Chapter 3 - The Suitcases Waiting Before Sunrise“What is this?”
Luca’s voice sounded almost amused.
Almost.
He closed the door behind him and stared at the suitcases.
I stood beside the staircase.
Arthur remained seated in the living room.
“You know what it is,” I said.
Luca looked at me.
Then at his father.
Then back at me.
“I actually don't.”
“Chloe.”
The color drained from his face.
One word.
That was all it took.
“Jessi—”
“Don't.”
“I can explain.”
Arthur laughed once from the living room.
It wasn't a pleasant sound.
Luca turned.
“Dad, this isn't what—”
“I heard the recordings.”
The foyer went silent.
Luca stopped breathing.
Arthur continued.
“The hotels. The messages. The plans.”
Luca’s expression changed.
Fear became calculation.
I had watched him negotiate contracts for years.
I recognized the exact moment he stopped behaving like a husband and started behaving like an executive facing a crisis.
“Jessi went through my phone?”
There it was.
Not remorse.
Not apology.
Blame.
“You're worried about your phone?” I asked.
“You invaded my privacy.”
“You lied about where you were.”
“Our marriage has been dead for years.”
That hurt.
Not because I believed him.
Because sixteen years deserved better than being rewritten in six words.
Arthur leaned forward.
“Then why didn't you leave?”
Luca turned toward him.
“This is between Jessi and me.”
“No,” Arthur said.
“It became my business when you started planning what you'd do with my assets after my death.”
Luca froze.
Arthur’s eyes remained fixed on him.
“Tell me something, son. Which part were you most excited about?”
“Dad—”
“The company?”
Luca said nothing.
“The house?”
“Stop.”
“The money?”
“Stop!”
Arthur stood.
His legs trembled.
I instinctively moved toward him, but he raised one hand.
He wanted to stand alone.
“I’m still alive.”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
“You're twisting private conversations.”
“Am I?”
“I was venting.”
“About my funeral?”
Luca rubbed his face.
“Dad, you're sick. Everybody knows what eventually happens.”
Arthur stared at him.
Those words landed harder than shouting ever could.
Luca realized it immediately.
“That's not what I meant.”
But it was too late.
Arthur’s face became strangely peaceful.
“I spent forty years wondering whether I had given you too much.”
Luca looked confused.
Arthur continued.
“Tonight you answered me.”
Luca turned toward me.
“What did you tell him?”
“The truth.”
“What did you make him do?”
There it was.
The question Arthur had predicted.
“What did she make me do?” Arthur repeated.
Luca stepped toward him.
“Dad, you aren't well.”
Arthur smiled.
“You're going to challenge my mental competence?”
“I didn't say that.”
“You were about to.”
Luca looked toward the suitcases.
Then his attention returned to me.
“Fine.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You want the house?”
I said nothing.
“Take it.”
He grabbed one suitcase.
“The house is yours. I'll soon have something much better anyway.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
Luca didn't notice.
I did.
Something final passed across the old man’s face.
Not anger.
Grief.
Luca reached for the second suitcase.
Arthur spoke.
“No, you won't.”
Luca stopped.
“What?”
Arthur walked toward him.
“You won't have something better.”
“Dad—”
“You won't have this house.”
Arthur took another step.
“You won't have my estate.”
Luca’s grip loosened on the suitcase handle.
“You won't have controlling ownership of Vance Global.”
Luca stared.
“What are you talking about?”
Arthur looked at me.
Then back at his son.
“I changed everything.”
Luca actually laughed.
“You're joking.”
“No.”
“Because Jessi caught me cheating?”
“Because I caught you waiting for me to die.”
Luca’s face transformed.
“Who gets the company?”
Arthur remained silent.
Luca looked at me.
His eyes widened.
“No.”
Nobody answered.
“No.”
He dropped the suitcase.
“You gave it to her?”
Arthur’s silence confirmed it.
Luca stepped backward.
“You gave my company to my wife?”
“Your company?”
Arthur’s voice suddenly thundered through the foyer.
“I built that company!”
Kelly’s bedroom door opened upstairs.
“Mom?”
My heart stopped.
Kelly stood at the railing wearing pajamas.
Leo appeared behind her.
“Go back inside,” I said.
Kelly looked from the suitcases to her father.
“What's happening?”
Luca immediately softened his voice.
“Nothing, sweetheart.”
I looked at him.
Another lie.
“No,” I said.
Luca glared at me.
“Jessi.”
“No more lies.”
Kelly’s face changed.
She was fourteen.
Old enough to recognize disaster.
“Dad?”
Luca looked trapped.
Arthur turned toward the stairs.
“Kelly, take your brother back to his room. Your parents will explain tomorrow.”
Kelly hesitated.
Then she took Leo’s hand.
Their doors closed.
I faced Luca.
“You need to leave.”
He stared at me for several seconds.
Then something cold entered his expression.
“You think this is finished?”
“No.”
I knew him too well.
“This is probably just beginning.”
Luca lifted the suitcases.
At the doorway, he turned toward Arthur.
“You're going to regret this.”
Arthur looked at his only son.
“No, Luca.”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
“I regret what you became.”
Luca walked outside.
The door slammed.
Through the window, I watched him load the suitcases into his Mercedes.
Then his taillights disappeared.
I expected relief.
Instead, I felt terror.
Because I knew Luca.
He had lost his wife.
He had lost his expected inheritance.
And once Luca Vance believed something belonged to him, he didn't walk away quietly.
May you like
He fought.
The only thing I didn't know was how far he was willing to go.
Related Stories
