LOGINDiana’s POV
"There's everything wrong with it, Raphael, please don't tell me you are going to side with this wench", Mrs Riley said. I could see the anger in her eyes. The fact that one of her sons was standing up for me was causing her pain. "She's done nothing wrong mom, she didn't choose to be adopted" He replied "So what do you want us to do? Allow your brother to get married to a fake while the original is standing right there." "She's not a fake mom; she's an adopted child; what's wrong with being adopted? Grandpa was an adopted child" he shot back at her Lorenzo senior an adopted child? Could that be the reason why he had a special love and affection for me? Who would have known? I never would have guessed he was an adopted child "That's different Raphael." "Come on, Mom, how's that so different," he said, trailing his hair with his right hand. "Your grandpa's parent never found their original child, they never had a child of their own?" "If I understand you correctly, what you are trying to say is, if his parents had gotten their real child, they would have abandoned him and humiliated him the way you all are humiliating her?" "We just don't want her for our brother anymore?" Marco said, calmly. I couldn't believe he could be this calm. I guess he was scared of his elder brother. Raphael had a different aura. I stared at him, watching the way he held himself calm, unwavering, completely unaffected by the tension crackling in the air. He exuded an aura of control like a man who didn't need to raise his voice to command attention. His presence alone was enough to shift the power in the room. "She doesn't want him either. I heard her say It over and over again, but I guess you guys chose to ignore that because you needed to just humiliate her." "Then why is she here?" Anna asked, "Why...." Raphael shot Anna an icy gaze that made her quiet instantly. Raphael carried himself with an air of quiet dominance, he was tall, well built, wearing a perfectly tailored tuxedo and effortlessly composed. His movements were delicate, never rushed, but his gaze was sharp and laced with authority. Always assessing before he speaks his baritone voice was steady and calm, making you want to listen to him whenever he talks. "Why is she here? Didn't she have a passcode? That means every one of you was aware of her coming; this only confirms one thing..." he paused and moved closer to where Marcel stood. "That you all were in it together, you decided to give her an invitation just because you wanted to humiliate her." I was amazed at how Raphael kept defending me; he was a Lorenzo; he was supposed to be on their side, but he wasn't. My eyes scanned the room and then I noticed that Serena was no longer in the room. Maybe she had run out of the room because of Raphael, or she had gone to take a leak. I wasn't quite sure. Raphael placed his hands in his pocket, "can I ask you all a question?" Everyone began to grumble but he didn't wait for an answer. "When she was with Marcel, didn't you all know she was adopted?" He paused, waiting for a reply, but no one was saying anything. "I think I got my answer..." he smiled "So what's wrong now?" "We found the real Kensington, I won't let my son get married to someone who has no future" Mrs Riley shot at him "Mom!!!" Raphael yelled "Raphael!!!" She yelled back at him, "My decision is final." "She's still a daughter of the Kensington's; by right, she's entitled to everything their biological daughter has." "Not anymore" That voice sounded very familiar. A chuckle followed. "No, this can't be happening" I muttered under my breath. No wonder I couldn't find Serena amid everyone for a while. She had gone to bring Mom and Dad. The voice had come from behind, it was mom's voice. Everyone turned to look at who it was. Mom and Dad had gotten to the living room, my eyes matching with theirs for a brief moment until they looked away. Mom walked over to Mrs Riley and handed over a document to her. "From this moment, Diana ceases to be our child legally." My world was slowly falling apart right before my eyes. First, it was my seven-year relationship. Now it was my parents people I had called mom and dad for over twenty years had disowned me-legally. Mrs Riley let out an evil laugh, passing the document to Mrs Audrey, the family's grandmother, who then passed it to Lorenzo Senior. Lorenzo senior wore his glasses and looked through the documents. He exhaled and then passed it to his wife. I was the last person it got To. My hands began to tremble, regrets etched in my heart, I shouldn't have been here in the first place. "This is insane" Raphael blurted out "Our decision has been made, and we kindly ask that you respect it. We lost our daughter a long time ago, and we have now found her. All we want to do is give her our full attention and love. We cannot share our affection with someone else's child." I staggered, almost falling but I was helped by Alexander. I could hear sounds of soft chuckle and mockery but I couldn't bother myself with that. I had just become an orphan again. My parents didn't want me anymore. I had a feeling about this earlier today before coming here, but I just didn't want to believe it. Now here it was. Officially an orphan, who would want to have anything to do with me. I have been stripped of my last name. Now I was just Diana. No last name. My heart ached, my stomach churned, and my eyes rolled. My life had taken a negative turn. I couldn't hold it anymore; I ran out of the house. It was late. Trying to get a cab by that time would be too risky, but I needed a place to hide my face and my shame. I saw a car, that wasn't too familiar I knew it wasn't for the Lorenzo's because I knew all the cars they owned. Luckily for me, the doors were not locked. I opened the back passenger seat and just crashed into the seat.Raphael's POVTwenty-four years ago. I was