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Chapter 5
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Replaced at the Altar, Returned as an Heiress Chapter 8
Matteo remained silent for a long time.“If you remembered what happened at boarding school, why did you ever agree to be with me?”“Because I believed you had changed.”As an adult, he had pursued me seriously. He postponed family meetings for dinner with me and stayed beside my bed when I was ill. I convinced myself that the boy who had once watched others humiliate me had grown into a different man.Yet when the choice mattered, he still stood beside Sofia.“I loved you and intended to become your wife,” I said. “The failed wedding was not a blessing. It simply stopped me before I made the worst mistake of my life.”His shoulders stiffened.“So marrying me would have been a mistake?”“Yes.”The last trace of hope left his face.“We can start again. Sofia will never come near you. The people who insulted you will be punished. Whatever wedding you want, I will give you.”“You are still talking about weddings and compensation.”I closed the file before me.“What I needed was respect. M
Replaced at the Altar, Returned as an Heiress Chapter 7
“You let her enter the chapel in my wedding gown and wear the crown that was meant for me. She drugged me with something that could have stopped me from breathing, and even after you found out, you decided it was not serious enough to punish.”I put my phone away.“She entered my home, wore my shoes, and wrapped herself in my clothes. Your friends humiliated me in front of you, and you remained seated at the card table.”“I did not sleep with her.”“Is that the only form of betrayal you understand?”Matteo froze.“You never gave her your body,” I continued, “but you gave her my dignity, my wedding, and my position within the DeLuca family. Every time she wanted to humiliate me, you made certain she had the opportunity.”“I can deal with Sofia.”“You only deal with her after you lose something.”Matteo pressed his fingers against his temple. For the first time, exhaustion entered his voice.“I admit that I was wrong. I should not have allowed her into the chapel, and I should have stopp
Replaced at the Altar, Returned as an Heiress Chapter 6
By the time Matteo’s plane reached Sicilian airspace, I was already seated at the head of the Venturi council table.The lawyers and senior family members placed the final inheritance documents before me. I reviewed each page, then pressed the Venturi seal onto the last one.From that moment, Venturi Shipping, the private bank, and the European holdings came under my authority.For years, I had treated this position as a burden.I had wanted one chance to choose love without family interference. I wanted to know whether a man who knew nothing about my name, wealth, or power could still choose me sincerely.Matteo had once made me believe the answer was yes.Now I understood that he had loved the version of me who depended on him, obeyed him, and would never leave.He had never regarded the real Isabella as his equal.When the meeting ended, my aunt handed me the next day’s schedule.“Bank meeting in the morning. The port in the afternoon. The family dinner is this weekend.”I accepted
Replaced at the Altar, Returned as an Heiress Chapter 5
Only the fire could be heard in the drawing room.Matteo stared at the announcement on the screen as though seeing the woman in the photograph for the first time.The face belonged to Isabella.The name beneath it was Isabella Venturi.Sofia broke the silence first.“This is impossible. If she were really the Venturi heir, why would she spend years in New York pretending to be an orphan?”No one at the card table agreed with her.The Venturi family rarely revealed its internal affairs, but it controlled major Mediterranean shipping routes, a European private bank, and extensive holdings across southern Italy. The DeLucas held considerable power in New York, yet even they treated the Venturis with caution.The men who had mocked Isabella slowly set down their glasses.Several of them remembered saying that she had nowhere to go without Matteo.Matteo took the phone and read the announcement again.The public statement was brief. Isabella had lived in America under her mother’s surname,
Replaced at the Altar, Returned as an Heiress Chapter 4
Matteo stared at the closed door, his anger still rising. He cursed under his breath, grabbed his coat, and followed me outside.The street was already empty.The black sedan had disappeared. The guards had not seen its license plate. They only remembered that the driver spoke with a European accent and treated Isabella with unusual respect.One of the young heirs from the card game followed Matteo onto the steps.“Should we send someone to bring her back?”“Bring her back?”Matteo looked down the street and laughed coldly.“She has no family in New York and nowhere of her own to stay. Give her three days. She’ll come back herself.”He returned to the drawing room and kicked aside the chips scattered across the carpet.“Monday’s registration will not wait for her. If she misses it, there will not be another date.”A faint smile appeared on Sofia’s face.Soon after I reached the hotel, she sent me a voice recording. Matteo’s restrained anger could be heard in the background.“Give her t
Replaced at the Altar, Returned as an Heiress Chapter 3
After leaving the medical center, I had the driver stop at a private bank near Fifth Avenue. I placed several private documents inside a secure vault.It was already dark when I returned to the Upper East Side townhouse.Sofia opened the door herself, carrying herself like the true mistress of the house.“Isabella, the staff couldn’t find another pair of slippers. You can wear the disposable ones.”I looked down.She was wearing my Venetian velvet slippers, custom-made for my smaller feet and embroidered with silver vines. Her heels hung over the edges, yet she deliberately walked past me in them.Matteo sat at an antique card table with several heirs from allied families. Chips, whiskey, and unopened cigars covered the surface.He glanced at me, then returned to his cards.I changed into the disposable slippers and entered the drawing room. Cold air immediately swept in from the terrace.The fireplace had been extinguished, and every French door stood open. December air cut through th
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