Chapter 23.

We left through the school's back entrance, avoiding most of the media, but I could still hear them shouting questions as our car pulled away. Emma pressed her face to the window, watching the commotion with fascination.

"Mommy, are those people talking about us on the news?"

My heart clenched. "Why do you ask, sweetheart?"

"Because I heard Mrs. Martinez tell someone on the phone about 'the Sterling family situation.' That's us, right? You, me, and Daddy?"

Before I could answer, Lucas's radio crackled. "Sir, you need to turn on the radio. Channel Seven news."

Lucas switched to the news station, and I heard the anchor's voice fill the car:

"Developing story about the Romano-Sterling family reunion. Sources close to the family suggest that five-year-old Emma Sterling may be caught in the middle of what experts are calling a potentially harmful situation."

"Turn it off," I said quickly, but Emma had already heard.

"They're talking about me?" she asked, her voice smaller now. "Why would they talk about me on the radio?"

I met Lucas's eyes in the rearview mirror. We were ten minutes from Elena's estate, but I could already see the damage beginning. Emma was starting to understand that something was wrong, that she was somehow at the center of adult problems she couldn't comprehend.

"Sometimes when grown-ups have complicated situations, other people like to talk about it," I said carefully. "But that doesn't mean anything is wrong with you, or that you're in trouble."

Emma nodded, but I could see her processing this information with the serious expression she got when trying to solve difficult problems.

"Mommy? Are the people on the radio saying mean things about you?"

The question pierced my heart. "Some people might be saying things that aren't true, yes."

"That's not nice," Emma said with the moral clarity only children possess. "You're a good mommy. You take care of me and make me healthy food and read me stories."

"Thank you, baby."

As we pulled through the gates of Elena's estate, I saw news vans already positioned outside the property. They'd followed us, or maybe they'd anticipated our destination.

Emma saw them too. "More TV people," she observed. "Mommy, are we famous now?"

"Not the good kind of famous, sweetheart."

Elena's security team met us at the main entrance, efficiently escorting us inside while keeping the media at a distance. But I could hear them shouting even through the mansion's thick walls.

Mikel was waiting in Elena's sitting room, his face grim as he ended a phone call. When he saw Emma, his expression softened completely.

"Hey, princess. How was school today?"

"Weird," Emma said matter-of-factly. "There were TV people there, and a strange lady tried to take me for teeth cleaning, but I don't have teeth cleaning today."

Mikel's jaw tightened, but his voice remained gentle. "Did the strange lady scare you?"

Emma shook her head. "Mrs. Martinez didn't let her take me. She said I have to wait for Mommy or you. I always wait for Mommy or you."

"That's exactly right, sweetheart. Always wait for us."

Elena entered the room carrying a tea service, her silver hair perfectly styled despite the chaos surrounding us. She moved with the grace of someone who'd weathered many storms.

"Emma, cara mia, would you like to help me feed the koi fish in the garden? They're very hungry today."

It was clearly a diplomatic way to give the adults time to talk, and Emma brightened immediately. "Can I give them the special food?"

"Of course. Maria will take you to the pond."

As Emma left with Elena's housekeeper, the three of us finally had a moment to address the crisis.

"How bad is it?" I asked Mikel.

"Bad. My legal team is fielding calls from reporters, and Sterling Industries' PR department is in crisis mode. The board is concerned about how this affects our public image."

"And CPS?"

"Scheduled for a home visit tomorrow. My lawyers are already preparing, but Bella..." He ran his hands through his hair. "Some of these accusations are sophisticated. Whoever's behind this has access to information they shouldn't have."

Lucas nodded grimly. "It's Thomas Romano. Elena's confirmed it. He's been planning this for months, maybe years. Sophia Chen is just his latest weapon."

"What does he want?" I asked.

"To destroy Elena by destroying you," Lucas said simply. "He knows that losing you and Emma would break her heart. And if he can destroy your reputation in the process, frame you as an unfit mother, he gets his revenge and eliminates a future threat to his own ambitions."

Mikel's phone buzzed, and his expression darkened as he read the message. "The evening news is running a special segment tonight. 'The Dark Side of Seattle's Fairy Tale Romance.'"

I closed my eyes, feeling the walls closing in. "Emma's going to see this, isn't she? Even if we keep her away from the news, kids at school will talk. Their parents will whisper."

"Not if I can help it," Elena said, returning to the room. "I've made some calls. By tomorrow morning, there will be very different stories circulating about Ms. Chen and her motivations."

"Elena, what did you do?"

Her smile was sharp as glass. "I reminded certain people that the Romano family has long memories and longer lives. Sophia Chen is about to discover that attacking someone's child brings consequences she never considered."

Before anyone could respond, Emma's voice carried in from the garden: "Nonna Elena! Come look! The fish make a heart shape when they're eating!"

The innocent joy in her voice was a stark contrast to the war being planned around her. She had no idea that adults were fighting over her future, using her as a weapon in their revenge fantasies.

"I want this stopped," I said firmly. "All of it. The media circus, the investigations, the character assassination. Emma doesn't deserve to grow up in the middle of a battlefield."

"It will be stopped," Elena promised. "But first, we need to show Seattle exactly who they're dealing with. The Romano family has never backed down from a fight, and we're not starting now."

As if summoned by her words, the sound of helicopters filled the air—news choppers circling the estate, trying to get aerial footage of our crisis meeting.

Through the window, I could see Emma in the garden, looking up at the helicopters with fascination rather than fear. She waved at them, probably thinking they were friendly visitors.

My daughter's innocence was about to be destroyed by adults who cared more about revenge than the collateral damage they caused.

But as I watched her laugh and wave at the circling vultures, I made a promise to myself: whatever it took, however dirty this fight became, I would protect Emma's childhood and her future.

The media storm was just beginning, but they had no idea what they'd unleashed by threatening a Romano child.

The real war was about to start.