Chapter 175: Are You Coming To San Fierro?
That afternoon, less than ten minutes after leaving the president’s office, Cecelia rushed back in.
Her face had turned pale, and she was clutching a stack of documents so tightly that the pages had begun to wrinkle.
"What’s wrong?"
Luca frowned. He had never seen her look this panicked before.
"The front desk just called..."
She swallowed hard before continuing.
"They said several police officers are downstairs asking specifically for you."
As she spoke, her fingers tightened around the documents until they crumpled into a messy ball.
She was genuinely frightened.
A thin layer of cold sweat had already formed across her back.
She still didn’t know about Lady Francine’s death, but in her eyes, there was no way the police showing up personally could mean anything good.
Seeing how shaken she was, Luca stood up and gently pulled her into his arms.
He softly rubbed her back, comforting her.
"Don’t panic."
"Invite them upstairs first."
Truthfully...
His own heart wasn’t nearly as calm as he appeared.
’Did something go wrong?’
’Was there a flaw somewhere?’
Still...
Running away wasn’t an option.
If something had happened, he would face it.
A short while later, Roseline escorted several officers into the meeting room.
Cecelia remained outside.
She was far too nervous to sit through the conversation.
To Luca’s relief, the officers simply asked where he had been during the early hours of the morning.
After recording his answers, they packed up their notes and politely left.
Their questions confirmed his suspicions.
The deaths of Lady Francine and Frank Romano had caused an enormous stir throughout New Orleans.
The police were questioning anyone who might have had a motive.
Since Luca had publicly clashed with Lady Francine before, he naturally appeared on the list of people to investigate.
Fortunately...
The incident had nothing to do with him.
There was nothing for him to fear.
He quietly let out a breath.
But although he had relaxed...
Cecelia hadn’t.
"Luca!"
She hurried into the office only moments after the officers had left.
Grabbing both of his hands, she anxiously searched his face.
"Are you alright?"
"I’m fine."
He smiled gently before pulling her into another embrace.
"There’s nothing to worry about."
"Really?"
She lifted her head.
Her eyes were still slightly red, and she bit her lower lip nervously.
She looked as though a single negative answer would make her burst into tears.
"Really."
Luca lowered his head and softly kissed her lips.
Perhaps because the fear still lingered...
For the first time, Cecelia responded before he did.
Her small tongue timidly slipped past his lips, desperately seeking reassurance.
Only by feeling him this close...
Only by kissing him...
Could she finally convince herself that he was safe.
When they finally separated, she rested her forehead against his chest.
"Luca..."
"If you ever do anything dangerous..."
"You have to think about protecting yourself first."
"...Okay?"
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I know."
Closing his eyes, Luca tightened his arms around her warm body.
Although today’s incident hadn’t been aimed at him...
For the first time, it truly made him realize something.
His parents.
Trish.
Vivienne.
Naomi.
Sophie.
Amelia.
Arabella.
Cecelia.
There were already so many people depending on him.
If something really happened to him...
What would become of them?
At that moment, every grudge...
Every benefit...
Every scheme...
Seemed insignificant.
’As long as I can stay with the people I care about...’
’Nothing else matters.’
Just as the two quietly held each other...
The ringing phone shattered the silence.
Cecelia’s body trembled slightly.
Even so, she made no move to leave his embrace.
She had grown fond of this feeling.
Perhaps...
Even addicted to it.
"Trish?"
Luca looked at the caller ID in surprise.
It was rare for his sister to call him first.
The moment he answered, a cheerful voice rang out.
"Brother~"
Her sweet, playful tone immediately made him suspicious.
’This can’t be good.’
"What is it?"
"Hehe..."
"Brother, shouldn’t you be keeping your promise?"
"What promise?"
He deliberately pretended not to remember.
"Hey!"
Trish immediately protested.
"You promised to buy me a sports car!"
"You forgot already?"
"Did I?"
"Hmph!"
"If you keep acting like this, you’re going to lose your cutest, prettiest, sweetest little sister."
Luca laughed.
"I have other siblings too."
"They don’t count!"
"I’m your biological sister!"
Then she giggled.
"Oh, right!"
"I’ve already submitted my university applications."
"I’ll be coming to San Fierro in a few days."
"You’d better come pick me up!"
The siblings chatted for a while about their family before finally ending the call.
"Your sister?"
Still leaning against him, Cecelia had naturally heard the conversation.
"Mm."
Luca opened one of Trish’s photos and handed her the phone.
"What a beautiful girl."
She smiled sincerely.
"Your family really has excellent genes."
She wasn’t exaggerating.
Luca was already exceptionally handsome.
Even after all these years and having met countless attractive men, she still thought he stood above almost all of them.
Now, seeing his younger sister...
She finally understood why.
With siblings this good-looking...
Their parents couldn’t possibly be ordinary either.
While she admired the photo, Luca quietly fell into thought.
Everything concerning the Luiz family was almost over.
The Day family only needed one final push.
There was no real reason for him to remain in New Orleans any longer.
Besides...
Trish’s phone call had made him miss San Fierro even more.
Lowering his head, he gently kissed Cecelia’s smooth forehead.
"Celia."
"I’m heading back to San Fierro."
The moment those words left his mouth...
He clearly felt the woman in his arms stiffen.
Silence filled the office.
Only after a long while did she slowly nod.
"...Okay."
"I want to take you with me."
That had always been his plan.
Unexpectedly...
She shook her head.
After what seemed like careful consideration, she softly replied,
"Not yet."
"You don’t want to come?"
"Of course I do."
She gently cupped his face.
Her eyes overflowed with reluctance.
"I want nothing more than to stay by your side."
"But I can’t leave the company right now."
"Once I’ve finished settling everything here..."
"I’ll come find you."
Hearing that, Luca could only sigh.
"...Alright."
At the same time, another thought quietly formed in his mind.
He needed to promote someone capable as soon as possible.
That way...
Cecelia could finally leave New Orleans and join him in San Fierro.
---
That evening, after returning to the villa district, Luca unexpectedly ran into Nora, whom he hadn’t seen in quite some time.
After exchanging greetings, he told Naomi about his decision.
"We’re finally going back!"
She practically jumped with excitement.
"Oh!"
"Trish’s coming too!"
"We can finally meet in person!"
The two had only spoken through video calls until now, though they’d exchanged contact information long ago and chatted often.
Naomi had been looking forward to this for quite some time.
Then she suddenly remembered something.
Poking Luca’s arm, she asked,
"Have you told Trish about Vivienne yet?"
"..."
He awkwardly rubbed the tip of his nose.
"Not yet."
Naomi immediately puffed out her cheeks.
"You womanizer."
She already knew he hadn’t dared mention any of it to his family.
What she didn’t know...
Was that embarrassment, not fear, was stopping him.
After all...
Trish already knew about Sophie.
She also knew about Naomi.
Now Vivienne...
Then Amelia...
And later Arabella...
Not to mention Cecelia...
Thinking about that inevitable family meeting...
Even Luca couldn’t help rubbing his forehead.
’Somehow...’
’Without realizing it...’
’Things have become a little too chaotic.’