Chapter 10: Blood is not loyalty

The Moretti estate had always felt cold.

Even in summer.

Elena noticed it the moment the gates closed behind Lucian’s car.

The mansion stood tall and immaculate under the pale evening sky — white stone, towering windows, perfection carved in architecture. It looked less like a home and more like a monument.

To power.

To legacy.

To control.

Lucian stepped out first and walked around to open her door.

She hesitated.

“You don’t have to come inside,” he said quietly.

Elena looked at the mansion, then at him. “If this is war, I won’t hide in the car.”

For a second, something like admiration flickered in his eyes.

Then it was gone.

Inside, the air smelled of polished wood and expensive silence.

Vittorio Moretti stood near the grand staircase as if he had been expecting them.

Of course he had.

He was dressed immaculately in a dark suit, silver hair combed back perfectly. He looked less like a father and more like a king surveying his domain.

“Elena,” Vittorio greeted smoothly. “I wasn’t aware we were hosting guests.”

Elena felt Lucian tense beside her.

“She’s not a guest,” Lucian replied evenly.

Vittorio’s gaze shifted between them.

“No,” he agreed softly. “She was a mistake.”

Lucian stepped forward.

“That’s enough.”

Vittorio arched a brow. “Is it?”

Elena forced herself not to react.

She had cried enough in this house during her marriage. She would not do it again.

“You leaked the hospital visit,” Lucian said.

Straight to the point.

Vittorio didn’t deny it.

“You should have handled the situation privately.”

“By ‘handled,’ you mean erased,” Lucian said coldly.

Vittorio descended the staircase slowly, deliberate in every movement.

“I mean controlled,” he corrected. “The board is already restless. Your divorce stabilized their concerns. This—” he gestured subtly toward Elena’s stomach, “—reintroduces instability.”

Elena felt her pulse pounding in her ears.

“So the divorce wasn’t about betrayal,” she said quietly. “It was about shares.”

Vittorio’s eyes flicked toward her.

“Don’t be naïve. Everything is about shares.”

Lucian’s voice hardened. “You forged evidence.”

Vittorio’s expression remained calm.

“I protected the company.”

“You fabricated an affair.”

“I removed a distraction.”

Silence slammed into the room.

Elena felt something inside her finally snap into clarity.

It had never been about doubt.

It had been strategy.

Lucian took a step closer to his father.

“You tampered with her car.”

Vittorio’s gaze sharpened.

“Be careful what you accuse me of.”

“Answer the question.”

A long pause.

Vittorio smiled faintly.

“You think too emotionally, Lucian. That has always been your weakness.”

That wasn’t a denial.

Lucian noticed.

“So it was you.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

The air between them turned electric.

Elena suddenly understood something terrifying.

This wasn’t just a family argument.

This was succession.

And she was standing in the middle of it.

Vittorio turned his attention back to her.

“You are carrying a child that complicates everything.”

“It’s not a complication,” Lucian snapped.

“It is,” Vittorio replied calmly. “Because the inheritance clause is clear.”

Elena frowned. “What clause?”

Lucian stiffened.

Vittorio answered instead.

“If Lucian fathers a child while legally divorced, the board can challenge his controlling stake.”

The words felt like ice down her spine.

“So you forced the divorce to avoid that risk,” she whispered.

“I ensured the company remained protected.”

Lucian’s voice dropped dangerously low.

“You destroyed my marriage.”

“I corrected your mistake.”

The room felt too small.

Too tight.

Elena stepped back slightly, suddenly aware that this had been orchestrated long before she understood what was happening.

“You thought I betrayed you,” she said to Lucian quietly.

His jaw clenched.

“I was given evidence.”

“From him.”

Lucian didn’t respond.

Because it was true.

Vittorio looked almost amused.

“Emotions cloud judgment. You both proved that.”

Lucian’s restraint shattered.

“You staged the photos. The messages. All of it.”

Vittorio didn’t deny that either.

“You signed the papers willingly.”

Elena felt the sting of that truth.

Lucian had signed.

He hadn’t fought.

And that hurt more than Vittorio’s manipulation.

Lucian’s voice grew colder than she had ever heard it.

“You will fix this.”

Vittorio laughed softly.

“There is nothing to fix.”

Lucian stepped even closer, their faces now only inches apart.

“You leaked her information. You threatened her safety. You crossed a line.”

Vittorio’s eyes hardened for the first time.

“You are my son.”

“Not your weapon.”

The silence that followed was heavy.

Then Vittorio spoke, each word deliberate.

“If you continue down this path, the board will remove you.”

“Try.”

“You will lose everything.”

Lucian didn’t hesitate.

“I’d rather lose everything than become you.”

The words echoed through the hall.

Even the staff standing at a distance froze.

Vittorio’s expression went from calm… to dangerous.

“You think love makes you strong,” he said quietly. “It makes you predictable.”

Lucian turned toward Elena.

“Pack what you need from the guest wing.”

She blinked. “What?”

“You’re not staying here.”

Vittorio’s voice cut in sharply.

“She will not remain under my roof.”

Lucian looked back at his father.

“She doesn’t need your roof.”

He took Elena’s hand — firmly, decisively.

For the first time since the divorce, there was no hesitation in his touch.

“We’re done playing by your rules.”

Vittorio watched them walk toward the exit.

“Lucian,” he called.

Lucian stopped but didn’t turn.

“If you pursue this child publicly,” Vittorio said, “I will initiate a vote to suspend you as CEO.”

Lucian slowly faced him.

“Do it.”

Then he walked out.

Outside, the night air felt sharp.

Elena’s heart was racing.

“Are you really prepared for that?” she asked once they reached the car.

“Yes.”

“You could lose the company.”

He looked at her.

“Maybe it’s time I decide what’s actually worth keeping.”

Her breath caught slightly.

The driver closed the door.

As the car pulled away from the estate, Lucian’s phone buzzed again.

A message from an unknown number.

He opened it.

A single photo.

Elena entering the estate tonight.

Followed by a text:

You can’t protect her forever.

Lucian’s grip tightened on the phone.

And for the first time—

He realized this wasn’t just his father anymore.

Someone else was watching.