Chapter 39: Tangled lies _unfinished truths
Bianca sat on the velvet couch in her study table, her hands trembling in deliberate perfection.
Her eyes were glistening not from genuine tears, but from the precise touch of manipulation she had mastered.
Luca stood by the large oak desk, flipping through some documents, his mind miles away, but Bianca’s voice reeled him back in.
"Luca..." she started, her voice fragile, almost breaking. "let answer your question.. Seraphina called.
She’s demanding the papers to the family company... and other properties too. She said she needed her share."
Luca’s eyes narrowed slightly, his hands pausing mid-motion. "Her share?" he repeated slowly, as if tasting the words.
Bianca nodded quickly, lowering her lashes like a perfect actress caught in a tragic scene. "She threatened my life... and my baby’s life." She paused to let the weight of her words hang in the air, then reached for her eyes, pretending to dab away tears. "I’m so scared, Luca... I don’t even know why she hates me this much....
."
She rose, crossing the space between them, and without invitation, rested her head against his chest.
His scent—dark, warm, and distinctly masculine wrapped around her, but his body remained stiff.
Still, Luca lifted his hand and patted her back twice, mechanically, as though offering comfort out of obligation, not desire.
"Seraphina will do nothing..." he said after a beat, his voice low and unreadable.
Bianca’s lips curled slightly where he couldn’t see. The first step of her plan had worked and now it was only a matter of time before Luca’s doubt festered into something permanent.
****
Far from the Morano estate, Alessia’s cab pulled into the familiar driveway of her parents’ home.
The moment she stepped out, Daisy was already there, leaning casually against the porch railing.
Alessia had called her on the way, her voice steady despite the whirlwind inside her.
Daisy had dropped everything and driven over immediately.
The two women met halfway, and Daisy pulled her into a tight hug. "I hate Bianca," Daisy said without hesitation, her voice filled with disappointments. "And I hate what she’s done to you." she added.
Alessia smiled faintly, though her eyes betrayed the ache she carried.
Together, they grabbed her luggage from the cab and went inside, the scent of her childhood home wrapping around her like a fragile shield.
As they climbed the staircase toward the guest room, Daisy kept talking.
"Don’t pity me, Daisy," Alessia said, her tone was very calm. "I’ll be over Luca."
"I know you will," Daisy replied, glancing at her.
"But it hurts, Alessia. He’s someone you’ve loved more than anyone outside your family. I can imagine the pain you’re going through."
Alessia’s chest tightened, but she refused to linger in that ache. "How’s your new boyfriend?" she asked abruptly, changing the subject.
Daisy smirked. "I’m not really dating him."
Alessia raised a brow. "Then why?"
"Because I needed to use him for my own selfish purpose," Daisy confessed, her tone light but edged with mischief.
"I have been getting information from him... and feeding it to my sister from another mother." She winked.
Alessia laughed despite herself, shaking her head. "You’re impossible."
"I know." Daisy grinned, and for a moment, the tension between them eased.
Soon it was nightfall, as Daisy has returned back to her apartment.
The kind that made the silence feel alive.
Daisy had returned to her apartment hours ago, leaving Alessia alone in the cold stillness of her room.
She lay curled on her bed, the dim moonlight casting pale streaks across the floor, making the shadows seem sharper... lonelier.
Her phone buzzed suddenly, the sharp sound slicing through the quiet.
The name flashing on the screen made her chest tighten.
It was seraphina....
Her fingers trembled as she answered, her voice low, wary.
"Enjoy the peace while you can," Seraphina’s voice purred, venomous sweetness. "Your husband... he’s not alone tonight. Do you know whose lips he’ll be tasting? Whose skin he’ll explore? Oh, Alessia, you really thought you could keep him?"
Alessia’s throat closed up, her hand gripping the edge of the blanket so hard her knuckles turned white. She said nothing—she couldn’t.
"You should hear her laugh," Seraphina continued, savoring every word like poison on her tongue. "He’s probably kissing her feet right now, touching her the way he used to touch you... maybe even better. Men get tired of the same flavor, darling."
The call ended before Alessia could breathe, leaving only the static echo in her ears.
Her heart thudded painfully, each beat a cruel reminder of the truth she feared. She sank deeper into the mattress, pulling the blanket over her head as if it could block out the image Seraphina’s words had painted.
