All Chapters of When the Valenti Princess Came Home: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

On the ride home, Matteo finally spoke. "Vivian didn't do it on purpose. Don't make this ugly for her."Again. With Vivian, there was always an explanation ready.When our team pulled an all-nighter, Vivian uploaded the wrong backup drive and cost us a week of notes. Matteo said she was new and only wanted to help.When I flew out for a negotiation and she booked me into a run-down motel on the South Side, he said a vendor had tricked her and I shouldn't be so harsh.Now Lark Harbor, the project I had bled two years of my life into, the project that would carry Bellandi Group's future cash flow, had been handed to her in front of the whole gala. And still, he said she hadn't meant it.I locked my phone and looked at him. “Don’t you think what you’re doing for Vivian has gone far beyond looking after an employee?”Matteo's brow twitched. "Sofia, you're exhausted. That's why your mind is running wild. Don't say things like that in public. You'll ruin her reputation."His first instinct w

Chapter 2

At one in the morning, I returned to the lakefront villa. Vivian's laughter drifted from the master bedroom.My clothes and shoes had been stuffed into cardboard boxes and shoved into a corner. The walk-in closet was full of new gowns and coats, tags still hanging from them, all in Vivian's size. She stood in front of the mirror with two dresses pressed to her body while Matteo stood beside her, choosing which color would look better on camera tomorrow.That was when I understood. She wasn't here to crash for a few nights. She was trying on my life, and Matteo was holding the door open for her.When he saw me, guilt flickered through his eyes.Vivian turned around, her smile deepening. "Sofia, you're home. Matteo said some drunk kept circling my lobby tonight, so he told me to stay here for a few days. You don't mind, do you?"I looked at the boxes in the corner, and something heavy lodged in my chest. I had helped choose her apartment. It had the best security in the neighborhood.I d

Chapter 3

The flicker of hesitation in Matteo's eyes vanished. He pulled Vivian to her feet and turned to me. "Apologize.""I did nothing wrong." I looked him straight in the face. "So no." Vivian cried harder, and as she lifted her hand to wipe her tears, a ruby bracelet slid from her sleeve. It was my mother's, the only family token I had taken with me when I left the Valenti house. On our wedding night, I had placed it in Matteo's palm and told him I was giving him the most important thing I owned.I stared at the bracelet. "Why is that on her wrist?"Vivian flinched as if I had threatened her. In a panic too neat to be real, she yanked it off. The ruby hit the floor, the clasp snapped, and tiny diamonds scattered across the carpet.I lunged forward without thinking. A shard sliced my finger, blood dripping into the fibers.Matteo frowned. "It's just a bracelet. I'll buy you ten more."I knelt on the floor and picked up the broken stones one by one. Ice seemed lodged in my throat. I couldn't

Chapter 4

Matteo's smile froze. "Everything was fine when I left. What could possibly have happened?"The secretary sounded like the whole office was burning behind her. "DeLuca Capital, Rinaldi Shipping, and Connelly Insurance all sent termination letters. Lark Harbor's funding, docks, insurance, and security licenses have been pulled at the same time. Also, the Port Authority is downstairs. They said the signing the day after tomorrow is suspended."Matteo shot to his feet, all color draining from his face.On paper, Lark Harbor was a port-security project. In reality, it held every cash-flow line Bellandi Group had. If the funding snapped, warehouse deposits, contractor guarantees, bank credit, everything would collapse together. Matteo rarely even read those contracts. Whenever something went wrong, I was the one who fixed it.His first thought was still me. "Where's Sofia? Tell her to handle the crisis right now. I don't care what it costs or what she has to do. She keeps those partners in

Chapter 5

The lawyer pressed the remote. The screen lit up.First came the divorce decree. Then surveillance footage and hotel records of Matteo and Vivian in the office, in the villa, and on business trips. The evidence was too clear to argue with."Because of marital infidelity, coercion of a spouse into signing a property transfer, and suspected illegal seizure of trade secrets, the court has approved emergency divorce proceedings." The lawyer opened a second file. "As for the transfer agreement you forced Miss Valenti to thumbprint, it is void due to coercion. All core authorization for Lark Harbor remains the property of Sofia Valenti."Matteo gripped the edge of the table. "I need to see her.""Miss Valenti refuses to see you."The conference room door opened. Two federal investigators stepped in, followed by Port Authority enforcement officers. The lawyer placed a subpoena in front of him."Mr. Bellandi, what you should be considering now isn't how to see her. It's how you intend to expla

Chapter 6

Nico draped his jacket over my shoulders. "Scared?""A little." My voice was low. "I almost spent my whole life on someone like that.""The nightmare is over. No one will ever pin you to a desk and force you to sign anything again."I looked up at him. For years, I had treated Nico as the fallback plan my family arranged for me. At that moment, I realized he had never been a fallback. He was the kind of man who would wait under the light even if I had wandered far down the wrong road.A few days later, the updates came in.Vivian was charged with fraud, falsifying project materials, and stealing commercial information. Lark's biological father turned out to be a gambler Vivian had met in Las Vegas. The child was temporarily placed with state protective services.Matteo was held on charges of assault, commercial coercion, and multiple financial violations. Bellandi Group's funding chain broke, and the company entered bankruptcy liquidation.I listened to all of it and kept eating the om

Chapter 7

My heartbeat stumbled.My father looked at me, his expression gentler than usual. "This is your life. I won't decide for you."Nico stood and came to me. He didn't pull out some ridiculous diamond the size of a threat, and he didn't make a speech too perfect to be trusted. He simply placed a black-diamond ring in his palm and lowered his voice."Sofia, I won't ask you to leave your family for me. I won't ask you to become smaller for love. You can stay the Valenti princess, the woman in power, or whatever else you want to be. My place is only beside you."I looked at the ring, my eyes slowly burning.Matteo's love had always asked me to step back, then back again, until I was hidden inside his shadow. He had called it compromise. He had called it being a good wife. Nico's love turned on the lights and let everyone see who I had been all along.I held out my hand. "Yes."Nico slid the ring onto my finger and kissed my knuckles. My father turned his face away. Mrs. DeLuca wiped the corne

Chapter 8

Matteo's eyes fell on my son's face, and something deranged sparked in him. "His age... he's my child, isn't he? Sofia, he has to be our son."Elio shrank behind me.Rage rushed through me. "He is not your son. And the Sofia who once loved you died the day you forced me to sign that paper.""No, you're lying!" Matteo reached for Elio. "He's my son. I'm taking him with me."Before the guards could move, Nico came from the car and kicked Matteo to the ground. He stepped in front of Elio and me, his voice cold enough to cut. "Touch my wife or my son, and I'll make sure you don't see sunlight again."Matteo curled on the pavement in pain. This time, fear finally reached his eyes. He looked at Nico, then at me, and despair swallowed his face.The police arrived fast. Nico gave him no room for another performance. He had our lawyers file a restraining order and a harassment complaint on the spot.Elio threw himself into Nico's arms, crying so hard his little shoulders shook. "Daddy, that cra

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