LOGINHe looked away. "It's affecting my fertility. Has been for years. The scar tissue is pressing on nerves that control—" He stopped. "The doctors said I might never father children."The words hung in the air. Amelia's mind raced.Gabriella's baby.The fake DNA results.If Alejandro couldn't father children..."Alejandro, why didn't you tell me?""Because I was ashamed." His voice cracked. "Because I didn't want you to look at me differently. Because I thought—" He shook his head. "I thought if I ignored it, it would go away.""But it didn't.""No. It got worse." He took her hands. "The doctors in Seville say there's a surgery. Risky, but possible. They can remove the scar tissue. Restore what was lost.""When?""They want me there by the end of the week."Amelia nodded slowly. "Then we go. Together.""You don't have to—""I'm your wife." She squeezed his hands. "Where you go, I go. That's the deal."He smiled. It was tired, but real. "That's a terrible deal. You're getting nothing ou
NEW YORK – TWO DAYS LATERTHE MORNING NEWS WAS A CIRCUSAmelia sat in her home office, the TV muted.She didn’t need sound. The headlines said everything.“FAVINO SCANDAL: DID AMELIA STONE LIE ABOUT HER SON?”“FORMER NANNY SPEAKS: ‘SHE KNEW THE TRUTH’”“BLACKWOOD CONNECTION: IS LEO REALLY A BLACKWOOD HEIR?”Amelia didn’t blink. “So it starts,” she muttered.Isabel Flores had gone on air just like Vivian promised.The woman looked perfect. Calm. Emotional. Believable.“I stayed quiet for years,” Isabel said on screen, eyes full of tears. “But I can’t live with the guilt anymore…”Amelia let out a slow breath.“Guilt,” she repeated under her breath. “You mean money.”Isabel kept talking about lies, threats, secrets. Painting Amelia as cold. Calculating. Dangerous.A perfect story.And people were buying it.Amelia’s phone kept buzzing on the desk.Lawyers. PR. Marisa. Serena. Elena. Reporters.She ignored every single call.She wasn’t reacting, She was thinking.The door opened.Alejand
Amelia hesitated. Something in Vivian's tone made her pause.She leaned forward, her voice dropping. "I know things, Amelia. Things that would destroy you. Things that would tear your precious family apart.""Empty threats.""Are they?" Vivian reached into the pocket of her jumpsuit and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "This is a sworn statement from a woman who worked in your household five years ago. She saw things. Heard things. Things about Leo. About the real reason you kept him away from the Favinos for so long."Amelia's heart rate picked up, but she kept her face neutral. "My son has nothing to do with this.""Your son has everything to do with this." Vivian slid the paper across the table. "This witness is willing to testify that you knew Leo wasn't Miguel's son before he was born. That you deliberately concealed his true paternity to secure your place in the Favino family. That you committed fraud. Paternity fraud. And in Spain, that's a criminal offense."Amelia's ha
He wasn’t always cruel.“At the beginning… Damien was different,” Amelia said quietly. “I was grieving. I had lost so much. I wasn’t thinking straight.”She looked down at her hands, fingers trembling.“I made a mistake,” she said. “One night. That’s all it was.”The room stayed silent.Then she took a shaky breath.“We were supposed to get married,” she continued. “Everything was ready. The venue. The guests. The future.”Her lips trembled. “My wedding dress had just arrived that morning.”Marisa’s eyes narrowed slightly.“I remember standing in my room… holding it,” Amelia said softly. “Thinking my life was finally going to be okay.”She let out a hollow laugh. “Then he walked in.”Silence.Amelia’s voice dropped.“And in less than five minutes… everything was gone.”Marisa leaned forward slightly. “What did he say?”Amelia looked up, her eyes filled with pain.“He told me the wedding was canceled,” she said. “Just like that. No warning. No explanation at first.”Her jaw tightened.
The penthouse fell into a heavy, suffocating silence. Gabriella stood in the center of the room, clutching her baby so tightly the child began to fuss. Her face was pale, streaked with tears, her carefully constructed world crumbling around her."You can't do this," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I have rights. The baby has rights. A judge—""A judge will see exactly what we have," Marisa cut in, her voice cold and final. "A woman who drugged my son. A woman who faked DNA results. A woman who blackmailed my daughter. Do you really want to stand before a judge with that record?"Gabriella's mouth opened and closed. No words came.Alejandro stepped forward, his face unreadable. "Where's the real test?"Gabriella blinked. "What?""The real DNA test. You said you took one. Where are the results?"She hesitated. Just a fraction of a second. But everyone saw it."They're... at my lawyer's office," she said slowly. "I haven't seen them yet.""You're lying," Amelia said quietly.Gabrie
Gabriella froze. Her eyes quickly moved to Elena, begging for help.But Elena looked away.“Answer me!” Alejandro shouted.“I didn’t have a choice!” Elena cried suddenly, breaking down. “She forced me! Gabriella threatened me! She said if I didn’t help her, she would expose secrets that would destroy this family!”The room went still.Marisa stepped forward slowly. “What secrets?”Gabriella let out a bitter laugh, her face cold now. She had nothing left to hide.“You really want to know?” she said. “Fine.”She looked straight at Elena.“Your affair,” she said flatly. “With that married man in Barcelona.”Elena’s face went pale.“The abortion you had last year,” Gabriella continued, her voice sharp. “The one you lied about and called a miscarriage.”“Stop—” Elena whispered, shaking.“And the money,” Gabriella added. “The money you’ve been stealing from the family business to fund your lifestyle.”“STOP!” Elena screamed, covering her face.Tears streamed down her cheeks.“You said you’d
“Exactly. And the footage shows you leaving the hotel the next morning, looking hungover but not like someone who spent the night with a woman.” Marcus paused. “I don’t think you slept with her, Alejandro. I think she helped you to your room, waited for you to pass out, and then left.”“Then how i
BLACKWOOD INDUSTRIES - BOARD ROOM - MORNINGThe monthly board meeting was in full swing. Twenty executives sat around the massive mahogany table, reviewing quarterly reports and discussing merger strategies. Alexander Blackwood sat at the head of the table, looking every bit the powerful patriarch
“Four months pregnant. The nausea, the tiredness, the emotional ups and downs all normal for a healthy second-trimester pregnancy.” Dr. Patel smiled gently. “You’re going to have a baby.”Katherina’s vision got blurry. The walls felt like they were closing in. Four months. That meant That first
DANIEL PENTHOUSE ~ NEW YORK “Too many.” Daniel sat back down. “But that’s not going to be Martino’s life. I won’t let it be. Yes, he’s the heir. Yes, he’ll have responsibilities. But I’m going to raise him to be better than my father. Better than my grandfather. Better than the whole damn Blackwo







