He Chose Another Heir Now He Wants Me Back Chapter 55
At eight that night, the long table at the De Luca house was filled with witnesses.
Salvatore still sat at the head. Vincent was on his left, Ray’s account records spread before him. Several capos were speaking in low voices, falling silent the moment I walked in.
Dante walked me to the door but did not enter.
“This is a De Luca table,” I said. “Let me handle it.”
He looked at me for two seconds.
“I’ll be right outside.”
He wasn’t making the decision for me. He was just telling me that if I turned around, he would be there.
I walked in alone and set the file folder in the center of the table.
Salvatore tapped his cane on the floor.
“Did Moretti not teach you punctuality?”
“The lawyer just filed our response to the asset restraint application in court.” I pulled out a chair. “It delayed me fifteen minutes.”
Vincent frowned. “A family debt, and you took it to an outside court?”
“The account is a legal trust, and the beneficiary is a fifteen-year-old girl. If you use the court to freeze it, don’t be surprised when I answer you in the same venue.”
One by one, I took out the documents Ray had prepared.
The guardianship authorization, the account beneficiary arrangements, the lawyer’s witness statements—every page was dated before my mother’s surgery. Last was the letter he wrote to Vittorio, asking only for neutral protection, with no mention of any benefit to the De Luca family.
“The money Ray left Nora has no connection to my mother’s surgery.” I set the hospital’s donor evaluation timeline beside it. “The donation was completed independently. Your so-called debt gives you no right to come after her.”
Salvatore didn’t touch the documents.
“Do you know why Ray left?”
“No.”
“You don’t know, and you still dare to take this on?”
“I’m taking on guardianship of a girl, not Ray’s past.”
He stared at me, his gaze as sharp as a blade.
“As long as you bear the De Luca name, you have no right to say the past has nothing to do with you.”
“Then let’s talk about my rights.”
I took out another document.
It was a statement my lawyer had prepared for me that day regarding my distributions. Ophelia had once used them to threaten me, saying the yearly allocations required the signatures of the head of the family and his advisor. I hadn’t taken a single payment in six years, yet I was still tied to the De Luca books by that rope.
“Effective today, freeze all undistributed portions of my assets.” I pushed the signed statement across the table. “Until you acknowledge that my marriage, career, and residence are not subject to family control, I will accept no distributions. Nor will I allow anyone to use my firm, my license, or my connection to the Morettis to guarantee anything for the De Luca family.”
Several men at the table looked up.
The De Lucas had just lost Bellini’s support for their western routes. My firm handled several European shipping clients, and Dante’s routes were the exact door they most wanted to open.
Salvatore could hold my money.
He could not have my name.
“Are you threatening your own family?” Vincent asked.
“No.” I looked at him. “I’m refusing to be used by you anymore.”
Just then, my lawyer called.
I put the call on speaker.
“Elena, the court denied the emergency freeze. De Luca failed to submit any independent claim establishing a right to the beneficiary’s account. The bank has already lifted the restriction.”
The only sound in the room was the crackle of the fireplace.
I ended the call and gathered Ray’s documents.
“The outside world has given its answer. Now it’s your turn.”
The veins on the back of Salvatore’s hand stood out.
At last, he raised his hand.
“Withdraw all claims against Corrigan’s daughter.”
The advisor lowered his head and recorded the order.
“No member of the De Luca family is to go near her residence.”
When he said it, he seemed to age ten years.
I didn’t soften.
“My marriage, too.”
His ebony cane hit the floor.
“From this day forward, it will no longer be entered into any family agreement.”
It was the first time he had admitted in front of witnesses that my name belonged only to me.