Chapter 3

Alessia POV:

The hours after were a surreal limbo. I had the signed papers, but the true escape was just beginning.

Back in the penthouse, the silence was deafening. An email notification glowed on my phone. From Gabriel. The subject line: ETH Zurich - Conservation Lab.

My fingers trembled as I opened it. A one-year visiting fellowship at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology's prestigious art conservation laboratory. An invitation from my old mentor, Mother Seraphina, formerly of the Vatican Archives. It offered a new identity, a secure studio, academic sanctuary. A lifeline. The decision was required by day's end.

There was no decision to make. I typed my acceptance before fear could take root.

Packing was a surgical exercise. I took only what felt authentically mine: worn jeans, soft sweaters, my research notebooks. I bypassed the cavernous walk-in closet, a museum of couture costumes for a role I'd resigned from. I packed my professional toolkit: microscope, surgical scalpels, solvents, gold leaf for gilding.

As I folded the last sweater, a wave of exhaustion so profound it stole my breath hit me. I sat heavily on the bed. Then came the nausea, sharp and sudden. I rushed to the bathroom, gripping the cold marble vanity.

My mind raced, connecting dots I'd ignored. The fatigue. The nausea. The metallic taste.

I counted the weeks. My blood turned to ice.

No.

A memory surfaced, brutal and clear. Six weeks ago. After a tense family dinner. He'd come to my room smelling of whiskey and a stranger's perfume. It was rough, detached, an act of possession over in minutes. But as he'd fallen asleep, his hand had drifted, settling heavily on my abdomen for a few seconds before he rolled away. I'd thought it an accident.

Now, the gesture felt like a premonition.

I ran to the all-night pharmacy, paid in cash with shaking hands. Back in the sterile bathroom, I took the test.

The two minutes stretched into an eternity of dread.

Two pink lines. Stark. Undeniable.

Pregnant.

The test clattered to the tile. My knees gave way, and I slid down the wall. A child. Conceived in cold possession, now growing inside me as I planned my flight.

The plan to be free, to be just Alessia, evaporated. This was no longer about saving myself.

It was about saving my child from becoming his heir, his legacy, another asset in his gilded world. The fear became a roaring certainty.

I had to disappear completely.

My first call was to Matteo. "Don't file the papers yet. Hold them. I need more time."

"Alessia, what's happening?"

"Just trust me."

My next call was to Mother Seraphina. "Mother," I said, my voice breaking. "I need help. I'm pregnant."

Her response was immediate, calm, and firm. "Come to me, child. The mountains will keep you safe."

I packed my small suitcase with new purpose. Inside, beside my tools, went the signed divorce papers and the positive pregnancy test. My declaration of independence and my reason for war.

The last item I packed was an ancient leather restoration kit that belonged to my mother. Inside, tucked under a worn cloth, was a yellowed note in her handwriting:

We restore because we believe some things are worth a second chance.

-But first, we must have the courage to admit they are broken.