our pre-trial motions.
"The good news," Emilio said, "is that Judge Morrison granted several of our motions to suppress evidence. The surveillance from the first two weeks after Luca approached Valentino has been ruled inadmissible—obtained without proper warrant."
"That's significant?" Valentino asked.
"Very. Those photos showed the most overtly coercive period of your relationship. Without them, the prosecution's timeline is weaker." Emilio flipped through papers. "We also got three witness testimonies excluded—people who would have testified about Luca's past criminal activities that aren't directly relevant to these charges."
Relief flooded through me. "So the case against us is weaker?"
"Weaker, yes. But not weak." Emilio met my eyes. "They still have plenty of evidence. The later surveillance, the article timeline, witness statements from Alex Park and others. It's still a strong case. But we have a better chance than we did."
"When's the trial?" I asked.
"Two months. Judge set the date for six months after your arrest, exactly as we'd estimated." He closed the file. "That givesus time to prepare. Witness prep, strategy sessions, mock trials. We're going to be ready."
Valentino's hand found mine under the table. "What are our actual chances?"
"Honestly? Fifty-fifty on the major charges. Probably seventy-thirty you both get convicted on the obstruction charges—those are harder to counter." Emilio leaned back. "But we're fighting for the best outcome we can get. And these rulings help."
After the meeting, we walked to the car in silence. Both processing. Both trying to calculate what fifty-fifty odds meant for our future.
"Small victories," Valentino said finally. "That's what Emilio called them."
"Better than no victories." I opened the car door for him. "We take what we can get."
That evening, we were supposed to have dinner with Stefan and Julian. They'd been helping Valentino with the transition into public relations work—giving him projects, teaching him the corporate side of communications.
But when we arrived at Stefan and Matteo’s place, Valentino was quiet. Distracted.
"You okay?" Stefan asked him during dinner.
"I got another rejection today. From the Times." Valentino set down his fork. "I pitched them a story—nothing to do with organized crime, completely separate topic. They said they'd love to see it. But when they found out who I was, they passed."
"They told you why?" Julian asked gently.
"They didn't have to. I know why." He looked around the table. "No one will hire me. The press freedom organization put out that statement supporting me, other journalists have defended my independent work. But at the end of the day,I'm the journalist who dated a mob boss and got arrested for conspiracy. That's not going away."
"Even if we win the trial?" I asked.
"Even then. 'Former defendant' sounds better than 'convicted felon,' but I'm still the guy who compromised himself." He took a breath. "I think I need to accept that my journalism career is over."
The words hung in the air.
"What will you do instead?" Stefan asked carefully.
"You've been offering me the PR role for months now. If the offer still stands, I'd like to accept it. Officially." Valentino looked between Stefan and Julian. "I can't be objective anymore. And honestly? I don't want to be. I want to help build something good. With all of you. With Luca."
"The offer absolutely still stands," Julian said. "We'd be lucky to have you."
"You're sure about this?" I asked Valentino. "Journalism has been your whole career."
