All Chapters of The Don's Secret Heir: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

35 Chapters

Chapter 11: Before I Was Anyone

Valentina PovYears laterThe kitchen was warm and smelled like toast. The coffee machine made a final click-clack sound, signaling it was done. I leaned against the counter, enjoying the quiet for just a second before the storm started.I had been up since five. Not because Matteo woke me, but because my brain wouldn't stop. The envelope had sat on the counter all night. I had walked past it four times before bed and twice more this morning. I had made coffee I didn't drink. I had read three lines of a contract I already knew by heart. I was good at keeping busy.I had learned that trick a long time ago, in a small room in Castelmare with a broken drawer handle and a window that looked at a wall. Stay busy. Don't let the quiet

Chapter 12: The Gala

Valentina POVThe Palazzo Reale looked exactly like a building that had never once worried about money. It sat at the end of the street like it owned the city. Every window was lit. Every surface was gold. Two men in white gloves stood at the entrance. They opened doors for people who were able to open doors themselves.Edoardo had been fixing his tie since we left the hotel."You are going to do great," I said."I'm not nervous," he said, pulling the tie tighter."I didn't say you were nervous.""Right." He looked at his reflection in the car window. "Do I look nervous?""You look like a man who has fixed his tie eleven times in twenty minutes."

Chapter 13: What He Said at the Gala

Valentina POV"You made a mistake coming here," Marco said. His voice was low and calm. It was the kind of voice that did not need to be loud because the words were strong enough on their own.I kept my face still. "Did I?""NOIR DONNA." He said the name of my business like he already knew everything about it. "Four years in Milan. It looks very clean on paper." He paused. "But every door in this city is going to close on you. I want you to know that before you spend money on meetings that will never happen."I looked at him. I really looked at him, the way I had not allowed myself to do from across the room. He believed every word he was saying. That was the thing about Marco. He was never mean just for fun. He was simply very sure of himself, and that was its own kind of mean.

Chapter 14: The Morning After

Marco POVI was on the phone before the sun was even up."Listen carefully," I said into the receiver. "If any shipments come in for a company called NOIR DONNA, stop them. I don't want excuses. I don't want a new schedule. I want every single box stayed at the port."There was a long silence on the other end. "Are you sure you want to stop everything, sir?""Did you hear me the first time?" I snapped."Yes, sir," the man replied quickly."Then do it. Stop every box."I hung up and poured a cup of coffee. My apartment was dark, except for one small light in the kitchen. I stood by the window and watched the grey river. A single boat moved slowly under the b

Chapter 15: NOIR DONNA

Valentina POV"Since when?" I asked, sitting on the edge of the hotel bed."The order came in at five forty-five this morning," the port contact replied. His voice sounded thin over the static. "No explanation. No name on the paper. They just locked it all up.""All of it?" I asked, my fingers tightening on the phone."Every box. Even the silk."I looked out the window at the grey morning. I didn't need to ask who did it. Marco had made the call before the sun was even up."Don't fight them," I told the contact. "Don't call anyone. Just leave it.""For how long, Valentina? We’re losing money by the hour.""Until I tell you otherwise. Stay quiet."I hung up and dialed Sofia immediately."I need a name, Sofia. Someone who works for the Ricci family. Someone important, but not untouchable.""Guido Rico," she answered a minute later. "He supplies their clothes. He actually called our office months ago looking for a change, but

Chapter 16: Luca Digs

Marco POVLuca came in at nine with a file that was much thicker than the one he had yesterday.He sat down across from me without being asked. That meant he had things to say, and he had already decided he was going to say them. I closed the work I was doing and waited for him to start."NOIR DONNA," he said. He opened the folder and turned the first page toward me. "On the outside, it looks clean. Real money is coming in, she has real clients, and she has a real product. The autumn clothes sold out in only six weeks in three different countries. The shop in Paris makes its own profit. They even have a waiting list for private meetings.""She built it the right way," I said."She built it very well." He turned another page. "Sofia Lanza, twenty-e

Chapter 17: Renzo Makes a Move

Valentina POVHe had emailed me three times.The first one came the morning after the party. It was short and easy, with no pressure. I read it twice and then closed my laptop, refusing to give him a second of my time. The second one came four days later. It was a quick note about a show in Milan he thought I might like, a private viewing for a collector. I sent it to Sofia and didn't reply to him. The third was just one line: I'll be in Milan until the end of the month if you change your mind about that coffee.I didn't answer that one either.I wasn't playing a game. I just had no room in my life for someone I didn't understand. Renzo Caruso had shown up at a party when I was already stressed. He had a nice smile and talked about clothes, and I had given him my card before I could even think about it. That wasn't a good enough reason to go for coffee. People like Renzo usually wanted something, and I didn't have anything left to give.The art gallery openi

Chapter 18: The Second Event

Valentina POVI did not know he would be there.I want to be clear about that. Everything that happened later might look like I planned it, but I did not. Edoardo had sent me the invite two weeks ago. It was a dinner for the clothing industry at a private house in Florence. There were forty guests. It was the kind of night where you get good food and make even better business connections. I said yes because I already had a meeting in Florence that Friday. It just made sense to stay.That was all it was.I found out he was coming only when I saw the seating chart.The host had it printed and framed at the door. I looked at it the way I always do. I searched for my name and checked who would be sitting next to me. I wanted to know who I would have to talk to and who I could turn to if the conversation got boring.I found my name. Then I found his name directly across from it. "Marco Greco," I whispered to myself. The ink seemed darker than the rest. I loo

Chapter 19: What Luca Found

Marco POVLuca came in on Thursday and closed the door. He sat down and put the file on the desk. He did not open it right away. That meant the beginning was the part he was worried about."Castelmare," he said.I knew the name. It was a small village on the coast of southern Sicily. I had never been there. I had no reason to go."She went there after she left Florence," Luca said. "She used a bus and paid cash so there was no name on the booking. She went to a clinic as soon as she arrived. The records say she was exhausted. She had no money and no friends." He paused. "She was about three months pregnant when she arrived."I looked down at the desk. I thought about the cash in my pocket and the heaters in my house. While I was comfortable, she was sleeping on a bus to a place she didn't know."A family named Esposito took her in," he continued. "She stayed for eight months. A neighbor remembered her. She said Valentina worked in the house. Cooking, cl

Chapter 20: Matteo Comes to Milan

Valentina POVI left Milan at two on Friday. The drive to Como took ninety minutes, and I used the time to return three calls. By the time I pulled up outside the school, I had resolved a supplier dispute and approved a budget.The gates opened at three-thirty. I got out of the car.He came through the doors with his bag half-open and his coat buttoned wrong. He ran. Full speed across the courtyard, like the distance between us was a problem that needed fixing immediately. I caught him. He was heavier than last month. I picked him up anyway because one day I would not be able to, and I was not ready for that day yet.He wrapped his arms around my neck and made a loud noise into my shoulder."What?" I said.

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