Chapter 2

Alessia POV:

The portfolio in my hands held the weight of my rebellion, disguised as mundane paperwork. The divorce decree was seamlessly embedded within a thirty-page "International Loan and Insurance Agreement for the 16th-Century Bellini Altarpiece." The font, the margins, the legalese-all perfect. Only a restorer with my eye for detail and access to genuine contracts could have forged it.

The lobby of Conti Tower hummed with subdued fear and efficiency. "Mrs. Conti," the receptionist murmured, her eyes flickering with practiced deference and soft pity.

"I know he's in a meeting," I said, my voice even. "This will only take a moment."

The private elevator ascended in silent, swift judgment. Sofia, Enzo's executive assistant for decades, greeted me outside his office with a tight, sad smile. "He's with Ms. Valenti," she whispered. "Finalizing the coastal logistics."

Her words confirmed everything. Chiara wasn't a dalliance; she was his partner in every way that mattered.

I heard it before I saw it. Laughter. Enzo's laughter-a deep, unguarded sound I hadn't heard directed at me in years. It echoed from behind the imposing oak doors, a casual, happy sound that felt like a shard of glass in my chest.

I didn't knock.

I pushed the door open.

The office smelled of cigar smoke and aged whiskey. Chiara Valenti stood over a large maritime map spread across Enzo's desk, her tailored suit sharp, her finger tracing a route. "The Valenti ports here provide the perfect cover," she was saying.

Enzo stood behind her, leaning over her shoulder, his hand resting casually on the back of her chair. They were a portrait of aligned power.

The laughter died on his lips when he saw me. His eyes, a cold, analytical gray, hardened. Annoyance flickered across his face. Not guilt. Never guilt.

"Alessia. I'm busy."

"I can see that," I said, my voice a cool, level plane.

Chiara straightened, a small, knowing smile playing on her lips. "Don't be harsh, Lorenzo. Your wife just had her triumph. I'm sure she's just tying up loose ends." Her words were sweet venom, a reminder that while I dealt with the past, she was here shaping the future.

"I just need a signature," I said, walking to his desk and ignoring her completely. I placed the portfolio down, opening it to the marked signature page of the loan agreement. The divorce decree was the next page.

His eyes narrowed. A flicker of suspicion. For a heart-stopping moment, I thought he'd see through it. Lorenzo Conti didn't build an empire on carelessness.

"The Metropolitan's insurers are inflexible," I said, the lie tasting like ash. "The primary asset holder must sign off before the altarpiece can be crated for New York. It's clause 7.2."

I met his gaze, channeling all the pain from the night before into a single point of cold, unreadable calm.

He held my stare, searching for a crack.

"Lorenzo, we need to call the port authority before close of business," Chiara cut in, her voice an impatient blade. She had inadvertently saved me, reminding him of what was truly important.

He grunted, attention shifting. I was a nuisance.

"Just give it here," he said, snatching a pen from his desk-the sleek fountain pen I'd given him last birthday, Fidelis engraved along the barrel.

He didn't read the header. His eyes scanned for the signature line, as they always did for anything related to my "hobby." His signature was a sharp, angry scrawl of black ink.

He signed the first page. Then, without a glance, he flipped to the next page-the page-and signed again on the line I had marked with a small, precise 'X'.

I slid the papers back into the portfolio before he could blink.

"Thank you," I said, the words formal and hollow.

I turned to leave. At the door, I glanced back. Chiara was smiling, smug, triumphant. She thought she had won.

She had no idea I had just checkmated the king, and she was welcome to his hollow castle.

In the elevator, I finally breathed. I opened the portfolio and stared at his signature on the bottom of the divorce decree.

He had just signed away four years.

He had signed away his wife.

And he had no idea.