Chapter 5 - DANTE WAS NO LONGER MY SISTER'S HUSBAND
The divorce was final eight months earlier.
Private.
Sealed.
No public announcement.
Why?
Because Salvatore still had allies who believed the marriage controlled Bellori voting rights.
The illusion bought time.
Then Salvatore died six months ago.
Heart attack.
Actually natural, according to records.
After that, secrecy no longer mattered.
So why hadn't Dante come for me?
His answer hurt.
“Because I had no right.”
I stared.
“You had no right to tell me the truth?”
“I had no right to appear in your life after three years and demand anything because I finally solved problems I should have solved before marrying Victoria.”
That was annoyingly mature.
Still insufficient.
“You could have written.”
“Yes.”
“Called?”
“Yes.”
“Sent Victoria?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
His eyes moved toward Leo’s photograph on my phone.
“Because if you had built a life without me, I thought contacting you would be selfish.”
I laughed.
“You always decide for me.”
He went still.
There it was.
The central flaw.
Protect by choosing.
Love by controlling distance.
Sacrifice by refusing explanation.
“I was wrong.”
“Yes.”
Then Victoria said something I did not expect.
“He wasn’t the only one.”
I looked at her.
“I let you believe I stole him.”
My chest tightened.
“You stood at the altar.”
“Yes.”
“You smiled.”
“I had to.”
“No. You chose to.”
Victoria started crying.
“Yes.”
Finally.
She admitted part of her had liked being the daughter who solved the family crisis.
The responsible sister.
The chosen bride.
Even if the marriage was contractual, she enjoyed the status.
“I told myself I was saving you.”
She wiped her face.
“But sometimes I also liked that everyone looked at me instead of you.”
That honesty hurt more than excuses.
I respected it.
Did not forgive it yet.
Then the storage files exposed another twist.
Marcus Carter had discovered Leo’s existence eighteen months ago.
He had not moved against us.
Why?
Someone paid him not to.
Monthly transfers.
Two million total.
From:
Moretti Foundation.
Dante went pale.
“I didn’t authorize that.”
Victoria didn’t either.
Then who?
The foundation treasurer.
Gianna Moretti.
Dante’s aunt.
Salvatore’s widow.
She had been paying Marcus to stay away from me and Leo.
Protection?
Blackmail?
Dante called her.
She answered calmly.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the boy is the only person left who can destroy the Bellori settlement.”
I looked at Victoria.
“What Bellori settlement?”
Gianna laughed softly.
“You still think this was about protecting Elena?”
Then:
“Ask Victoria what she received for marrying you.”
The line went dead.
My sister went white.
I stared.
“What did you receive?”
May you like
Victoria whispered:
“Forty million dollars.”
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