Chapter 2

On the way back to the estate, Serena remained quietly seated beside me.

She was still wrapped in my black coat.

Her fingers were clenched tightly around the hem, her knuckles pale from the force.

After a long silence, she finally spoke in a small voice.

“Mom…”

“I really didn’t mean to embarrass Isabella.”

I turned my head and gently comforted her.

“Take your time. Tell me what happened.”

Serena sniffed.

“This morning, during the board meeting, Isabella took my project files herself and said she only wanted to look them over and help me.”

“But when she returned them, several of the most important financial statements inside had been completely soaked in coffee.”

“I asked her why she had touched my files, but she said… she only wanted to double-check the figures for me.”

Serena’s voice grew quieter and quieter.

“I only told her to be more careful next time.”

“She suddenly started crying.”

“And then my brothers came.”

I said nothing.

The chill in my chest only grew colder.

Ten years ago.

When I first met those four boys, they were nothing more than unwanted street children from one of Sicily’s poorest districts.

Matteo was twelve back then.

To protect a piece of bread he had scavenged from a trash bin, he dared to press a shard of broken glass against an adult’s throat.

Lucas was the youngest, but he was the best at enduring hardship.

He had once gone several days without saying a word, simply waiting for the right opportunity to take back what belonged to him from the street thugs who had bullied him.

Enzo was a man of few words.

But he secretly memorized every exit in every street and alley, and could even determine how many people were approaching just by the sound of their footsteps.

And Alessandro, The first time that boy saw me, there was still blood at the corner of his mouth.

But he didn’t cry.

He simply stared at me.

Like a young wolf ready to pounce at any moment.

That year, I brought all four of them into the Moretti family.

They stood before the cradle, staring at the little girl who could not even speak yet.

I told them,

“From today onward, she is your only devotion. Anyone who dares lay a finger on her will pay with his life.”

Matteo was the first to kneel.

He placed his right hand over his heart.

“Mom, you gave us a second life.”

“So from today onward, our little sister is our family.”

“Anyone who dares hurt her will pay the price.”

The other three knelt down after him.

I remembered that scene for ten whole years.

But I never imagined that ten years later,

the ones who would tear that oath apart with their own hands would be them.

The next morning.

I immediately ordered the butler to freeze all four men’s family black cards.

I then revoked their access to their private jets, sports cars, and the family estates under their names.

The butler stood beside me and reported in a low voice,

“Madam, the four young masters left the main estate last night.”

“They took Miss Isabella to the family’s seaside estate in Taormina.”

“They also ordered their men to move everything out of Miss Serena’s collection room and turn it into a dressing room for Miss Isabella.”

My expression darkened little by little.

That seaside estate had been the gift I planned to give Serena for her eighteenth birthday.

When she was little, she would spend several weeks there every summer.

And the collection room had always been her favorite place.

There were no jewels or expensive works of art inside.

Only an antique pocket watch, the sole keepsake her grandmother had left her.

I set down my coffee.

“Prepare the cars.”

Two hours later.

My convoy stopped outside the seaside estate in Taormina.

Before I even got out of the car, I saw several moving trucks parked in the courtyard.

I pushed open the estate’s front doors.

The next second,

a delicate laugh drifted from the living room.

Isabella was sitting beside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

She was wearing Serena’s favorite white silk lounge set, while freshly opened designer gift boxes were scattered around her feet.

Matteo was sitting across from her.

He was helping her go through documents concerning one of the family corporation’s charitable foundations.

When he saw me, he showed no trace of guilt.

Instead, he smiled calmly.

“Mom, what brings you here personally?”

His tone was still respectful as he stood and walked toward me.

“We’re not holding yesterday’s incident against her either. It’s quieter here, and Isabella has been dealing with some foundation matters recently, so we thought we’d let her stay here temporarily.”

Isabella hurriedly stood up.

She looked somewhat uneasy.

“Madam, I’m sorry. Did I cause you trouble? If you don’t want me staying here, I’ll leave right now.”

As she spoke, she actually turned and started walking toward the door.

But Lucas immediately stood up and stopped her.

“Isabella, you don’t need to leave.”

He shielded her behind him.

Then he looked at me.

“Mom, we’re only letting her stay here for a few days.”

“You froze our accounts first thing this morning and took away all our vehicles. Now you’ve even followed us here. Isn’t that taking things too far?”

I didn’t even look at him.

I simply swept my gaze around the living room.

The family memorabilia Serena had collected over the years had originally filled this room.

Now, every piece was gone.

The photographs on the walls had been replaced with artistic portraits of Isabella.

I finally spoke.

“What happened to the collection room?”

The smile on Matteo’s face faded slightly.

“There were too many things inside, and Isabella needed somewhere to put her personal belongings. I had people reorganize it.”

I didn’t ask anything else.

I walked straight toward the end of the hallway.

The moment I pushed open the door, I felt all the blood in my body rush to my head.

The room had been completely transformed.

The family memorabilia that had once been arranged neatly was now carelessly piled across the floor.

Serena’s treasured jewelry box had been thrown into the corner of a table.

And that antique pocket watch, was lying all alone on the floor.

The cover was covered in scratches.

I bent down and picked it up.

My fingers gently brushed over the glaring crack.

Then I turned around.

My voice was strangely calm because my anger had reached its absolute limit.

“Who did this?”

Alessandro came down the stairs.

He barely even glanced at the pocket watch.

“It got dropped while we were moving things. It’s just an old watch.”

He waved his hand dismissively.

“If it’s broken, just buy another one.”

“There are plenty of antique watches at auctions.”

I slowly raised my head.

“Buy another one?”

Alessandro raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. If our sister likes it, I’ll get her an even more expensive one next month.”

I stared at him without a trace of emotion.

“That was the keepsake Serena’s grandmother left her. Your life wouldn’t be enough to pay for it.”

Alessandro’s brows drew tightly together.

At that moment, Enzo also came down the stairs.

He glanced at the pocket watch.

His tone remained cold.

“Mom, you really don’t need to lose your temper over some old belongings.”

“Is Isabella, a living person, really worth less than a broken pocket watch?”

Behind me,

Isabella sniffled softly.

“Brother Enzo, please stop.”

Her eyes turned red.

“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t wanted to live somewhere more comfortable, none of this would have happened.”

She turned around, and tears fell at exactly the right moment.

“Madam, I’ll pack my things right away.”

“Please don’t argue with the young masters because of me.”

Matteo immediately grabbed her arm.

Then he looked at me.

“Mom, enough.”

For the first time, clear impatience entered his voice.

“The corporation still has countless matters waiting for us. The acquisition project at the western port is already in its final stage.”

“We handle the movement of billions of euros every day. You shouldn’t let these private matters affect the family’s entire business.”

I looked at their self-righteous faces.

Suddenly, I laughed.

They really believed the Moretti family could not function without them.

But they had forgotten who had given them the positions they held today, the shares in their hands, and the funds they had the authority to move.

I took out my phone and called the butler.

“Bring the guards inside.”

“Except for what Isabella is wearing, everything in this estate that belongs to those four men—”

“Clear it all out.”