Chapter 5

I took the stairs to the third floor and found the Marchetti private wing easily.

Through the window of the largest suite I could see Nico, Valentina, and Isabella gathered around a hospital bed.

A doctor was setting up an ultrasound machine while they waited.

"The baby's heartbeat is absolutely perfect, there is no cause for concern at all."

Valentina's tears had magically disappeared and she was smiling up at Nico with pure joy.

"I was so frightened something was wrong, thank you for bringing me here so quickly."

Nico had his hand resting on her shoulder and Isabella was holding Valentina's other hand.

They looked like a devoted family waiting eagerly for their newest addition.

Pulling out my phone, I started recording everything through the window.

I watched Nico press a kiss to Valentina's forehead while Isabella examined the ultrasound images with fascination.

Suddenly, Nico's hands started moving lower on Valentina's body.

Then he was kissing her, deep and slow, like they had all the time in the world.

Isabella had turned away to give them privacy, playing with her phone in the corner. Suddenly Nico froze and pulled away from Valentina.

He said something I could not hear and then walked quickly toward the door.

I moved into the nearby supply closet and left the door cracked just enough to see him.

He stood in the hallway looking frustrated as he pulled out his phone.

He typed something quickly and then put the phone back in his pocket.

My own phone buzzed a moment later with a text message.

Nico: The situation with Valentina is more complex than I thought. Will be here much longer than expected. Do not wait up for me tonight.

I watched him take a deep breath before turning back toward the room where Valentina was waiting.

He locked the door behind him this time and pulled the curtains across the window.

But not before I saw him lift Valentina onto the examination table and position himself between her legs.

I drove back to the estate alone after witnessing that. This was probably the last time I would stand in this hospital as Nico Marchetti's wife.

The moment I walked through the front door, my phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number.

A video from Valentina showing her and Isabella arranging baby clothes in a nursery painted soft blue.

"Look piccola, your little brother is going to love this room your Papa designed."

Isabella's voice was bright with excitement.

"Can I help decorate when he comes home from the hospital?"

"Of course sweet girl, you are going to be the best big sister."

I deleted the message without responding.

Instead, I walked through every room of the estate methodically, opening drawers and closets.

"Gather everything that belongs to me and bring it to the courtyard."

The housekeeper looked confused but nodded.

Within an hour, boxes and bags filled with my belongings were stacked outside.

One of the maids hesitated while holding our wedding portrait, the massive oil painting that hung above the fireplace.

"Donna, should this go out as well?"

I looked at the image of us on our wedding day.

In the painting, I was gazing at the artist while Nico's eyes were fixed on me with what everyone believed was devotion.

Now all I saw was a perfectly executed lie.

"Everything goes."

When the last item was piled in the courtyard, I struck a match and dropped it onto the heap.

I stood watching seven years of my life burn to ash while the flames climbed higher.

As the final photographs curled and blackened, I felt the last connection to Nico Marchetti turn to smoke.

My phone buzzed again hours later.

Another message with a photo attached.

Valentina's hand wearing an enormous diamond ring, Nico's hand covering hers.

“He proposed! Right here in the baby's nursery surrounded by everything we chose together.”

“Giulia, be reasonable about this. Accept that he has moved on and let him go.”

This time I responded.

“I hope everything you want comes true exactly as you imagine it.”

Then I opened the security system on my phone.

The cameras I had installed throughout the estate months ago had captured everything.

Nico and Valentina in our guest room, in my studio, in the wine cellar I had designed.

I downloaded everything and sent it to the event coordinator with specific instructions.

“This is my surprise for Nico's speech at my birthday celebration. Play it on the main screen when he takes the microphone.”

My phone rang and Nico’s face appeared on the screen. He was sitting in what looked like a restaurant.

"Giulia, I just wanted to hear your voice. This Valentina situation is taking longer than I thought."

Behind him I could see Valentina laughing at something, her pregnant belly visible even from this angle.

"When will you be home?"

Nico's expression shifted to guilt.

"Not until tomorrow afternoon, but I will be there in time for your birthday celebration."

"I have something very special planned for you."

I smiled at the screen.

"That is good because I have something special planned as well."

His eyes lit up.

"I cannot wait to see what it is, Giulia, you mean everything to me."

A waiter appeared behind him and I watched Valentina lean close and whisper something in Nico's ear while touching his arm. .

"I hope you enjoy my surprise as much as I will enjoy watching you receive it."

Before he could respond, I ended the call and powered off my phone completely.

The car from the Benedetti family was already waiting outside the estate gates.

"Giulia, your flight to Palermo leaves in thirty minutes."

"The family has arranged everything for your stay in the village."

"Your past with the Marchetti family has been erased from all records. "

Giulia Russo, my maiden name, the identity I had before Nico Marchetti consumed my life.

From this moment forward, I was reclaiming who I was before the lies.

I boarded the plane and watched the city disappear below me.