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All Chapters of Twelve Chances. No Thirteenth: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

ELENA POVThe door closed, and Luca’s footsteps quickly disappeared down the hallway.I braced one hand against the entry table as another spasm tightened through my stomach. Cold sweat ran down my temples while I searched the drawer for my medication and swallowed two tablets.The pain did not ease.After several minutes on the floor, I called a car and went to St. Catherine’s Medical Center.The Valdieri family had funded the private hospital for years. One call from Luca would have brought a specialist to the entrance, but I contacted no one. I registered in the public emergency wing and accepted a chair in the corner of the infusion room.The medication had begun to dull the pain when hurried footsteps sounded in the corridor.“Where is the doctor? She’s hurt.”I opened my eyes.Through the glass partition, I saw Luca carrying most of Sofia’s weight as he brought her into the emergency wing. Two guards stopped outside while a physician hurried forward.Sofia clung to Luca, her face

Chapter 2

ELENA POVThe next morning, I returned to the estate Luca and I had shared.His cologne still lingered near the entrance, mixed with the perfume Sofia always wore.I went straight to the bedroom and pulled the black suitcase I had prepared from the back of the closet.There was little I intended to take. I packed several outfits, my documents, work files, and the jewelry box my mother had left me.The dresses and jewelry Luca had given me remained where they were. I also left our photographs and every item bearing the Valdieri crest.I was placing the final shirt in my suitcase when the front door opened downstairs.Luca entered with Sofia.His gaze paused on the suitcase when he found me in the bedroom.“Is your stomach better?”He approached and reached for my forehead.I stepped aside.“Much better.”My voice remained calm.Luca lowered his hand and turned toward Sofia.“She was frightened last night, and her anxiety hasn’t settled. Her ex knows where she lives, so I don’t want her

Chapter 3

ELENA POVThe meeting continued as if nothing had happened.“Is the South Harbor agreement ready?” one of the advisers asked.“The final version is complete,” I said. “The partners are scheduled to sign this afternoon.”Luca glanced at Sofia. “Add her as co-lead. She can handle communication and financial review after the signing.”The legal adviser frowned. “South Harbor involves several freight companies, the dockworkers’ union, and financial channels that are already under investigation. A co-lead shares responsibility for every decision. Miss Bellini isn’t prepared for that.”“Elena completed the due diligence,” Luca said. “Sofia will only handle the final coordination.”Everyone turned toward me.I looked at the agreement, then pushed it across the table. “Fine.”Sofia’s surprise quickly became a pleased smile. “Thank you, Elena. I’ll do my best.”I stood and placed my access badge, encrypted phone, and vault authorization card in front of the adviser.“My permissions end at noon.

Chapter 4

ELENA POVRain was pouring when I left the consignment shop. My flight departed in two hours, and I was checking the location of my driver when a black car stopped beside me.Luca flung the door open and rushed into the rain without an umbrella.“Why did you send Sofia those messages? Accusing her of stealing me, posting lies about her for everyone to see? She’s threatening to slit her wrist! You’re coming with me to apologize.”He showed me several screenshots. Messages from an account bearing my name insulted Sofia, accused her of using him to gain influence, and ordered her to withdraw from the South Harbor agreement.“I didn’t send these.”“Who else would threaten her?” Luca demanded. “You acted indifferent during the meeting, then attacked her privately.”“The screenshots are fake.”“She had no reason to risk her life to frame you.”For seven years, I had protected the Valdieri family from forged records and carefully constructed lies. Now Luca would not spend five minutes checkin

Chapter 5

LUCA POVAt the private hospital, Sofia’s wrist was wrapped in thick bandages. When the doctor removed them, he found only a shallow cut that did not require stitches.Sofia clutched Luca’s sleeve. “I lost control after I read Elena’s messages.”Luca remembered Elena on the ground in the rain. She had not contacted him once since he drove away.He called her number, but a recorded message said it was no longer in service. She had used that number for seven years.Luca left Sofia at the hospital and returned to the estate.Elena’s shoes were gone from the entryway, and her side of the closet was empty. The study held only property documents, account releases, and her attorney’s card.Valdieri headquarters called soon afterward. A private bank had delivered several sealed boxes containing the watches, cuff links, family signet, and confidential files Luca had placed in Elena’s care over the years.She had surrendered access to the vault and completed every required document.Standing alo

Chapter 6

LUCA POVHis black sedan ran two red lights before reaching the nearest private hospital. Still soaked from the rain, he rushed into the emergency department and searched the records from that afternoon and evening.Elena’s name was not there.Luca stood in the lobby as water dripped from his coat. If Elena had not gone to a hospital after getting hurt, where else could she have gone?Then he remembered the suitcase beside Elena.“The airport.”He drove there immediately, but it was nearly one in the morning when he arrived.Flights to cities around the world filled the departure screens. Luca stared at them and realized he had no idea where Elena was going.They had spent seven years together. He relied on Elena to manage the Valdieri family’s most difficult affairs, yet he had never asked about her plans.He approached the airline counter.“I need to know which flight Elena Moretti boarded.”“I’m sorry, sir,” the employee replied. “We cannot disclose a passenger’s private travel info

Chapter 7

LUCA POVAfter Luca learned that Elena had already started working in London, he stood frozen in the conference room.He remembered how calm she had been when she left headquarters and how she had told him to contact her attorney about any future matters.She had planned her departure long ago.While she prepared to leave, Luca had used the South Harbor agreement to humiliate her, convinced that she would never truly abandon the Valdieri family.When he left the conference room, he encountered Sofia.She was holding a cup of coffee, and she could not completely hide her satisfaction.“Don Valdieri, you look terrible. Didn’t you sleep last night?”She reached for his arm, but he stepped away.His attention shifted to the car keys in her hand. A new pink charm hung from them. The worn leather keychain engraved with his and Elena’s initials had disappeared.Luca suddenly remembered what had happened in the emergency room that night.Sofia had suffered a shallow scrape on her leg, yet she

Chapter 8

ELENA POVA former colleague told me that Luca returned to Valdieri headquarters immediately after leaving Sofia’s private clinic.Sofia was sitting in the administrative office with several staff members, discussing the South Harbor agreement.“Luca gave me responsibility for the remaining work,” she said. “Once the final review is complete, I’ll be in charge of the agreement.”She had barely finished speaking when Luca opened the door.The office fell silent.“Don Valdieri, what are you doing here?”Sofia smiled and reached for his arm, but he stepped away and placed copies of Sofia’s original clinical records on the desk.“Explain why these records do not match the reports you gave me.”The color disappeared from her face.“The clinic must have made a mistake. Those are incomplete.”“I’ve been to your clinic.”Luca’s voice remained cold.“You were never diagnosed with severe depression or assessed as a suicide risk. The reports you gave me were altered. Your real prescription histor

Chapter 9

ELENA POVLuca remained in intensive care for three days.The delivery truck had broken three of his ribs, shattered his left leg, and left him with a severe concussion. The doctors performed two operations before they were certain his condition had stabilized.I learned the details from the hospital.When the ambulance brought him in, the emergency staff found my name listed as his contact in London. I went there, signed the necessary forms, and paid the initial medical expenses.I did it because a man’s life was at stake.It did not change my decision.Once the doctors confirmed that Luca would survive, I left the hospital and returned to work. I asked his family adviser to handle everything that followed.Luca spent nearly a month in the hospital.During that time, he called me more than once. I never answered. He sent messages apologizing for Sofia, for the South Harbor project, and for every time he had chosen someone else while expecting me to remain beside him.I forwarded each

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