All Chapters of Bride by Debt: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Ella POV“Really?” I asked in a daze.“Yes.” He whispered. “she looks very familiar. Like I have seen her somewhere.”I stared at him.If she was familiar to Aaron that means she must have some connection to my dad. She must be in one of the pictures. Why will a woman close with my dad doing in this house?I stood up abruptly. Aaron stared at me confused as I jogged up the stairs. I shut the door behind me and walked straight to my bed and pulled out the envelope from under my mattress.I flipped through the pictures, studying each picture carefully. Suddenly a sound from outside my window made me flinch. I looked up and moved to the window. Black SUVs lined the compound and few men in black stepped out.Luciano was already positioning himself in front of the woman like a shield. They were speaking but their voices were too distant for me to place words.From where I stood, Luciano’s face was clear enough to read. At first, rage, shock then flat. What was really going on down there.

Ella POV The kids were so thrilled to go to school, Aaron kept grinning, though he occasionally drifted off staring out the window. Lovie kept rambling off about friends she would have, how she would read and write. Luca seemed uninterested, watching a soccer match instead. The car entered a street completely different from the others. It was buzzing with people and music. The noise caught the kids’ attention. The car drove through a tall wrought-iron gate painted matte black. Beyond it stretched a wide campus buzzing with students, teachers, and moving cars. It pulled to a stop. I turned to the kids. “Guys.” I called their attention to me. “Now, that you’re starting school, behave yourselves, okay?” “Yes ma.” Aaron and Lovie answered. “And if a teacher refuses to help, defend yourself but don’t go overboard. If it gets serious, come home and tell me.” “Wait, won’t fighting back cause an issue?” Luca finally spoke up. “So you would just watch them bully your sister?”

Luca POVI watched Miss Ella leave in the car as I turned to Aaron, stretching my arms. “Where is your phone?”He handed me his phone.I turned to Miss May. “My dad said we should give you our phones.”She collected them with a slight blush. “That is very thoughtful of your father.”I furrowed my brow.“Ma, can we go?”“Do you know your classrooms?” she asked without looking at us, instead focusing on our phone details.“Yes, we do.” Just staring at her made me uncomfortable. Aaron turned away with an unreadable expression, and Lovie held onto me.“You can go,” she replied with a straight face. Why was she pretending before?We turned into the corridor that led to Lovie’s class. I wanted to make sure she was settled before I went to mine.I turned to Lovie. She beamed with excitement, but Aaron still had that unreadable expression. On our way back to our class, I will ask him.We got to Lovie’s class. “Don’t forget what Dad and Miss Ella said, okay?”“Okay, Luca. Bye-bye,” she answere

Richard POV The air in the room grew thick and suffocating. I knew this question was going to put him on edge, but this was reality. Everything would come to light one day. For a moment, raw panic broke across Luciano’s face. He turned pale, looking like a man who had just seen a ghost. His eyes dilated, but the vulnerability was instantly swallowed by pure rage. “Can we not talk about this now?” he muttered, rubbing his temples. A muscle ticked violently in his jaw as he fought to hold onto his remaining composure. “Luciano, you can’t keep running from conversations like this,” I countered gently. “You’re still going to have to face it later.” He stood up abruptly and pointed to the door. “Leave,” he snapped, his voice dropping to a dangerous tone. “Calm down, Luciano.” I reached out to touch his shoulder, but he violently shoved my hand aside. “Get out,” he snarled, gripping the edge of the desk so tightly his knuckles turned bloodless white. “Luciano, I only asked

Alexander POVThe line went dead. I lifted the phone from my ear and stared at it for a moment longer. He hung up on me. A sudden wave of raw fury brewed in my chest. I don’t care about the phone cutting but who gave him the right to rip my son away from me? Does he think my campaign and past debts make me an easy target?“…inform you that your children will be bearing the Salvatore name from now on.” His arrogant voice replayed in my head.Aaron was an Adelaide biologically and legally. He is my flesh and blood. Luciano has no right to erase my name from my son’s records. Just because of the wealth his father stole from the masses. Is he trying to ruin me by dragging my past in the mud just because I am about to win a position?I slammed my hand against the desk. I cursed under my breath. If he thinks that he can scare me off with lawsuits and media scandals, he is so wrong.I headed towards the exit of the company. “Angelus.”“Sir.”“Go prepare the car. Let’s get to the Salvatore’s