Chapter 1: A Case Rekindled

Amelia Grant leaned back in her chair, staring at the photograph in front of her. It was a blurry image of a man in a suit, walking out of an office building late at night. His face wasn’t clear, but she recognized the broad shoulders, the confident stride, and the tight-lipped smile.

Luca.

Her heart gave an involuntary lurch.

It had been years since she’d seen him, but the memory of him—the way he had looked at her, touched her, held her—was still so vivid it could feel like yesterday. The thought of him always triggered something in her chest. But that was the past, and she had worked hard to bury it. To focus on the job.

This case was too important.

She dragged a hand through her messy hair, trying to shake off the familiar ache. The client had come to her with concerns about a possible corporate scandal, something bigger than she could have imagined, with ties to people in power. But the deeper she dug, the more she realized just how much she didn’t know.

And now, here he was, back in the picture.

The phone on her desk buzzed, and she grabbed it with a sigh, expecting one of her regular clients. Instead, the screen lit up with a name she never thought she’d see again: Luca Montgomery.

Her stomach tightened.

“Amelia,” the voice on the other end was smooth, confident, just like she remembered. “We need to talk. I’m in trouble, and so are you.”

Amelia’s breath caught in her throat. She hadn’t heard from Luca in years, not since the bitter end of their relationship. The abrupt silence he had left in her life was one she’d tried desperately to fill with cases, work, and distractions. But now, his voice crackled through the phone like an electric current.

She leaned back in her chair, her fingers tightening around the phone as her mind raced. “What kind of trouble are you talking about?” she asked, her voice steady, despite the panic stirring beneath the surface. She had learned to be professional, to separate her emotions from the job. But Luca had always had a way of piercing through that armor, and right now, it felt like she was the one being investigated.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he replied, a note of weariness in his voice that surprised her. “But I need your help. And not just for me. You’ve stumbled into something bigger than you know, something dangerous. I can’t explain everything over the phone, but I need you to meet me.”

A thousand questions ran through her mind. Luca Montgomery, the man who had broken her heart and left her without a trace, was asking for her help. The same man who had once promised her a future—before he disappeared into his world of wealth and ambition, leaving her behind without a word.

Her breath hitched as the old wounds reopened, but she shoved the emotions down, pushing them into the small box labeled past. This was business. She couldn’t let feelings cloud her judgment.

“When?” she asked, her tone crisp.

“Now. I’ll text you the address,” he said, before hanging up without waiting for her response.

She stared at the phone for a moment, the silence pressing in. The temptation to decline, to forget about him and this entire situation, was strong. But curiosity—along with the stubborn part of her that refused to back down—pushed her to take action.

The address he’d sent her was only a few blocks away, tucked into a high-rise building with glass windows that reflected the city lights. She stood up, grabbed her coat from the back of her chair, and made her way out of her office.

The streets outside her office were alive with the hum of the city. People hustled from place to place, the glow of neon lights reflecting off the wet pavement from a recent rain. Amelia adjusted her scarf, her thoughts spinning as she walked briskly toward the building where Luca had asked her to meet him.

Every step felt like a pull toward something she couldn’t control, something she didn’t want to face. But as much as she hated the idea of seeing him again, the detective in her couldn’t resist. She had to know what he wanted—and why he had suddenly reappeared in her life.

When she reached the building, she entered through the sleek revolving doors, her heels clicking sharply on the polished marble floor. The lobby was quiet, a few people lounging in the chairs, their voices muffled by the space. A security guard behind the desk greeted her, and she gave him Luca’s name.

“He’s expecting you,” the guard said, gesturing toward the elevator.

The elevator doors slid open with a soft ding, and Amelia stepped inside. Her reflection in the mirrored walls stared back at her, but it wasn’t the person she saw that caught her attention—it was the ache in her chest. The sharp longing she’d worked so hard to bury was creeping back, threatening to unravel the carefully constructed distance she’d built around her feelings for Luca.

The elevator reached the top floor, and Amelia stepped out into a modern office suite with floor-to-ceiling windows. The view was breathtaking—an endless sea of lights that stretched across the city skyline. But all she could focus on was the man standing by the window, his back to her, looking every bit as commanding and untouchable as he had all those years ago.

“Luca,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

He turned, his eyes locking with hers, and for a moment, neither of them spoke. He looked the same, yet different. The sharp suit, the messy hair, the confident gaze—they were all there, just as she’d remembered. But the weight of something unspoken hung in the air, something heavier than either of them had ever been willing to admit.

“Amelia,” Luca said, his voice low. “I didn’t want you to find out like this, but I didn’t have a choice. I need you to help me uncover what’s going on. It’s bigger than you or me. And it’s about to get dangerous.”

Amelia crossed her arms, her stance defensive. “You don’t get to just waltz back into my life after all this time and expect me to drop everything. You left, Luca. Without a word. You don’t get to ask me for help now.”

Luca’s jaw tightened, his gaze softening just slightly. “I know I don’t deserve your trust. I know I messed up. But this—this is different. I need you to trust me this one time. Please.”

The silence between them stretched, the weight of the past and the tension of the present hanging thick. Amelia could feel the pull between them, like a magnetic force. She had never been able to stay mad at Luca for long—he had always known how to make her question herself, how to make her care.

