LOGINORTENSIA Eleonora’s screams were high and shrill, the kind of sound that sets your teeth on edge. She was thrashing against the headboard, her eyes wide and wild as she stared at Rico’s scarred face."Vito didn’t approve of this!" she shrieked, her voice cracking. "He would kill you if he saw you touching me like this! You’re just a dog, Rico! Get away from me!"I didn’t even blink. I turned my head toward the cluster of servants who were still standing there, frozen with their oil bottles and grape trays."Scram," I said, my voice cutting through the air. "Now. If I see any of you in this hallway in five seconds, you’re fired. Or worse."They didn't need to be told twice. They dropped what they were holding… the sound of glass shattering on the marble echoed through the room, and scrambled out the door like their lives depended on it.In seconds, the room was empty of everyone but me, the terrified model, and Rico, who was already in front of her, his hand clamped firmly around her
ORTENSIA I met Rico in the shadow of the back staircase, far from the prying eyes of the main security hub. He looked frazzled, his usual stoic mask slipping just enough to show the frustration underneath.Without a word, he reached into his jacket and handed me a small, nondescript brown paper bag. Inside, I could feel the light, plastic rattle of the pregnancy test strips.“I don’t get it, Miss Ortensia,” Rico muttered, shaking his head. He looked exhausted, the scars on his face tight with tension.“I was ten minutes away from Dr. Kay’s lab. Then you text me to turn around? Why the retreat?” He asked.I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Rico. I know you risked a lot to get out there. But look at it this way… we’re about to jump off a cliff without checking if there’s water at the bottom. What if there is no baby? What if Eleonora is just a world-class actress playing us all for fools?”Rico paused, his eyes narrowing as he processed the thought.“If we do this home test and it’s neg
Ortensia stood shivering, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest, staring at the man she loved… the man who had just dismantled her entire future with a single sentence of honor."What are your plans, Vito?" she had asked, her voice sounding like dry leaves skittering over stone. "If it’s true… what happens?"He looked like a statue of some ancient, unforgiving god. "If she carries to term," he began, his voice a low, gravelly vibration that seemed to vibrate in Ortensia’s very bones."I will conduct a formal paternity test the moment the child is born. And if that child is mine, Ortensia… I won’t reject it. I cannot abandon my own blood. I will provide for it. I will bring it into the fold."The words felt like a physical assault. Ortensia felt her breath hitch, a sharp, stabbing pain blooming in the center of her chest. It wasn’t just jealousy, it was a profound, soul-crushing sense of loss.She had spent countless nights imagining her own future with Vito, dreaming of the day sh
ORTENSIA The crying girl had left a trail of shattered confidence in her wake. I stood in my room, looking down at the manicure kit she had dropped on the rug.My guilt over Maria was quickly replaced by a cold, sharpening focus. If I wanted this done, I couldn’t outsource it to a terrified servant. I had to walk into the lion’s den myself.I picked up the kit, feeling the weight of the metal. I took a deep breath and pulled a pair of thin, translucent latex gloves from my vanity drawer. I needed to be careful… no fingerprints, no contamination.I didn't head for the library. I knew Vito. When his world was crumbling, he didn't stay inside the walls he built, he went to the edge of them.I found him in the far corner of the gardens, near the stone fountain. He was sitting on a stone bench, a bottle of amber liquid clutched in one hand and a half-burnt cigarette in the other.He looked disheveled… the iron-pressed shirt he’d worn earlier was wrinkled, his top buttons undone, his dark
ORTENSIA I stayed in my old room… the one I’d been given when I first arrived as a captive. Returning to it felt like a regression, but the shared master suite was currently haunted by the ghost of a night Vito couldn’t remember and I couldn’t forget.I stared at my reflection. My eyes were no longer red from weeping. They were clear, cold, and fixed on a goal. But there was a problem: I was a queen under house arrest. Vito’s protection was just a prettier word for incarceration. Every exit was manned by soldiers, and every car that left the gates was logged.If I wanted to move against Eleonora, I couldn't do it as myself. I needed someone.I went left my room, as if I were merely a grieving woman taking the air. I found Rico near the perimeter.He was checking the security feeds on a handheld tablet, his face a map of scars that Vito himself had carved from the previous torture, it was a gamble. Vito had tortured this man, nearly broken his soul, and yet Rico had returned to the f
Ortensia wasn't just crying, she was leaking soul-deep agony, the kind of raw, jagged weeping that made her small frame shudder.“Ortensia, please,” Vito begged.The sound was wrong… it was a crack in a voice that was supposed to be made of iron and blood. He reached for her, his large hands trembling, but she recoiled as if his touch were a brand of white-hot coal.“Don’t touch me! I’m leaving, Vito! I am done being the doll you keep in a golden cage while you’re out filling other women with your lies!” Her voice was a shriek, raw and stripped of its usual elegance.“You aren’t going anywhere!” Vito roared back. It wasn't a threat of violence, but a cry of pure, unadulterated desperation. He stepped into her spacs.“I didn't know what came over me, doll. I swear to you on my life, on my soul, I wasn't in my right mind when they... when it happened. I was under the influence of alcohol.”Ortensia let out a jagged, mocking laugh that ended in a sob. “Alcohol? You’re Vito Marino. You
ORTENSIA “Fine, I’ll send Isolde to bring in your dress. The gathering is by 9 this morning. Don’t worry about breakfast, Doll… you’ll eat after the gathering,” he said and walked out, his voice leaving no room for argument.A few minutes later, Isolde came in with a dress draped over her arm. She
ORTENSIA I woke up, yawning… thinking of last night saga with Vito, I refuse to kiss him, should I be worried to get punish today, I wont let it get to me, I bath and came out, dried my body with the towel, went to my wardrobe but when I open it, I didn’t see any cloth, just lingerie I froze, what
ORTENSIAI felt someone join me into the pool and drag me out, but I struggle… it’s useless because it’s Vito. I’m already out of the pool, lying on the cold ground, and I snap at him, “I can’t fucking swim anymore? Is it a crime as well to you?” He scoffs at my words. “Are you so tired of life t
The soft knock on the door made me sit up from the bed. I didn’t even know when I’d fallen asleep. Dragging myself up, tired and irritated, I shuffled to the door and yanked it open. Enzo stood there like he had something important to say.“What?” I snapped, already losing patience.“The housekeepe







