Chapter 4

At noon on Sunday, several black sedans pulled up at the Moretti Group headquarters.

Vito was finally back from the family council meeting.

Within half an hour, someone posted on the internal forum that Victoria planned to report the findings of her investigation to the chairman in person.

I got a notice too. I was to come to the first-floor lobby at two that afternoon to help resolve the dispute.

When I went downstairs, the lobby was already packed.

Apparently, everyone wanted to see what would happen to the woman they thought had seduced the chairman.

Victoria stood in the middle of the crowd.

She held a document, and behind her was an announcement board the PR department had hastily put together.

It read, "Statement on the Investigation into Isabella Hart's Alleged Professional Misconduct."

When the elevator doors opened, the crowd suddenly went quiet.

Vito stepped out in a black suit and a dark tie, followed by two family security men.

He looked tired after days of closed-door meetings, but he still commanded the room.

Victoria went straight up to him.

"Don Moretti, you're finally back."

She held the document out to Vito. Her tone was respectful, but she couldn't quite hide how pleased she was with herself.

"Some unpleasant things happened at the company these past few days, but I've already taken care of them."

She flipped it open and pointed at several screenshots.

"An employee has been using your supplementary card without authorization and repeatedly visiting your private apartment.

"She's been telling people at the company she has a special relationship with you. She even tried to use that claim to influence the annual selection.

"To protect your reputation, I temporarily froze the card and suspended her eligibility."

Victoria made it all sound airtight, as if she were simply cleaning house for the company.

She turned to the last page and held it out to Vito.

"Once you confirm there's nothing going on between you two, we can formally move forward."

The lobby was dead silent. Everyone was waiting for Vito's answer.

Victoria turned and looked at me.

"Isabella, the chairman is back. Whatever you have to say, you can say it to his face now."

Before I could speak, she added softly, "Of course, if you're willing to admit your mistake, the company will take that into account."

I looked at her and almost laughed.

After everything, she still thought she had this in the bag.

Vito never took the document. He looked past Victoria, straight at me.

His gaze dropped from my face to the scabbed-over cut on the back of my hand.

Victoria had left it there a few days ago, when we'd argued in the finance department.

His eyes went cold.

"What happened to your hand?"

Victoria froze for a split second, then said quickly, "Don Moretti, Isabella has been emotionally unstable during the investigation. She might have hurt herself by accident."

She even put on a show of being magnanimous.

"I haven't held her responsible. Young employees make mistakes, and they deserve a second chance."

Vito didn't look at her. He walked up to me, lifted my hand, and examined the cut.

"Who did this?"

Before I could answer, Victoria jumped in to take credit.

"Don Moretti, she's suspected of misusing your funds, and she kept refusing to cooperate with the investigation. I had no choice but to take the necessary measures."

Vito finally let go of my hand and turned around.

"You just said she was using me?"

Victoria nodded right away.

"Yes, Don Moretti. She's been pretending to have a personal relationship with you to get what she wants, and I have proof."

Vito glanced at the document she was holding, then at the people filming on their phones.

After a moment, he spoke.

"Isabella is my wife.

"I had to beg her to use that card.

"And who the hell do you think you are?"