Semua Bab His Dead Wife: No Longer the Surrogate Bride: Bab 111 - Bab 120

Seraphina Valtieri stood alone in the east corridor of the estate that evening, the marble floor beneath her heels cold and unyielding. The air around her is carrying the distant echo of voices gathering where she already knew she would be expected.The elders were assembling upon Luca’s invitation.She could hear them through the carved doors at the far end of the corridor. The voices are low, deliberate, controlled, threaded with something more dangerous than anger.They are filled with anticipation.Luca had not summoned her.He did not need to.Seraphina had never required an invitation to stand beside the man who had kept her family alive after Alessandro died. She never needed a reminder of what loyalty meant. Especially not in this house, not under this name.Not because she did not love her son.But because she understood what happened to families that fractured in public.They did not survive.When Alessandro had died, when Dominic and Isabelle were still young and the world

The lower security room of Blackstone hummed with a quiet vigilance that never truly slept.Monitors glowed across the walls, each one showing a different angle of the estate. One screen showed the main gate, the tree line, the drive, the outer perimeter where Enzo’s men rotated in silent, disciplined patterns.Thermal overlays pulsed faintly, a reminder that even the fog outside could not hide movement.Dominic stood in front of the central console, one hand braced against the edge, his eyes scanning, calculating, measuring. He knew pressure had a sound. It doesn’t roar but instead tightens.And Luca was pressing from every direction.He could feel it in the halted shipments, the quiet withdrawals of his long-time partners, the calls that no longer returned. The name Valtieri was being weaponized against him in ways only the patriarch could orchestrate.He had expected it but expectation did not dull the weight.A soft set of footsteps broke through the hum and Dominic turned.Nichol

Dominic stared ahead as the corridor grew quieter the farther, he went. Halfway down, he stopped at a section of wall that looked like every other.Stone. Shadow. Memory.He raised his hand and pressed his palm to a specific stone.A soft click answered and the wall shifted inward.The tunnel opened, bringing the cool air below as well as the faint smell of earth and old secrets. Dominic moved through it without hesitation every turn embedded in his memory since childhood. Dominic could make out the concealed door at the far end that leads toward the chapel.Candles flickered.Seraphina Valtieri stood before the altar, her back to him. Her stance looked as if she had been waiting long before he ever arrived.“Mama.”“You always take the direct path.” She said without turning.“And you always choose the hidden ones.” Dominic replied.She turned slowly and for a moment, there was no council, no Luca, no empire.Only mother and son standing in the same room after years of distance carved

That night, Nicholas, who is already in his jammies with prints of dinosaurs, wandered into Dominic’s office again. He was carrying his green, dinosaur plushie as well as his book“Papa, are we in trouble?” He asked softly.Dominic turned in his chair, stood up and pulled his son into his arms. He sat back on his chair and settled Nicholas on his lap.“No, we’re not in trouble, Nico.” He answered calmly.Nicholas studied him carefully.“You’re not mad?” He questioned again intently, his eyes looking up at him in earnest. He clutched his plushie tightly. “I didn’t mean to touch the box, Papa.”Dominic smiled faintly, pulling him gently into his chest.“You didn’t break anything.” He assured quietly.But, deep down, in truth, Nicholas had unlocked the war. It was not in the way Luca intended. He had revealed the one move Luca never accounted for.Dominic did not need the Valtieri throne because he could outgrow it.“What time are you going to sleep?” He asked, changing the subject. “Did

Dominic is already standing at the foot of the entrance steps when the gates of Blackstone opened without delay and the SUV passed through the inner drive.His expression is controlled but the tension in his shoulders betrayed the speed at which he had moved the moment the alert came through.The vehicle came to a smooth stop. Before the engine had even fully idled, Dominic was already descending the steps, his hand reaching out when the rear door opened.Althea stepped out.For a fraction of a second, everything else faded around him. The guards, the stone walls, the comms chatter fading into background noise.Dominic’s eyes moved over her quickly. He looked at her face, hands, posture and her breathing. Through it all, Althea remained calm.She met his gaze calmly.“I’m alright, Dom.” She assured softly, as if she already knew what he was looking for.Dominic exhaled once.He stepped forward and reached for her. His one hand coming to her arm, then her shoulder, grounding himself in