He Chose His Bastard Over Our Baby - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

The hideout reeked of desperation - stale cigarettes and bottom-shelf whiskey clinging to the air like Isabella's pathetic existence. Dust particles danced in the dim light as I entered silently, finding her hunched over a table, trembling hands wrapped around a half-empty glass.
She didn't hear me come in.
When she finally looked up, her bloodshot eyes widened in pure terror. "Y-you—"
I didn't let her finish.
CRACK!
My palm connected with her cheek with satisfying force, the slap echoing through the dingy apartment. Her head whipped sideways, and for a heartbeat, she just sat there stunned. Then came that breathless, mocking laugh as she clutched her face. "You've got some nerve showing—"
I fisted her hair, yanking her up until our noses almost touched. "Shut your mouth," I hissed, "before I put a bullet in it."
Her breath caught.
Shoving her back into the chair, I drew my gun in one fluid motion, pressing the cold barrel against her forehead. She froze, eyes darting wildly between the door and window like a trapped animal.
There was no escape.
"Did you really think I wouldn't find out?" I tilted my head, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "That you could send hitmen after me and live to see tomorrow?"
Her lips trembled. "I had no choice! You ruined me, Valeria!"
A icy laugh escaped me. "Oh honey, you haven't seen ruined yet."
The gun dug deeper into her skin as she started shaking. "Please—"
"You hired killers," I cut her off, my voice like frozen steel. "Because you couldn't handle the fallout of your own lies?"
Tears spilled over. "Lorenzo threw me away like trash! I lost everything!"
Leaning in, I let my smirk curl like smoke. "And you think that's suffering?" My lips brushed her ear as I whispered, "You don't know the first thing about real pain."
Then I drove my knee into her gut.
She folded like paper, coughing and gasping. I watched dispassionately as she clutched her stomach, broken sobs filling the room.
"You murdered my daughter," I said softly. "Death would be too kind for you."
Her bloodshot eyes snapped to mine.
Crouching down, I gripped her chin hard enough to bruise. "Count yourself lucky I'm letting you live," I murmured. "This way, you get to suffer properly."
"V-Valeria—"
My smirk returned.
I shoved her backward and before she could recover, delivered another vicious kick to her ribs. Her scream was music to my ears.
"Drop the act," I said, voice like shards of ice. "We both know you were never pregnant."
As she writhed on the floor, I turned and melted into the night.
[Office scene begins]
The nameplate on my door - Victoria Moretti - caught the city lights just right as I sat behind my desk. A perfectly crafted alias, so convincing it had fooled even the man who once held my heart.
Until now.
Lorenzo knew the truth.
I'd ripped off the mask myself, walked away from him without a backward glance. No more playing secretary. No more games.
Or so I'd thought.
When my office doors burst open, I didn't bother asking how he'd found me. Mafia bosses have their ways.
Lorenzo stepped inside like a gathering storm - tie loose, hair disheveled, eyes hollow with something bordering on madness.
I leaned back, crossing my legs. "Must be desperate to barge in here like this, capo."
His jaw flexed. "You left me."
"Sure did," I said lightly.
Then the unthinkable happened.
The great Lorenzo De Luca dropped to his knees.
I froze.
His hands gripped the floor, head bowed, chest heaving. Then his lips pressed against my shoe like some broken supplicant.
I should've felt triumph. Instead - nothing.
"Look at you," I murmured, tilting my head. "The mighty De Luca, brought this low."
His fingers dug into my ankle as he looked up with raw agony. "Come back to me," he begged, voice shattered. "Please."
I reached down, running fingers through his hair, watching his eyes flutter closed at my touch. Then I whispered the words that would break him completely:
"You killed our daughter."
His entire body locked up.
The color drained from his face, pupils dilating with something unhinged. He'd always known - but hearing it from my lips destroyed him.
"Valeria..." His grip turned bruising.
I yanked free and stood. "Get out."
He rose like a man condemned, every movement heavy with the weight of his sins. At the door, he paused.
"You want me to suffer," he rasped. "To burn."
I held his gaze. "With every fiber of my being."
A sharp exhale. Then, quietly: "Then I'll give you war."
My eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to—"
"Darius." The name came out like a death sentence. "He's why you hate me. Why you stay away."
Ice flooded my veins. "Lorenzo, don't you dare—"
His smile held no warmth. "If I can't have you?" He adjusted his cuffs. "Then I'll destroy him."
The door slammed shut behind him, his threat hanging in the air like gun smoke.
Outside, the city burned.