CHAPTER 2

DISOWNED

"So what's the problem? You should go and apologize to Adrian and your sister," Rebecca, Aurora's stepmother, said, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at Aurora.

"You've finally learned your place. You were the one chasing after Adrian, never giving him any space because of your clingy attitude. Now he knows who he truly wants. Let Vanessa and Adrian be happy, Aurora. They love each other, and it would be shameless of you to come between two people in love. Let them live their lives."

Aurora stared at her stepmother in shock. Had she heard her correctly?

"Apologize to them?" she snapped. But what else could she have expected from that woman?

Aurora grabbed her father's arm and looked at him desperately. "Dad, did you hear what she's saying? Aren't you going to say anything? Vanessa and Adrian cheated on me. They took Mom's property from me, Dad. Please help me get it back. It was Mom's dream to build an orphanage there."

Just then, Vanessa walked in, tears streaming down her face. "Mom, she won't let me be happy. Why can't she understand that love can't be forced?" she sobbed, prompting Rebecca to pull her into a tight hug.

"Shh, sweetheart," Rebecca cooed. "Your dad won't let anyone stand between you and your happiness."

Aurora shot them both a look of absolute fury before turning back to her father. "Dad, please, I need your help. Do something about this!"

Aaron Bennett looked at the crying Vanessa before pulling his arm out of Aurora's grip. "What help, Aurora? None of this would have happened if you hadn't been so stubborn. Leonardo Moretti was ready to pay millions for that land, but you refused. In the end, he got it one way or another. There's nothing you or I can do about it now. Drop this matter and accept what's happening. We're lucky Adrian truly loves your sister. Our family will now be connected to the powerful Moretti family. Let this go and allow them to be happy if you want peace in your life."

Aurora took a step back from her father, stunned and devastated. How could her own father treat her this way?

"You see? Even your father agrees with me," Rebecca piped up, a triumphant gleam in her eyes. "Vanessa is your sister. Don't stand in her happiness, Aurora."

Aurora felt as though her heart would burst at any second. The last shred of hope she held vanished completely. She had always known her father loved money and power, but turning against his own flesh and blood? She had never expected such cruelty from her father—the only family she thought she had left.

"She is not my sister!" Aurora snapped, turning on her stepmother. "She's a bitch, just like you! You stole my father from me, and your daughter did the exact same thing with my man!"

The words escaped her lips before she could filter them.

Aaron and Rebecca stared at her in shock, while Vanessa instantly stopped her crying, her face frozen.

"What man, Aurora?" Rebecca asked after a tense silence.

Aurora's face turned pale as she realized what she had just blurted out. But now that the truth was out in the open, she refused to hide it any longer. She squared her shoulders.

"My fiancé. I'm pregnant with Adrian's child."

Rebecca shot her daughter a sharp, warning look. Vanessa lowered her head, clenching her teeth in bitter frustration, they had planned for Vanessa to get pregnant with Adrian's child first, but Aurora had beaten her to it. Aaron simply stared at Aurora blankly, too stunned to speak.

"Get rid of it," Rebecca ordered coldly. "Remove the baby as soon as possible, Aurora. Think about how it will look to everyone! One sister is getting married to Adrian, while the other is carrying his baby? I won't let you bring shame to the Bennett family. Be a good girl and abort that child..." She reached out to grab Aurora's arm, while Aaron shook his head in silent agreement.

"No, I won't!" Aurora yanked her arm back and glared at Rebecca. "I won't get rid of my baby, and I won't let anyone take my mother's land either." She turned back to her father. "You don't want to help me, Dad? Fine. I'll fight for justice on my own."

Rebecca's eyes flared with anger. She could see their carefully crafted scheme falling apart. "Darling, are you hearing what she's saying? She's going to bring total ruin to this family. Just imagine what people will say. We'll become the laughingstock of the entire town, Aaron."

Aurora felt sickened by her stepmother's relentless manipulation. "Dad, are you really going to believe her?"

Aaron's expression hardened, and he gripped Aurora's arm tightly. "You're getting rid of this baby, Aurora. I won't allow you to embarrass me. I'm finally achieving the success I've worked my whole life for. With Vanessa's marriage to Adrian, the Bennett name will be respected across Italy. I won't let you ruin everything I've built!"

Disgusting. No other word could describe her father's bottomless greed.

"I've already endured the pain of betrayal from your precious daughter and my fiancé, Dad," Aurora said, her voice trembling with righteous fury. "I'm not asking them for anything except my mother's land. I will expose the Moretti family to the entire world. And as for ending this pregnancy—never. This is my child, and I won't let anyone hurt it."

Aaron straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin coldness settling over his features. "Is that your final decision?"

Aurora nodded firmly. "Yes. I—"

"Then get out!" he roared, grabbing her arm and shoving her hard toward the doorway. "You no longer belong to this family or this house. Get out, and never come back! I disown you, Aurora.”

Aurora stumbled, barely managing to keep her balance. She pressed her lips together and stared at the floor, fighting with every fiber of her being not to break down in front of them.

Slowly, she lifted her head and locked eyes with her father. He was disowning her for those horrible people. Fine. Let it be.

"You don't have to push me out, Mr. Bennett," she said, her voice chillingly calm. "I was already leaving this horrible place. But remember one thing: I will make every single one of you pay for what you did to me."

She cast a searing glance over the three of them before turning on her heel and storming out. Aaron clenched his jaw in anger and retreated to his study, slamming the door.

"Mom, please do something!" Vanessa cried out the moment they were alone. "She's pregnant! What if she goes to the media? Adrian and his father will destroy us!"

Rebecca pressed her lips into a thin line, glaring at her daughter. "Didn't I tell you? You needed to get pregnant with Adrian's baby to secure your place in the Moretti family. But look at you, that bitch outsmarted you."

As Vanessa hung her head and began to weep, Rebecca's expression shifted to one of cold calculation. She patted Vanessa's hand soothingly. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I won't let anyone ruin your happiness."

Rebecca pulled out her phone and dialed Leonardo Moretti, putting the call on speaker. The moment he answered, she laid out the situation.

"She found out how we deceived her into signing the land over to your name, Mr. Moretti," Rebecca reported carefully. "She's also pregnant with Adrian's child, and she's planning to use it all to destroy you and your son."

Silence stretched over the line until Leonardo let out a deep, dangerous sigh.

"I'll take care of it," he said in a low tone before hanging up.

Rebecca smiled warmly and took her crying daughter's hand. Leonardo Moretti would handle the problem for good.