Chapter 5

When I opened my eyes again, bright daylight streamed through the windows. I lay in Alessio's bedroom, my whole body weak and limp. A suffocating sense of helplessness pressed over me.

Arguing was pointless. The manipulated test results were right there on the paper. He had already decided for himself what he wanted to believe.

Alessio sat on the couch by the window, his voice unnervingly calm. "Our son has been taken to a private estate outside the city. The family will have people watching over him from now on. He's no longer your son."

That casual declaration felt like a cruel slap. I shot upright, trembling so badly that I could barely get the words out. "How could you?"

I stared at him as tears poured down my face. "You know perfectly well that the child has nothing to do with you!"

Alessio looked at me with detached confusion. "The report has the answer. The results can't be wrong. You're the one who refuses to accept reality, Livia."

My chest heaved as I utterly lost control again. "Accept reality? You mean the reality you manufactured? Your entire family is involved in shady dealings.

"You never had any intention of genuinely cooperating with the authorities. All those claims about going legitimate were nothing but a cover!"

My voice broke. "You used the partnership as a shield for all your dirty business. You played me from the start! And now, you're using a falsified report to steal my child away from me!"

Faced with my desperate accusations, Alessio showed not the slightest trace of guilt. Instead, he frowned, speaking almost as if virtue signaling.

"I don't know why you're getting so worked up. If the child stays with me, he'll have access to the best resources and all the power he could ever need. With you, he'd have to spend his life hiding.

"I'm just giving him the best life he could have."

He had always been like this, acting as though he had every right to take whatever he wanted. He dressed up his cruel schemes as favors and pretended that he was doing everyone a kindness.

The overwhelming helplessness finally swallowed me whole. A wave of emotion hit me, and tears began streaming down my face.

My voice softened completely, reduced to a desperate, humiliated plea. "I won't fight you anymore… I can't win against you, anyway."

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked at him, despair filling my eyes.

"I only ask you for one thing—just one. You already have the child. Please, just let me see him once. Let me make sure he's okay. I miss him so much…"

Alessio watched me break down and beg. For once, something in him melted. He slowly stood up and straightened his shirt collar. His tone was as firm as always.

"I'm leaving for the estate now. You can come with me, but you can only see him from a distance. You're not allowed to go near him."

By then, I had no strength left. I could only let him carry me.

Once we were in the car, Alessio sat beside me, his arm resting loosely behind my back. He calmly stated his non-negotiable terms. "Once you've seen him today, behave yourself. If you do, both of you can live in peace."

I leaned against the cold car window without saying a single word, tears streaming down my face. The only hope I had left was the person on his way to us.

Just as we were approaching the estate, the shriek of brakes suddenly tore through the air. The car jolted to a violent stop, the sudden force throwing me forward.

Alessio's long arm instantly caught me by the shoulder and pulled me back into place. His eyes darkened with an ominous look. "What's going on?"

The driver was trembling, his face deathly pale. "Sir, the road has been sealed off! Official special service vehicles are surrounding us from every direction. We're besieged!"

A commanding voice rang through the car windows. "Everyone, out of the vehicle!"

Against the sun's glare, Luca stepped forward. He wore a crisp official uniform, his tall figure radiating authority. With one hand raised, he gave the order.

A line of rifles rose in perfect unison, all aimed at our car—more precisely, at Alessio. Alessio's face went deathly pale.