eleven, Marcel was six years old. **FLASHBACK**"Mom, Dad, look what Gramps and Grandma got for both of us," I said, running into the living room from the elevator. Marcel, on the other hand, dragged his feet on the ground.He walked like someone who had the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. Before we got to the elevator, I had been asking him what was wrong, but he just kept mute."Where's Marcel!" Mom asked, without taking a glimpse at me. Dad sat down reading somethingon his laptop, his glasses resting majestically on his pointed nose like the glasses were specifically meant for his nose.My voice was loud enough, so there was no way he didn't hear me. But he was unbothered. I was younger, so I didn't know what exactly was going on."He was behind me," I replied."Behind you?" Mom's voice was louder this time. "How dare you let him be behind you? You should always make him be ahead of you and not behind you." Her tone was laced
Raphael's POVI stood quietly, watching everyone, discussing àbout the dead bodies; I felt so uneasy inside of me; I still couldn't believe that Gramps would agree to a thing like that. I had always thought that it was only my mom and dad who were the selfish people in the Lorenzo tree, but seeingGramps agreeing to this was unbelievable."Hey, bro," Marcel called out to me, raising his hand; he wore a very sinister smile.I looked away. Watching Gramps call someone telling them to bring a cleaner that was perfect for cleaning jobs like this."Go away, Marcel""Hey, come on, bro, don't do that." "Stop acting as if you care," I said."Oh", He leaned back a little, making a quick chuckling sound. "I don't, but I have to try to keep up an image now", He said, taking a few steps closer to me. "You see, don't think that because you are now the CEO of The Empire, I would give up and let you have it."I scoffed, looking away.He came closer to me, his voice almost a whisper "I need to keep
Raphael's POVI had barely stepped outside the building when I heard Gramps calling my name. "Raphael! Wait! Come back here!"His voice sounded urgent, different from the disappointed tone he had used earlier. I stopped walking and turned around to see him standing at the entrance, waving his hand for me toreturn.Part of me wanted to keep walking. I was tired of their selfishness, tired of their need to protect their reputation over doing what was right. But something in Gramps' voice made me pause.I stood there for a moment, thinking about what to do. Then I remembered Diana, my pregnant wife waiting at home. She was counting on me to handle this situation and keep our family safe. Maybe I needed to hear what they had to say, even if I disagreed with their methods.I walked back slowly, my hands in my pockets. When I got to the entrance, Gramps placed his hand on my shoulder."Son, I know you're angry, but we need to work together on this," he said quietly. "This is bigger than
Raphael's POVGramps quickly took the piece of paper from my hands. His old fingers were shaking as he read the message again, his lips moving silently as he went through each word."This is just a warning. My next strike would be a Lorenzo."His face turned red with anger. I had never seen him this furious before. Without saying a word, he started tearing the paper into tiny pieces, his hands moving fast and rough."How dare they!" he shouted, throwing the pieces on the floor. "How dare they threaten my family!"Mrs. Audrey, my grandmother, quickly moved to his side. She placed her gentle hands on his shoulders, trying to calm him down."Dear, please calm down," she said softly. "Getting angry won't solve anything right now.""Calm down?" Gramps turned to face her, his voice still loud. "Someone just killed an innocent person and left a threat for our family, and you want me to calm down?""I understand you're upset, but we need to think clearly," Mrs. Audrey replied, her voice still
Raphael's POVI stood by the door and rested on it for a little while, lost in thought.What if something had happened to Diana while she was out? She didn't didn't tell me about the accident.Yes, I knew about the accident.I had sent someone to be on her tail just for protection, and I got the information from the person.I took in a deep breath.I adjusted my suit and tie, then headed for the parking lot. I went in through the elevator.On my way down, the elevator stopped.It opened up, and lo and behold, it was Mrs Riley, my mom.She was about to turn back when my dad came and pushed her in slightly. "What the hell are you doing junior."He rolled his eyes "Taking the elevator", he replied. "Didn't you see that I was-""We both know what you were about to do."I knew too. But I decided to keep my mouth shut, pretending not to see them. They kept on arguing and arguing until I couldn't take it anymore."Can you both stop this!" I yelledThey both stopped abruptly shock in their ey
Diana's POV"Should I come with you?" I asked"No, no honey, you don't have to, like yiu said this could be à trap." "But, raph...""No baby" he interrupted "There's no way I am letting you go out anymore besides you've done enough for today youce been out all day trying to find that... that... woman"I looked at him with a look that suggested that I didn't like what he said and he knew that I didn't like the way he sounded.He apologised for sounding that way.He pecked me on my forehead ad was about to leave but I heald him by the arm"What?" He asked, his voice sounding a bit worried. I bowed my head."Come on talk to me dear, what's wrong, you really don't want me to go?" "No, no it's not that, I really want you to go it's that...""Just what?" He asked, placing his hands on my cheeks. His palm were so warm on my cheeks."I told her about our baby." "You did what!""I am so sorry""Why did you do that? Ì thought we agreed that we wont let anybody know about our baby yet." "We both







