She taught at St. Augustine Academy, a prestigious school for the city’s elite—business magnates, politicians, and, as she recently discovered, crime bosses.

She had always prided herself on treating all students equally, but that principle was tested when Luca Bianchi entered her fourth-grade class.

Luca wasn’t like the other students—not just because of his quiet nature, but because of his last name. Bianchi. A name whispered in certain circles that made some nervous. His father owned half the city, and though no one said it aloud, everyone knew what he was.

When she first saw Luca, she expected another spoiled rich kid. But he was polite, never spoke out of turn, and never disrupted class. There was a distance to him, though—a wall too thick for any teacher to break through. (Until her.)

When she met his father officially, she understood why.

He arrived for a parent-teacher meeting. He was the kind of man who exuded quiet power, the sort of authority that didn’t require raised voices or second chances. His dark eyes assessed her the moment he stepped into the classroom.

The meeting proceeded as expected—greetings, introductions—and of course, they talked about Luca.

“Luca doesn’t talk much about school, but he’s been different lately. I figured it was worth meeting the woman responsible.”

He listened to her intently, and when she mentioned Luca’s talent for writing, something flickered in his gaze. “I’d like to encourage that,” he said almost to himself.

The meeting ended, and that should have been it.

But it wasn’t.

He started appearing more—first at these meetings, then at drop-offs and pick-ups, lingering just long enough for her to notice. Their conversations grew longer.

Then came the gifts.

An expensive pen. Flowers left on her desk. A book she had once mentioned.

She returned them all.

But that didn’t stop him.

One evening, while she graded papers in a now empty school, she didn’t notice him in the doorway until he spoke.

“You work too hard.”