Her roof still leaked.
Her bank payment was still due.
The contrast was so ridiculous that she began packing her tools before she could laugh.
Luca remained beside the Bentley.
“What do I owe you?” he asked again.
“I told you.
I haven’t finished the repair.”
“You repaired enough.”
“I built a temporary bypass and ran diagnostics.” Amelia took a grease-smudged invoice pad from a drawer.
“Emergency callout, labor, wire, connectors, scan time.”
She calculated carefully.
“Four hundred eighty-six dollars.”
Marco looked at her as if she had misunderstood the question.
Luca did not.
“That is your price for tonight?”
“That is the price for the work.”
“What about identifying Victor?”
“I identified the credential.
He identified himself.”
Luca studied her for a long moment.
On the desk behind her, the bank’s final notice lay partly beneath a stack of supplier invoices.
Victor had seen it through the truck window.
Luca saw it now.
“You need more than four hundred eighty-six dollars.”
Amelia’s shoulders stiffened.
“That is not part of your repair.”
“How much time?”
“Thirty days.”
“And the amount?”
“Not your concern.”
Luca walked toward the faded wall sign carrying her father’s name.
“You risked yourself for a stranger who spoke to you badly, then refused to change your price after learning who he was.”
“I stopped because your car was broken.”
“You stayed after armed men arrived.”
“They blocked my truck.”
Marco hid a smile.
Luca looked around the shop.
The equipment was old but maintained.
Tools were arranged by use rather than appearance.
Every surface showed years of honest work.
“How many vehicles can you service each month?”
Amelia narrowed her eyes.
“Why?”
“Moretti Holdings maintains a fleet.
Sedans, vans, executive cars, light trucks.
Our current contractor allowed someone to compromise my Bentley.”
“You want me to replace them?”
“I want you to submit a real price.”
“I don’t take money for silence.”
“I am not asking for silence.”
“I don’t alter records.”
“I am not asking for that either.”
“I won’t ignore unsafe vehicles because someone important needs them quickly.”
Luca glanced at the disabled Bentley.
“That appears to be the quality I need.”
He asked Marco to bring a standard fleet-services agreement from the SUV.
