My billionaire ex-husband divorced me because he convinced himself I was the reason we couldn’t have children.

The Moretti estate in Lake Forest was an imposing fortress of limestone and iron gates, a physical manifestation of old money and untouchable power. For thirty years, Victoria Moretti had ruled it with an iron fist, curating every detail of her family’s legacy.

Tonight, the grand chandelier in the foyer cast long, sharp shadows across the marble floor as the massive front doors banged open.

Victoria sat in the drawing-room, sipping Earl Grey from porcelain china, her silver hair styled into a flawless chignon. Sitting across from her was Evelyn, whose eyes were red-rimmed and fierce.

"I am telling you, Victoria, he lost his mind!" Evelyn spat, pacing across the Persian rug. "He left me in the restaurant! He was kneeling in front of that woman like she was a saint! And those children—"

"Calm yourself, Evelyn," Victoria said smoothly, setting her cup down with a delicate clink. "Nia is a relic of the past. A desperate woman trying to claw her way back into a world she never belonged to. Luca is a businessman. He will realize his mistake by morning."

"He won't," a voice thundered from the threshold.

Victoria turned, her expression unbothered, until she saw her son.

Luca walked into the drawing room, but he looked like a man who had marched through hell. His tie was loosened, his hair disheveled, and his eyes held a terrifying, dead emptiness that Victoria had never seen before. Behind him stood two men in sharp black suits—his chief legal counsel, Arthur Vance (no relation to the corrupt doctor), and his head of private security.

"Luca, darling," Victoria said, rising gracefully. "Evelyn told me about the scene at Aurelia. It is unfortunate that girl chose to resurface with... whatever illegitimate scheme she has concocted, but—"

"Dr. Harrison Vance was arrested twenty minutes ago at O'Hare Airport," Luca interrupted, his voice eerily flat. "He was trying to board a flight to Zurich."

Victoria’s posture stiffened slightly, though her face remained an unreadable mask. "I have no interest in the whereabouts of our former family physician."

"He talked, Mother," Luca said, stepping closer until he was inches from her. "He gave up the encrypted emails. He gave up the wire transfer routing numbers. He gave up the phone recordings where you explicitly instructed him to fabricate Nia’s medical files to show irreversible infertility."

Evelyn gasped, stepping back, her eyes darting between Victoria and Luca. "What?"

Victoria didn't flinch. She slowly folded her hands over her waist, her chin lifting with supreme arrogance. "I did what had to be done for this family, Luca. She was a nobody. A schoolteacher’s daughter with no lineage, no status, and no place in the Moretti legacy. You were infatuated, blinded by a youthful mistake. She was dragging you down."

"She was my wife!" Luca screamed, the rage finally shattering his composure. The sound reverberated off the high ceilings, shaking the crystal drops on the wall sconces. "She was carrying my children! She was carrying twins when I walked out that door!"

Victoria’s eyes widened, a rare crack appearing in her impenetrable armor. "What did you say?"

"Twins," Luca whispered, his voice trembling with a terrifying blend of grief and fury. "A boy and a girl. They are six years old. They have my eyes, Mother. They have the Moretti blood you care so much about. And for six years, they grew up in a two-bedroom apartment without a father because you bribed a doctor to murder my marriage!"

"Luca... twins?" Victoria reached out a hand, a sudden desperation flickering in her gaze. "An heir? Two heirs? Where are they? Bring them here immediately! They belong in this house, they—"

"Do not speak their names!" Luca snapped, stepping back as if her touch was infectious. "You will never see them. You will never hold them. You do not exist to them."

"Luca, be reasonable!" Victoria took a step forward, her composure breaking into frantic authority. "I am your mother! Everything I did, I did to protect the family empire! You were wasting years on a woman who—"

"As of eight o'clock this evening," Luca said, looking down at his legal counsel, "you have been removed from the board of directors of Moretti Enterprises. Your access to all family trusts, corporate assets, and properties has been frozen under suspicion of corporate fraud and criminal conspiracy."

Victoria’s face drained of all color. "You can't do this to me. I made you!"

"Security will escort you off this property within the hour," Luca said coldly, turning his back on her. "If you set foot near Nia or my children, I will personally hand the state prosecutor the evidence that will put you in a federal prison for the rest of your life."