Chapter 5 - The Parent-Teacher Trap — Defending the Moretti Name in Public
By the third week, the prestigious St. Jude’s Academy in Lincoln Park—where
Chicago’s political and financial elite sent their children—demanded an
emergency disciplinary meeting regarding Luca and Sofia.
Dante was tied up in a high-stakes maritime negotiation at the docks, so Nora
dressed in a tailored navy pantsuit, pulled her dark hair into a sleek chignon,
and arrived at the headmaster's office alone.
Headmaster Harrington, a pompous man with silver hair and gold-rimmed
spectacles, sat behind an expansive walnut desk. Beside him sat Mrs. Kensington,
a prominent Chicago socialite whose husband sat on the municipal banking board.
“Mrs... Miss Bellamy,” Harrington corrected himself with a slight sneer. “We
were expecting Don Moretti.”
“Don Moretti is attending to business,” Nora said smoothly, taking a seat and
crossing her legs with regal composure. “I represent the Moretti household.
State the issue.”
Mrs. Kensington scoffed loudly. “The issue, Miss Bellamy—if that is what we are
calling you—is that Luca Moretti physically assaulted my son, Julian, during
recess yesterday. The Moretti children are violent, disruptive, and carry the
vulgar stench of their family’s... criminal enterprises into this institution.”
Nora didn't raise her voice. She leaned forward, her hazel eyes turning sharp as
broken flint.
“Did Julian tell you why Luca hit him, Mrs. Kensington?”
“It doesn't matter! Violence is never permitted!”
“It matters a great deal,” Nora said, pulling an audio recording device from her
purse and placing it on Harrington’s desk. “Because Sofia recorded Julian and
three other boys cornering her by the lockers, telling her that her mother
burned in hell and that her father was a murderer who would die in prison.”
Harrington’s face flushed red. Mrs. Kensington gasped.
“Sofia hasn't spoken above a whisper in two years,” Nora said, her voice
dropping into a dangerous, icy cadence that sounded terrifyingly like Dante
Moretti himself. “Luca defended his twin sister when this school’s staff failed
to protect her. If you suspend Luca, Headmaster Harrington, I will not only
release this audio to the Chicago press to showcase the rampant bullying at St.
Jude’s, but I will also have our forensic accountants audit the three million
dollars in tax-exempt donations the Moretti Foundation provided for your new
science wing.”
Harrington swallowed hard, adjusting his glasses with trembling fingers. “Miss
Bellamy... that won't be necessary. A formal reprimand for Julian Kensington
will be issued immediately.”
Mrs. Kensington stood up, furious. “You have no right! You aren't even their
real mother! You’re just a bought companion!”
Nora stood up, towering over the woman with absolute, unshakable authority.
May you like
“I am the woman raising them,” Nora said with chilling clarity. “And if you or
your son ever look at Sofia or Luca with disrespect again, you will find out
what happens when a mother decides to protect her children.”
Standing in the hallway outside the office, twelve-year-old Matteo listened
through the cracked door. For the first time, a small, genuine smile touched the
boy’s guarded face.
