INICIAR SESIÓNChapter 276ElowenI couldn't wait to call Caroline.We were back at the villa, Giuliana napping upstairs, and I was practically vibrating with excitement as I dialed her number.She answered on the second ring. "El! Hi! I was just thinking about you.""I have news," I said. "Big news. We got engaged. Last night, on the beach, both of them proposed and...""Oh my god!" she screamed. "El, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you! But wait, I have news too.""What?" I asked, grinning so hard my face hurt."I'm married," she said simply. "Damien and I went to register yesterday. It wasn't planned. After we discovered I was pregnant, Damian suggested it and I said yes immediately. We just... we didn't want to wait. El, I'm pregnant."I literally gasped. "Caroline! Oh my god! You're married? And pregnant?""I'm married and pregnant!" she repeated, and I could hear the joy cascading through her voice. "El, I'm so happy I could burst. Are you crying? I'm crying!""Yes," I admitted, tears alread
Chapter 275ElowenI should have known something was up when Matteo told me to pack a bag without asking any questions."Trust me," he'd said that morning, kissing my forehead as he handed me a small suitcase. "We're taking you somewhere for the day. Just you, me, Kian, and Giuliana.""Where?" I'd asked, suspicious."It's a surprise," Kian had answered, already packing his own things with the kind of efficiency that suggested this had been planned for a while.I hadn't argued. Mostly because I was exhausted. The past few weeks had been relentless... the case against James Ashton consuming every waking moment, my pregnancy advancing, the weight of everything I'd learned about my origins pressing down on me constantly.So I'd packed a bag, and I'd asked no more questions... Actually they both helped packed the bag, I only said what was needed.Now, three hours later, we were pulling up to a private villa on the Amalfi Coast, perched on a cliff overlooking water so blue it didn't seem re
Chapter 274Elowen Declan didn't say a word as he placed four photographs on the table.Four men. They were all older now, with graying hair and expensive suits that screamed wealth. They looked like people who had spent their entire lives believing they were untouchable."Their names," Declan began, "are Marcus Bellamy, Christopher Harding, Richard Stratton, and James Ashton."I looked at the photos. These were the men who had destroyed Anna’s life years ago."Bellamy and Harding left the UK right after it happened," Reina explained. "One went to Switzerland, the other to Monaco. They’ve stayed away from the Ashtons since then. As far as we can tell, they haven't been in trouble since. They built legitimate lives.""And Stratton?" Kian asked."Richard Stratton stayed," Declan said. "He’s been the Ashton family’s fixer for decades. He’s the one who made sure the police never looked too closely at anything James did. He’s just as guilty as the rest of them."Then he pointed to the las
Chapter 273ElowenThe investigation moved faster than I expected.Reina and Declan were now hunting the men who'd destroyed Anna's life, and we'd returned home the day after Anna agreed to move forward with the case.A week passed.I noticed Kian and Matteo had been disappearing into Matteo's office more frequently, their voices low and serious when I passed by. At first, I told myself it was just work, that they had business to handle and I shouldn't be paranoid.But then I caught them whispering in the hallway outside our bedroom, and something in my chest tightened.I walked up to them, arms crossed over my rounded belly. "What's going on?"They both looked up, startled."Nothing," Matteo said quickly."We're just discussing some logistics," Kian added.I narrowed my eyes. "Logistics about what?"They exchanged a glance, one of those silent conversations that usually didn't bother me but right now made my blood boil."Tell me," I said, my voice sharper than I intended. "Right now.
Chapter 272ElowenWe spent the next two days making plans to return home. Caroline and Damien had already left the day before, promising to visit us in Italy soon. Our flight was booked for the following morning.I was packing the last of my things when my phone rang.Unknown number.My heart jumped into my throat as I answered. "Hello?""Elowen." Anna's voice. Shaky but determined. "It's me."I sank onto the edge of the bed. "Anna. I... I wasn't sure you'd call.""I almost didn't." A pause. "I've spent the last week trying to talk myself out of it. Telling myself it's too late, that they're too powerful, that nothing good can come from dredging up the past.""But?""But I can't stop thinking about what you said. About how someone should have fought for me years ago. About how you're going to make sure they pay." Her voice cracked. "I want that. I want them to pay. I'm ready to fight."Relief and something fiercer flooded through me. "Okay. Good. That's... that's good.""But I have
Chapter 271ElowenThey all stared at me in confusion."What?" Caroline asked gently. "El, are you sure you're okay?""I'm serious," I said, my voice gaining strength. "I want to open a foundation that assists women who were raped and can't fight for themselves. Women like Anna who don't have the resources or the support or the belief that justice is possible." I looked at each of them. "And if possible, I want to include support for children whose parents didn't want them. Kids who grew up like I did, wondering where they came from and why they were left behind."Caroline reached for my hand. "El, that's... that's beautiful. But maybe you should sit down first. Think about this when you're not so emotionally overwhelmed. You've just been through...""No," I interrupted, shaking my head firmly. "I don't need to think about it. This is what I want. I'm not going to change my mind."I looked at Matteo and Kian. "This is what I want to do with my life. This is what I want to build. Not
Chapter 6Elowen I curled up on my bed still in the red dress and Matteo's jacket lying forgotten somewhere on the terrace.And I cried until there was nothing left inside me but emptiness.Maybe this was the point, maybe Adrian wanted to hollow me out completely until there was nothing left but g
Chapter 13 Elowen His words should have devastated me but instead they mixed with the brutal pleasure of his body claiming mine and I felt myself spiraling toward release despite everything, despite the pain, despite the humiliation, despite knowing that anyone in the villa could probably hear
Chapter 8Elowen"I'm just concerned about my wife," Adrian said smoothly. "Surely you can understand that."Kian's jaw clenched but he didn't respond, and Matteo continued eating his seafood risotto with deliberate focus.While I sat there feeling like I was watching myself from outside my body, w
Chapter 9Elowen The door opened before I'd even lowered my hand, and Matteo stood there in the frame looking like every dark fantasy I'd never let myself fully acknowledge.Wearing only low-slung grey sweatpants that hung on his hips in a way that should have been illegal and nothing else.His ch