Luca’s hands... those strong, warm hands that once held her like she was the only thing in his world—now caressing another woman’s skin. His lips, which had once whispered promises into her neck, now murmuring the same lies into someone else’s ear.
Her tears came fast, burning her cheeks, soaking into the pillow. She bit down hard to stop the sobs, but the more she tried, the more they came—ragged, broken sounds that clawed at her chest.
She missed him. Damn, she missed him.
Not just his presence, but the warmth of his touch, the way he used to kiss her forehead when he thought she was asleep, the way his voice could turn her storms into calm.
And yet... all of it felt stolen now.
Her mind tormented her with the picture luca’s mouth against another woman’s skin, his fingers tracing another woman’s spine, his body moving with someone who wasn’t her.
She buried her face into the blanket, her sobs muffled but shaking her entire frame. It wasn’t just jealousy. It was grief—grief for a love that was dying right in front of her eyes while she could do nothing but watch.
The coldness in the room seeped into her bones, and for the first time in years, she felt truly unwanted.
Tonight, she was not Luca’s wife.
She was just a woman... abandoned in the shadows, clutching her blanket like it was the last piece of warmth she would ever know.
****
Across the seas, Jackson and his mother were in the middle of their own mission.
They had drafted their plan out Donato’s vague description of the Morano estate had been their only lead, but they clung to it like a lifeline.
The private jet hummed softly as it cut through the clouds, their conversation quiet but determined.
"Remember," Jackson’s mother said, leaning close, "we act normal when we get there. No rushing, no obvious questions. We can’t afford to alert them."
Jackson nodded.
He had memorized Donato’s words:, Look for the flag with the mark... the same mark behind my ear.
Hours later, Jackson’s sharp eyes caught it.... A crimson flag flapping against the wind, with a black symbol etched into it, the exact shape Donato had once shown him.
"Momm—look," he said urgently, pointing. "That’s it. That’s the mark."
Her heart quickened. "Then that’s our way in.
Tell the pilot to head that direction."
The jet descended smoothly, and soon they were on solid ground.
The estate wasn’t in sight yet. Instead, a small, weathered house stood before them, surrounded by wild grass and a narrow dirt path.
They approached and knocked.
The door creaked open, revealing an elderly woman with sharp, knowing eyes.
"Please," Jackson’s mother began politely, "we’re looking for Luca Morano."
The woman’s lips twitched into a mysterious smile. Without a word, she pointed down the dirt path, murmuring directions in a hushed tone.
They thanked her and set off, the path winding like a secret leading them deeper into unfamiliar territory.
When they finally reached the destination, their steps slowed.
A grand villa loomed ahead, and just as they were about to approach, the front door opened.
Bianca stepped out.
Jackson froze. His mother’s breath caught.....
This wasn’t just any woman.... They knew her.
Not from the news, not from gossip, but from their own past.
A past they thought was actually buried.
Bianca’s eyes locked with theirs, and for a brief second, something unspoken passed between them.
Bianca is jackson’s real mother.....
Bianca’s gaze hardened, her tone dripping with ice.
"You know what?" she said, taking a step closer, her perfume thick in the air. "I don’t need either of you in my life. Not now. Not ever."
Her lips curved into a cold smirk, each word precise and deliberate.
"If you knock on my door again," she added, her voice lowering into a threat, "I’ll have the guards throw you out... and trust me, they won’t be gentle."
She didn’t wait for a response.
The air was already heavy with her arrogance, and the faint click of the door closing behind her felt like the sealing of a coffin.
****
Far away in the shimmering heart of Virenkai City.....
Princess Elowen sat beside a narrow stream. The late afternoon light spilled across the water, making it sparkle like scattered diamonds.
Yet her mind was far from peace.
She missed Donato so dearly...
She missed the way his eyes softened only for her but something unsettled her spirit.
It was Enzo.
Her instincts screamed that something about him was wrong.
His charm was polished, but hollow.
His smile, rehearsed.
A gentle breeze stirred her hair as she let her fingers trace the cool surface of the stream.
The water’s lull was almost enough to quiet her thoughts until the current shifted.
A shadow drifted toward her.
She stilled, watching as it drew closer, the shape becoming clearer with each slow turn of the water.
Her heart began to pound.
When it finally surfaced, her breath caught in her throat.
A pale, lifeless body floated toward her, hair fanned out in the water like a dark halo.
The stream carried it nearer, and then she saw the face.
Her blood turned to ice.
It was Enzo.....