Chapter 11 - THE WOMAN THEY PLANNED TO DESTROY|
The witness appeared two days later.
Her name was Vanessa Cole.
She was a former assistant at the Varenna family's legal office, and she arrived at a press conference organized by Carlo's attorneys with a folder full of photographs.
The photographs showed me leaving a restaurant with a man I had never seen before.
One image appeared to show him touching my waist.
Another showed us standing close together outside a hotel.
The pictures were convincing.
They were also lies.
Luca watched the broadcast from his study. His jaw tightened as Carlo's attorney announced that the Varenna family had serious concerns about the legitimacy of Luca's unborn child.
“Turn it off,” I said.
Luca did.
“I never met that man.”
“I know.”
“They're trying to make me look like a liar.”
“They're trying to make you look vulnerable.”
He crossed the room and took my hands.
“Listen to me. You don't have to defend yourself to anyone.”
“But what if they believe it?”
“Then they'll be wrong.”
The next morning, Carlo filed a petition challenging Luca's authority over several family companies. He claimed Luca had concealed a medical condition that made him unfit to lead the family.
It was a calculated attack.
If the board accepted Carlo's argument, Luca could lose control of the legitimate businesses. The criminal side of the empire would become even more unstable.
Marco discovered that Vanessa had been paid through a shell company linked to Northstar.
He also found the man in the photographs.
His name was Daniel Pierce.
He was an actor who had appeared in several low-budget commercials. He admitted that he had been paid to pose with me, but he insisted he had never actually met me.
The photographs had been created using images taken from my social media accounts.
Luca's legal team prepared a statement.
But I wanted something more.
“I want to speak publicly,” I told him.
“No.”
“Luca—”
“You're pregnant. Carlo wants you frightened and exhausted. He wants you to react.”
“He has already made me a target.”
“Which is why I won't let him put you in front of cameras.”
I looked at him.
“Then let me speak to the board.”
He hesitated.
“Evelyn, those men have spent their lives manipulating people.”
“So have you.”
The words came out sharper than I intended.
Luca stepped back.
I immediately regretted them.
But he didn't become angry.
Instead, he looked at me for a long moment.
“You're right,” he said quietly. “And I'm trying to protect you without taking away your voice.”
He agreed to let me attend the board meeting.
Before we left, Sofia gave me the results of my latest examination. The baby was developing normally.
I held the ultrasound photograph against my chest.
For the first time in days, I smiled.
Then Luca's phone rang.
It was Marco.
“We found Matteo.”
Luca stopped walking.
“Where?”
“At Northstar's property.”
“Is he alive?”
Marco paused.
“Yes.”
Luca closed his eyes.
May you like
But Marco wasn't finished.
“There's a complication. The boy is sixteen now. And he refuses to see you.”
