《When the Valenti Princess Came Home》全部章節：第 1 章 - 第 8 章

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

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

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

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