Chapter 9 - THE TRUTH ABOUT THE FIRST SON
The police sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder as the authorities finally breached the estate gates.
The mansion was a wreck of shattered glass, blood, and broken marble. But the family was safe.
In the aftermath, the truth unspooled rapidly.
Victoria was arrested and charged with kidnapping, extortion, and attempted murder. The forged will was destroyed, and the original will—which Katie had safely hidden away, burning only a prop in the trash can—was secured by Antonio’s lawyers.
It took three days for the dust to settle.
I was discharged from the panic room, my side heavily bandaged, and moved into the master guest suite upstairs. My mother was given the room next to mine, attended to by the best nurses in the city.
On the fourth morning, Antonio called a family meeting in the restored drawing room.
I sat on the velvet sofa, holding Antonio’s hand.
Eleanor sat in her armchair, her wooden cane resting beside her.
And across from her sat Katie, holding her five-year-old son, Leo.
The atmosphere was tense, heavy with the ghosts of the past few days.
Eleanor was the first to speak.
She leaned forward, her cloudy eyes searching for Katie.
“Katie,” the old woman said softly.
Katie flinched, expecting anger or resentment from the woman whose husband had fathered her.
“Yes, ma'am?” Katie answered nervously.
Eleanor reached out a trembling hand.
“Come here, child.”
Katie hesitated, then slowly stood up and walked over to the matriarch of the Caruso family.
Eleanor took Katie’s hands in hers.
“My husband loved your mother before he was forced to marry me,” Eleanor said, her voice thick with emotion. “When he found out about you, he wanted to bring you home. But he knew Daniel’s father, the Romanos, would use you as leverage to destroy him.”
Katie began to cry quietly.
“Henry stayed away to protect you,” Eleanor wept. “He suffered every day, knowing his daughter was out in the world without him. But he never stopped loving you.”
Eleanor pulled the crying girl into her arms, hugging her tightly.
“You are not a secret anymore, Katie,” Eleanor promised. “You are a Caruso. You are my daughter now. And this little boy is my grandson.”
Katie sobbed, burying her face in the old woman’s shoulder. For the first time in her life, the illegitimate daughter felt entirely, unconditionally loved.
Antonio watched the scene with tears in his eyes, his grip tightening on my hand.
He stood up, walking over to his mother and his new sister, wrapping his massive arms around both of them.
The family was whole. The poison of the past was finally expelled.
Later that evening, after the house had quieted down, Antonio and I walked out onto the stone terrace overlooking the gardens.
The winter air was crisp, but the heat radiating from his body kept me warm.
“You’re quiet tonight,” Antonio noted softly, wrapping his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder.
I leaned back into him, sighing deeply.
“I’m just thinking about tomorrow,” I admitted.
Antonio frowned, turning me around to face him. “What’s tomorrow?”
I looked down at my hands. “I need to pack. My mother is stable enough to travel now. We can go back to our apartment in the city.”
Antonio’s expression darkened instantly.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded, his voice dropping to that dangerous, commanding tone.
“Antonio, the crisis is over,” I explained gently, looking up into his beautiful, intense eyes. “You have your family back. You don't need a maid anymore.”
Antonio stared at me in absolute disbelief.
“Grace,” he whispered, cupping my face in his hands. “Did the bullet hit your head instead of your ribs?”
I couldn't help but let out a small, wet laugh.
“You are not leaving this house,” Antonio declared fiercely. “You are not a maid. You are the woman I love. You are the woman who took a bullet for me.”
“But your world—”
“My world is wherever you are,” he interrupted, kissing me deeply, silencing any further protests.
When he pulled away, he reached into his jacket pocket.
May you like
“I wasn't going to give this to you until Christmas,” Antonio smiled. “But you’re entirely too stubborn to wait.”
He handed me a thick, white envelope.
