Chapter 3

I told the lawyer everything that had happened over the years.

There was a long silence on the other end of the call before he finally sighed.

“If that victim settlement agreement back then was signed by your husband on your behalf as your spouse, and someone later destroyed the physical evidence, then after five years, it won’t be easy to pursue Violetta alone.

“But if you have proof that Violetta never actually served her sentence, the circumstances will be different.”

I tightened my grip on the phone.

“What about the divorce?”

“The divorce won’t be difficult.” The lawyer paused briefly. “But have you really thought this through?”

“I have.

“Since he loves her so much, I’ll let them be together.”

The lawyer asked again, “What about the child?”

I fell silent.

Luca was the child I gave birth to while risking my life, and he was also the only person I couldn’t bear to let go of all these years.

I wanted to say that I didn’t want him anymore either.

However, when the words reached my lips, I still couldn’t say them.

Maybe he was just too young.

Maybe if I laid the truth out before him, he would understand.

Just as I was about to ask something else, the front door pushed open.

The father and son walked in smiling, carrying the scent of night wind and perfume on their coats.

When Luca saw me on the phone, he casually asked, “Mom, who are you talking to?”

Damien also looked at me, his gaze darkening for a moment.

“A friend.”

I put my phone face down and picked up the box of marzipan he had specially brought back for me. I unwrapped one and placed it in my mouth.

I used to love this flavor the most.

Now, it only tasted sickeningly sweet and bitter at the same time, just like this marriage. Covered in sugar on the outside, while rotten underneath.

Damien looked at me as if waiting for a reaction.

“Is it good? If you like it, I’ll buy more next time.”

I smiled faintly.

“It’s good, but there’s no need.”

He immediately became tense. “Why?”

I answered calmly, “The doctor said I should eat less of this.”

Only then did he visibly relax.

“I’ll have the chef create new desserts for you that are healthy and delicious.”

I lowered my eyes and looked at the draft divorce agreement the lawyer had just sent to my phone.

‘There won’t be a next time, Damien.’

The next morning, I received a call from Luca’s school.

The teacher invited me to attend the academy’s open house.

For events like this, Damien was always the one who attended.

I thought he had simply forgotten to inform me, and because I didn’t want Luca to be left alone, I still had the driver take me to the school.

The moment I arrived at the entrance, the teacher looked at me politely and asked, “May I ask who you are?”

I answered, “I’m Luca’s—”

Before I could finish, the teacher suddenly showed a look of realization.

“Oh, you’re the woman who takes care of Luca’s daily needs, right? He mentioned that there’s a caretaker at home whose hand was injured.”

My entire body froze.

So in Luca’s eyes, I wasn’t even his mother.

I was only a nanny.

At that moment, the sound of familiar high heels came from behind me.

Violetta walked over slowly in a sharply tailored black suit dress and raised a hand to signal for the teacher to leave.

She looked me up and down, her eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

“Looks like you’re still just as pitiful as before.”

I looked at her expressionlessly.

“So what?”

She crossed her arms and smiled, her red lips curling upward.

“So, I just came to tell you the truth.

“Back then, both the Capello family and the Newman family said your marksmanship was the best. They said you were born to inherit that gun, the shooting range, and the entire family's weapons collection business.

“But why should you?

“I only casually mentioned that I liked that gun too, and Damien chose to look the other way while I destroyed your hand.”

She leaned closer, lowering her voice until it brushed past my ear like a snake’s hiss.

“It’s a pity that I didn’t go far enough that time. Your wrist was still saved. But Damien had the doctors delay the best treatment window and deliberately changed the treatment plan. Your bones healed out of place, and the nerves died.

“So don’t even dream of pulling a trigger steadily again.”

It turned out that Damien had known about that accident from the very beginning, and my wrist could originally have been healed.

My whole body trembled as I raised my hand and slapped Violetta across the face.

It sent Violetta stumbling to the ground, and her cheek immediately swelled.

In the next second, a force violently shoved me over.

A man’s voice, filled with suppressed fury, rang out above my head.

“Have you lost your mind?!

“If anything happens to her, I won’t let you off!”