Chapter 3 - The Sanctuary of the Garden
Back at the Moretti estate in the rolling hills outside Milan, the early morning mist still clung to the manicured boxwood hedges of the private courtyard.
Livia sat on a wrought-iron bench beneath a blossoming wisteria arbor, her small legs swinging back and forth. Her dark hair, once long and flowing, was now cut into a sharp, uneven bob that brushed just below her ears. Rosalie sat beside her, carefully applying a soothing lavender balm to the child's scalp where the clippers had scraped too close to the skin.
"Does it still sting, angel?" Rosalie asked gently.
Livia shook her head, clutching her stuffed rabbit tightly to her chest. "A little bit. But Daddy said nobody will ever hurt me again."
"Your daddy is a man of his word," a familiar voice said from the gravel pathway.
Livia’s face lit up. "Daddy!"
She scrambled off the bench and launched herself into Alessandro’s arms as he knelt down to catch her. He lifted her effortlessly, burying his face in her neck and breathing in the scent of baby shampoo and morning dew.
"Are you hungry, princess?" Alessandro asked, adjusting her collar. "Elena made those lemon pastries you like."
"Can we eat them in the library?" Livia asked hopefully. "With all the big picture books?"
"We can eat them wherever you want," Alessandro smiled, a rare, genuine expression that softened the hard lines of his face. He looked up at Rosalie, signaling her to walk with them. "Rosalie, I need a word about the security arrangements for the estate. Effective immediately, the perimeter is locked down. No uninvited guests. No exceptions."
"Mr. Thorne tried calling the main gate three times within the last hour," Rosalie reported as they strolled down the stone path toward the main house. "Security blocked his number. But Bianca... she apparently checked into the Grand Hotel in the city center and has been calling the household staff's private lines."
Alessandro’s jaw tightened. "Block all staff extensions. If she calls the landline, record it and send it to our legal team as evidence for a restraining order."
They entered the grand library, where sunlight poured through towering stained-glass windows, illuminating rows of leather-bound classics and mahogany tables. Elena, the elderly housekeeper who had raised Alessandro after his own parents passed away, was already waiting with a silver tray laden with pastries and fresh cocoa.
"Eat up, little bird," Elena scolded affectionately, handing Livia a warm pastry. "You're too thin. Too much running around with these high-society ghosts."
As Livia happily dug into her breakfast, Alessandro walked over to the tall windows, staring out toward the iron gates that marked the boundary of his estate. He knew Bianca and her father wouldn't take this defeat lying down. The Thornes were cornered animals, and cornered animals had a habit of doing unpredictable, dangerous things.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. It wasn't an incoming call; it was an encrypted alert from his private cyber-intelligence unit.
Alessandro pulled out the device, scanning the brief text message:
Thorne shipping just liquidated three major container vessels in Hamburg below market value. Capital flight detected. They are restructuring offshore.
May you like
Alessandro stared at the screen, a cold realization settling over him. They weren't just fighting for the wedding anymore. They were liquidating assets to prepare for a scorched-earth legal war.
And Alessandro Moretti was more than ready to burn them to the ground.
