Chapter 4

Vincent’s study was locked year-round, and no one was allowed inside except him. To me, however, that kind of old-fashioned mechanical lock was no different from a toy.

I walked up to the lock, my fingers moving quickly as I spun the combination dial a few times. With a click, the door swung open.

I glanced inside and saw important documents like the company’s stock equity certificates. Aside from those, there was an entire drawer packed with letters. They were all written by Vincent to Evelyn Mancini.

I pulled one out at random. On the yellowed paper was his familiar handwriting.

“Evelyn, our son is doing great, so please don’t worry. I’ll make sure Selena and Grace never mistreat him.

“Liam can say ‘Daddy’ now. When he’s a bit older, I’ll tell him that you’re his real mother.

“Once the situation in the company stabilizes, I will transfer all the shares under Liam’s name. Everything I have should belong to our son anyway.”

As I read through them one by one, I felt sick to my stomach. So Liam wasn’t an adopted son after all; he was Vincent’s biological son.

My years of sacrifice were nothing more than a free servant’s work in his eyes. From the start, he had never intended to give a thing to our daughter or me.

I leaned against the edge of the desk, forcing down the disgust rising inside me. For all our time together in this life and the last, I had hidden my edge and concealed my true identity, only to be scammed in return.

I picked up the letters and slowly tore them into pieces when suddenly, the study door was slammed open. Vincent stood at the door. When he saw the floor covered in a total mess, he scowled.

“Selena, how dare you touch my things? Have you lost your mind”

He strode inside, his brow furrowed tightly as he shouted, “Why are you still standing there? Get back and take care of Liam already!”

I stood rooted to the spot, the last letter still in my hand.

Looking at him, I smiled. Then, under his furious gaze, I raised my hands and tore the final letter. The shredded paper drifted slowly from my fingertips.

“Vincent Rossi,” My voice was light, but I made myself loud and clear. “You’re talking about me having lost my mind? Of everything you own today, is there anything you actually earned yourself?”

He froze, his eyes widening in shock. “What nonsense are you talking about? I built this empire from scratch with my bare hands. How is it not mine? Selena, I think you’ve truly gone mad.”

I ignored him entirely. Instead, I pressed the button on the desk intercom and said, “Go now.”

A voice on the other end answered, “Understood,” before the line went dead.

Before Vincent could demand an explanation, his phone began ringing.

He picked up the call, and after a few seconds, he raised his voice, “What? The cargo at the port has been impounded? Customs and Border Control issued the order directly? How can that be?”

The moment he hung up, a second call came in.

“The bank froze all of our accounts? The risk department received orders from above?”

With a thud, the phone slipped out of his hand and fell onto the carpet, its screen shattering into a spiderweb of cracks. He stumbled backward and slumped limply against the bookshelf in utter defeat.

I pulled a necklace out from my collar. The pendant was a family crest featuring a gold rose set against a black background.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m Selena Capelli.” Leaning back against the desk, I stated my name calmly. “That is my real name, and I am the daughter of the Capelli mafia family.”