Chapter 2

“Lea, you don’t have to be afraid of her.”

Dante stepped forward and helped her to her feet before turning a cold look on me.

“So you’re the adopted daughter the Vittori family raised?”

He wrapped an arm around Lea’s waist possessively.

“Let me make something clear. Lea is my girlfriend now. A fake like you doesn’t get to bully her.”

The ballroom instantly erupted.

“Girlfriend? Dante Blanca is dating Lea?”

“But wasn’t he engaged to Valentina? The Blanca-Vittori alliance was practically settled already.”

“So what if it was? Lea’s the real Vittori daughter. What is Valentina supposed to be? Just an adopted girl.”

“This is humiliating. If I were Valentina, I’d disappear on the spot.”

Representatives from the surrounding families whispered excitedly to one another, their eyes full of amusement as they watched the scene unfold.

My expression darkened.

Dante was the only son of the Blanca family. More importantly, he was the marriage candidate I had personally selected for Valentina.

The Blanca territory had been shrinking for years under pressure from rival families, and they desperately needed the protection of the Vittoris to survive. Back then, it was Dante’s father who came to us personally to beg for the alliance.

Out of respect for old ties between our families, I agreed.

I never expected Dante to appear here tonight, and I certainly never expected him to stand in the middle of my ballroom with his arm around Lea, declaring she belonged to him.

“Valentina, since you’re here, I might as well make this official.” Dante tightened his hold on Lea and stared at me arrogantly. “The moment I met Lea, I fell for her. She’s the woman I’m going to marry.”

“As for you, my father tried to force that engagement on me, but I’ve never had any interest in women who throw themselves at me.”

Laughter spread through the room again.

I let out a quiet laugh of my own, though there wasn’t a trace of humor in it.

Throw herself at him?

The Blanca family was barely holding onto its position on the East Coast. Who stepped in and stabilized their business when rivals nearly swallowed them whole? Who ensured they still had the standing to attend a banquet like this?

The Vittori family did.

If anyone had been clinging desperately to someone else, it was the Blancas.

“Dante, don’t say that.” Lea tugged gently at his sleeve before lifting watery eyes toward me. “Valentina, please don’t be upset. Dante only gets angry when he sees me being mistreated.”

But beneath the softness in her voice, the triumph in her eyes was impossible to hide.

I stared at her face and felt something tighten painfully in my chest.

Lea had only been three years old when she disappeared. For seventeen years, I searched for her personally. Every lead, every rumor, and every possible sighting on the East Coast passed through my hands first.

And now she was finally back, only to become someone like this.

“Valentina, I know you probably wanted to marry into the Blanca family.” Dante adjusted his tie and looked down at me smugly. “But you should give up already. I’d never choose someone like you.”

“Who said I wanted you?” I finally laughed out loud. “Dante, I’m already married. Why would I want to marry you?”

The ballroom fell silent for a heartbeat.

Dante froze, then burst into laughter loud enough for half the room to hear.

“Married?” he mocked. “Valentina, who are you trying to fool? If you were really married, where’s your family ring?”

I glanced down at my hand.

He was right. I wasn’t wearing one.

Not because I didn’t have it, but because I never wore it publicly. The true head of the Vittori family was me, not Don Vittori. That identity could never be exposed openly, especially not in front of so many other families.

“Valentina… I’m sorry.” Lea’s voice softened again, sweet and trembling like she had suffered some terrible injustice. “But Dante and I truly love each other. You already took everything from me all these years. Can’t you let me have him?”

She lowered her head against Dante’s chest and clutched his jacket tightly, while Dante immediately wrapped his arms around her protectively and glared at me like I was some vicious enemy.

I watched them in silence, a dull ache spreading through my chest.

I had searched for Lea for seventeen years. I worried she might be hungry somewhere, cold somewhere, alone somewhere. Every night, I wondered whether my daughter was safe, whether someone had hurt her, whether she had anyone protecting her.

And this was the person who came back to me.

A girl who framed people effortlessly, stole another woman’s fiancé in public, and performed like an actress in front of an entire ballroom.

And the man she was fighting over was someone like Dante Blanca.

“Valentina, please!” When I still didn’t respond, Lea suddenly raised her voice, panic creeping into her expression. “You can’t take Dante away from me, especially when you’ve already been secretly involved with another man.”

She abruptly covered her mouth, as if she had accidentally revealed too much.