Semua Bab His Mother Died Under His Own Orders: Bab 1 - Bab 10

By evening, I arrived at the lakeside estate Luca had just bought.It was an old Valenti property the family had recently taken back, built right against the water. Two rows of security guards in black stood outside the iron gates, and the family crest at the entrance had been polished until it gleamed.The front lawn was covered with white roses and champagne-colored balloons. A gold floral arch stood at the entrance with the words “Welcome Home, Mother” written across it.Beneath the arch, almost everyone had arrived: Valenti relatives, people from the family office, and several of Luca’s closest men who had followed him for years.Their expressions shifted when I walked in. Some called me Donna, while others only glanced at me before lowering their voices and looking away.I made my way through the crowd and saw a body covered with a white sheet in the corner of the lawn.The moment I saw it, my body went rigid.Vivian stepped forward then, her eyes red and her voice carefully wound

Luca assumed I was refusing to sign, and his expression darkened at once.“Elena, don’t be ungrateful. Your mother has no name, no standing, no place in this world. Vivian is capable and has a future ahead of her. Are you really going to destroy the most trusted person at the Don’s side over a dead woman?”Isabella frowned and spoke in agreement.“Exactly. Your mother was a burden to the Valenti family even when she was alive.”“Vivian removed someone who should never have been inside the estate. She was protecting the family’s rules.”“And instead of showing gratitude, you want to use your title as Donna to turn this into leverage?”I answered calmly.“You’ve misunderstood.”I looked at Luca.“The woman who died was your mother.”“Which means this statement can only be signed by you.”Isabella’s expression changed instantly.“Elena, are you insane?”“This is my mother’s welcome dinner, and you dare say something like that in a Valenti estate?”Luca’s anger finally broke through.“I ha

My mother’s words silenced the entire estate.Vivian was the first to lose color.“What nonsense are you talking about?”“How could you possibly be Elena’s mother?”My mother looked completely confused.“Why wouldn’t I be Elena’s mother?”“Elena knows my joints hurt every winter, so she took me to Switzerland to rest. After she answered a call this afternoon, she rushed to book flights back to New York. I thought something serious had happened.”“Then I saw Luca’s post and realized tonight was an important day for Mrs. Valenti, so I booked the first flight I could.”She looked at Vivian, even more puzzled now.“Luca knows me. Mrs. Valenti knows me too.”“So why would you think I’m not Elena’s mother?”My mother had spent most of her life in a small town in Maine. Over the years, aside from my wedding to Luca, she rarely came to New York. Even when she brought Luca homemade food, she always left the same day without staying for dinner.Very few people in the Valenti family actually knew

As I looked at the fury on Luca’s face, I suddenly thought of the years when we were still in college.Back then, he had not yet entered the core of the Valenti family. He was not the Don who could decide another person’s fate with a single sentence.He was only an heir kept at the edge of the family, someone not yet trusted with real business.Mrs. Valenti managed the family’s legitimate operations alone and kept both him and Isabella away from the internal power struggles for as long as she could.In those years, Luca almost seemed ordinary.I still remember him standing in front of me in a faded shirt, holding the files I had organized for him, his voice lowered carefully.“Elena, I can’t keep using your connections.”At the time, “connections” did not mean money.It meant access, influence, and the relationships I helped open for him when the Valenti name alone was not enough to gain trust.I pushed the list back into his hands.“What belongs to me belongs to you.”“If you don’t ta

My words froze Vivian instantly.The entire estate fell silent before the crowd erupted in shock.Luca finally exploded.“Elena, have you lost your mind?”“I just told you to behave yourself, and now you’re cursing my mother again?”Isabella glared at me.“You insane woman.”“Today is the day our mother comes home, and you keep saying these disgusting things?”Vivian looked at Luca with wounded eyes.“Mr. Valenti, I know Elena dislikes me.”“But she can’t frame me by cursing Mrs. Valenti in front of everyone.”“Does she hate Mrs. Valenti that much?”The guests completely lost control.“Has she gone insane? How dare she say something like that in front of the Don?”“She’s so jealous she’s forgotten all basic limits.”“This is Mrs. Valenti’s welcome dinner, and she’s publicly saying Mrs. Valenti is dead. She’s obviously trying to curse her.”“A woman like this beside the Don will eventually bring disaster to the Valenti family.”Even my mother gently held my hand, concern filling her eye