Chapter 3 - SHADOWS OF THE PAST
Moving into the Rinaldi estate was a calculated risk, but a necessary one. With my new salary and a luxurious guest suite provided by Victor, my custody case for Lucia shifted overnight. My ex-husband, David, a man whose gambling debts were only matched by his cruelty, was furious. He had thought I was broken. He didn't realize I had just allied myself with the devil.
The boys accepted my presence with a grudging respect. They tested me daily—hiding my shoes, locking me in the pantry, staging elaborate fake brawls—but I never yelled. I bargained. I outsmarted them. Marco realized I couldn't be bullied; Nico realized I couldn't be bought with his stolen stash of candy; Alessandro realized I actually listened to his stories about dinosaurs. And Leo, quiet, traumatized Leo, started holding my hand when we walked through the sprawling gardens.
But the peace was shattered three days before my court date.
I was in the kitchen, helping the boys with their math homework, when the heavy oak front doors slammed open. Victor stormed in, his suit jacket off, his white shirt stained with a horrifying splash of crimson. His jaw was clenched so tight I thought it might shatter.
"Upstairs. Now," Victor barked at the boys.
They scrambled, knowing better than to question that tone. Once they were gone, Victor turned to me, tossing a thick manila folder onto the kitchen island. It slid across the marble and hit my coffee mug.
"Your ex-husband," Victor said, his voice a low, lethal growl. "He owes three hundred thousand dollars to the Moretti family. Our rivals."
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My blood ran cold. "David doesn't have that kind of money."
"No, he doesn't," Victor stepped closer, crowding my space, the scent of expensive cologne and copper filling my senses. "Which is why he offered them something else as collateral. He offered them a way inside my house. He offered them you, Serena. And by extension, my sons."
