Chapter 4

“Father!”

Lea threw herself into Lorenzo’s arms, trembling as she cried, but every word was loud and clear enough for the entire ballroom to hear.

“I’m fine… Father, please don’t blame Valentina.”

Dante immediately stepped forward beside her.

“Lea, you’re too kind. She treated you like this, and you’re still defending her?”

Then he turned toward Lorenzo, his posture rigid and confident.

“Don Vittori, tonight is Lea’s welcome banquet. Every important family on the East Coast is here watching. Your biological daughter was humiliated in public. If this is ignored, who’s going to respect the Vittori family after tonight?”

The accusation hit hard enough that the entire ballroom went quiet, and every eye turned toward Lorenzo.

But Lorenzo never looked at Dante.

He glanced briefly at the crying girl in his arms, frowned slightly, and said in a flat voice, “Stand up first.”

Lea froze for a second before slowly straightening herself, her shoulders still shaking with soft sobs.

“Father, I only…”

“You said Valentina bullied you,” Lorenzo interrupted calmly. “Where is she?”

“She’s right there!” Lea spun around immediately and pointed directly at me.

Dante followed her lead at once.

“Don Vittori, it was your adopted daughter. The moment she arrived, she started attacking Lea. Everyone here saw it happen. With this many witnesses, she can’t deny it.”

Several nearby guests immediately joined in.

“We all saw it.”

“Valentina really did push Lea.”

“An adopted daughter bullying the real one? That’s hard to defend.”

The agreement spread quickly through the room.

Only then did Lorenzo follow the direction of Lea’s hand, and his gaze settled on me.

For two full seconds, he simply looked at my face.

Then the slight tension in his expression disappeared.

“Lea,” he said evenly, his voice calm but clear enough for every person in the ballroom to hear. “You said Valentina pushed you.”

Lea nodded quickly, tears gathering in her eyes again.

“Yes.”

“Valentina is in Europe.”

The entire room froze, and Lea’s body stiffened instantly.

“Three days ago, I personally signed her travel authorization. She’s in Sicily handling family business with one of our teams. She won’t return until next week at the earliest.”

Lorenzo spoke as though he were discussing an ordinary business arrangement.

“So according to you, she flew back from Europe, pushed you in front of half the East Coast, and then flew back to Sicily to continue working?”

The silence in the ballroom became absolute.

Lea opened her mouth but couldn’t force out a single word.

Even Dante’s expression changed.

“That’s impossible…” Lea finally whispered weakly. “Then who is she? Father, you can’t seriously protect Valentina by…”

“By what?” Lorenzo asked quietly.

His voice never rose, but Lea instantly fell silent beneath his gaze.

Around us, the crowd’s attention slowly shifted away from me and back onto her.

“Then who is this woman?”

“If Valentina is in Europe, then…”

“Wait. Did she ever actually say she was Valentina, or did everyone just assume it?”

The whispers grew louder and louder.

Lea’s face lost color inch by inch.

She looked at me again, and this time there was no smugness left in her eyes.

Only panic.

Lorenzo no longer spared her a glance.

He stepped past the people blocking his path and walked toward me slowly. The crowd instinctively moved aside for him, and when he finally stopped in front of me, the entire ballroom held its breath.

He lowered his eyes to meet mine.

Then, in front of every major family on the East Coast, the Don of the Vittori family spoke calmly.

“Donna.”