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My father looked at Nicholas. “This is all your doing. It’s not enough that you took my only daughter, but now you’ve got to turn her against me as well.”
Nicholas said nothing as he presented more evidence - phone records, intercepted messages, and eyewitness accounts - his facade began to crack. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the mask slipping as desperation crept into his gaze.
“Enough!” Giovanni bellowed, slamming his fist down on the desk. “These are lies, all of it! Fabrications meant to turn you against me!”
I stared into his eyes, searching for any shred of sincerity or remorse. But all I saw was fear, and the dawning realization that his empire was crumbling around him.
“Tell us the truth, Father,” I insisted, my voice unwavering. “Did you kill our mother?”
As the weight of the evidence pressed down upon him, I watched as my father’s defenses crumbled. The mighty Giovanni Ricci, once an untouchable figure of power and control, now sat before me as a broken man, exposed and vulnerable.
David couldn’t contain himself any longer. His anger boiled over, his voice thundering through the room as he demanded answers. “Tell us, Father! Did you kill our mother? Did you betray your own family?”
Giovanni clenched his jaw, refusing to meet our eyes. “I did not kill Estelle,” he repeated stubbornly, but his words were hollow and unconvincing.
“Enough of this charade,” Nicholas said, his tone cold and unforgiving. He pulled out a final piece of evidence - a grainy photograph that made my blood run cold. It showed Giovanni walking away from our mother’s lifeless body, her broken form sprawled on the ground behind him.
“Explain this, then,” Nicholas said, tossing the photo onto the desk in front of Giovanni.
My father’s face paled as he stared at the damning image. I could see the defeat in his eyes, the realization that he could no longer deny his involvement in our mother’s death.
“Estelle... she was becoming a liability,” Giovanni whispered, his voice barely audible. “She threatened everything I had built, everything I had worked for. I had no choice.”
“Choice?” David spat, his face contorted with rage. “You chose to murder the woman who gave birth to us, who loved you despite your many faults!”
I felt bile rise in my throat, my heart pounding wildly in my chest. This man, my father, had destroyed our family, snuffing out the light that was our mother. And for what? Power? Control? The same things he had always sought, even at the expense of those he claimed to love.
I could barely breathe, my vision blurring as the room spun around me. Nicholas noticed my distress and moved to my side, his strong arms holding me steady.
“Take it easy, Liliana,” he said, and I clung to him as if he were my lifeline in this storm of emotions.
David lunged toward Giovanni, but Paulie was quick to restrain him, holding him back from exacting his vengeance on our father.
“Let go of me!” David roared, struggling against Paulie’s iron grip. “He deserves to die for what he did!”
“Please, David,” I implored, trying to find my voice amid the turmoil in my soul.
Giovanni looked up at us, his eyes filled with a strange mixture of guilt and defiance. “I’m sorry Estelle had to die,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “But she would not stop meddling in my business, trying to make deals with other families behind my back. If she had just left things alone, none of this would have happened.”
I stared at him, unable to comprehend how he could justify taking our mother’s life so callously. His words only fueled the fire burning within me, stoking the flames of my anger and grief.
“Your vanity destroyed our family,” I said, my hands trembling at my sides. “A real man would see it was a benefit to have a wife who worked with you, but not you. You chose your ego over our mother’s life. How can you live with yourself?”
“Enough, Liliana,” Nicholas said, his voice firm yet gentle. He knew I was on the verge of breaking, and the stress might not be good for the baby.
I took a deep breath, attempting to compose myself. I felt a cold rage settle over me, icy and immovable. “Nicholas,” I said, my words measured and deliberate, “you promised me retribution for my mother’s death.”
“Of course,” Nicholas replied, his piercing blue eyes locked onto mine. “Justice will be served, Liliana. But not today. We must determine the appropriate punishment for Giovanni first.”
“I agree.” I nodded, relieved that justice would eventually be meted out.
“Until then,” Nicholas continued, turning his attention to my father, “Giovanni Ricci, you are under house arrest.”
“House arrest?” Giovanni scoffed, his eyes narrowing with contempt. “You have no authority over me, Romano.”
“Ah, but I do,” Nicholas countered smoothly, his voice tinged with menace. “You swore loyalty to the Romano family when I married Liliana. Your allegiance is to our family, and your actions have consequences.”
“Fine,” Giovanni spat, his expression darkening. “But don’t expect me to make this easy for any of you.”