“I’m not the same person I was when we…” she trailed off, her throat tightening. She had been about to say when we were together, but the words felt too loaded. “I’m not just going to forget everything that happened.”

“I don’t want you to forget,” Luca said quietly. “But I need you to remember that we’re both after the same thing here. The truth. And this time, I’m asking you to help me find it.”

Amelia stood there for a moment, torn between the ghosts of her past and the dangerous situation unfolding before her. Finally, with a resigned sigh, she uncrossed her arms and took a step closer to him. “Alright,” she said, her voice steady. “But I’m doing this for the case. Not for you.”

Luca’s eyes darkened, and for the first time, a small, genuine smile tugged at his lips. “I wouldn’t expect anything else.”

Luca motioned for her to follow him deeper into the office, leading her toward a sleek conference table that overlooked the city. The walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, each shelf filled with neatly organized files and legal documents. The entire space screamed of power, of someone who had fought for everything they had.

Amelia couldn’t help but glance at the trophies of his success—luxurious furnishings, high-end technology, and the polished veneer of a man who had everything figured out. Except, she knew Luca better than anyone. Beneath that exterior, there was always a storm brewing.

He gestured to a chair on the opposite side of the table, and Amelia sat down, her mind still reeling from his sudden reappearance. The weight of the past was thick between them, but she knew she had to focus. There was something much bigger at play here.

Luca slid a file across the table toward her. It was thick, the kind of file that looked like it could change lives.

“I’m assuming you’re here to ask why I need you,” he began, his voice steady, though there was a hint of tension in his jaw. “This is about my family.”

Amelia’s eyes narrowed. The last time she’d heard Luca talk about his family, it was with a kind of distance, an emotional wall that he refused to break down. The Montgomeries were one of the wealthiest, most influential families in the city, but they had always been shrouded in secrecy.

“You’re asking me to get involved in your family’s drama?” she asked, her voice laced with disbelief.

Luca leaned forward, his eyes locking onto hers. “This isn’t about drama. It’s about corruption. I’ve found evidence that someone within my family is involved in something dangerous—something illegal. And I need you to help me find out who.”

Her curiosity piqued, Amelia opened the file in front of her. The first page was a document, marked in bold letters: Confidential. She scanned the page quickly, but what she saw made her pause. Names. Dates. Legal jargon that hinted at financial dealings—deals that were far from above board.

“This goes beyond family secrets,” she murmured, looking up at him. “This is a full-blown conspiracy.”

Luca nodded, his expression tight. “Exactly. I don’t know who I can trust within my own family. Everyone has something to hide. But I’ve seen the connections between certain people and… let’s just say that I’ve gotten too close to some dangerous individuals. I’ve made enemies. And I’m not the only one in danger anymore.”

Amelia closed the file and folded her hands on the table, thinking. The detective in her knew the risks of getting involved in something this big. She had seen firsthand what powerful people were capable of when they felt threatened. But the other part of her— the part that remembered Luca’s touch, his warmth, his smile—felt a strange pull toward him again.

“This is risky, Luca,” she said, her voice steady, though her heart beat a little faster. “If you’re right, and someone in your family is involved, then the danger could come from anywhere. You don’t know who you can trust.”

“I know,” he said, his voice softer now. “That’s why I need you. You’re the only person who can see the truth without the bias, without the connections. You’ve always had a way of seeing things others missed. I need that. I need you.”

His words hung in the air, heavier than anything Amelia had heard in years. Her mind screamed to reject him, to walk away and leave this behind. But the pull was undeniable. The job, the adrenaline, the mystery—it was all so familiar. And Luca… Luca was a part of her past that had never fully let go.

She shook her head, trying to clear the fog in her mind. “Fine. I’ll help. But I need to know everything. No secrets. You want me to trust you? Then you have to trust me.”

Luca didn’t hesitate. “I’ll tell you everything, Amelia. I swear.”

The next few hours passed in a blur. Luca handed her more documents, showed her bank records, and explained his suspicions about certain members of the Montgomery family. His tone remained calm, but there was an edge to it, a rawness that Amelia hadn’t expected.

As they worked, the tension between them never fully dissipated. Every time their hands brushed, every time their eyes met, the air seemed to crackle with unspoken words. Amelia tried to push it down—tried to remind herself that this was strictly professional. But deep down, she knew there was something more at play here. There always had been.

When they finally wrapped up for the night, Luca stood, stretching his arms above his head. “I’ll set up meetings with my contacts. You’ll have access to everything you need. We’ll figure this out together.”

Amelia nodded, grabbing her coat. “I’ll keep digging, but don’t expect me to just roll over. This is bigger than you think.”

“I know,” Luca said, his voice low, his gaze intense. “But we’ll make it through. I promise.”

Amelia stepped out into the cool night air, her thoughts swirling. The city streets stretched out before her, bathed in the glow of streetlights. She pulled her coat tighter around her body, the cool breeze helping to clear her mind.

As she walked to her car, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was already too deep into something dangerous. Luca had come to her for help—something he’d never done before. He was hiding something, and she wasn’t sure if it was the case or something else entirely.

The question wasn’t just about who she could trust—it was whether she could trust herself to stay professional, to keep her distance from him. She had told herself she was over him, that the past was behind her. But with every passing moment, that distance seemed to shrink.

As she drove off into the night, one thought stayed in her mind: This case was going to change everything.