Chapter 2 - The Wife He Underestimated
By dawn, Sophia was in a private medical recovery suite outside the city. The quadruplets occupied a supervised nursery one corridor away, where Dr. Ortiz's team monitored their breathing, feeding, and temperature. Sophia had needed another examination and fluids before anyone would let her leave the bed.
Emma sat beside her with a laptop open. "The babies are stable. You need sleep."
"Tell me what the lawyer found."
Emma hesitated. "Sophia—"
"Please."
A silver-haired woman entered carrying a leather briefcase. Her name was Rebecca Shaw, an estate attorney who had represented Dante's late grandfather. She placed a certified document on the bedside table.
"The Moretti Family Stewardship Trust," Rebecca said. "Created twenty-seven years ago. Its purpose was to protect the family's lawful companies from whoever controlled its criminal operations."
Sophia stared at the pages. "What does that have to do with me?"
"Your marriage was never just a marriage to Dante. Your grandmother, Elena Romano, helped establish this trust. The first parent to give birth to four living descendants in the senior Moretti line becomes a temporary family trustee until the children reach adulthood, subject to court oversight and fiduciary obligations."
"That sounds absurd."
"It is unusual," Rebecca admitted. "And it doesn't give you custody automatically. It gives you a role in governing certain assets. Those are separate legal questions."
Sophia thought of the check on her hospital bed. "Dante knew?"
"I don't believe so. But someone did."
Rebecca slid a photograph across the blanket. It showed Vittorio Moretti standing beside Isabella Russo outside a law office three months earlier.
"They tried to amend the trust," Rebecca said. "Your grandfather-in-law's safeguards stopped them."
Sophia's mouth went dry. "So Isabella wasn't just having an affair with my husband."
"No. She was working with his uncle."
Across Chicago, Dante stormed into Vittorio's office. "Why wasn't I told?"
Vittorio looked perfectly calm. "Because your grandfather was sentimental about the Romanos. He thought marrying Sophia would make you respectable."
"She was my wife, not a transaction."
"You treated her like one."
Dante recoiled as if struck. He remembered Sophia holding his hand at his father's memorial, bringing soup to his office when he worked too late, quietly replacing the torn photograph of his mother. He had interpreted her kindness as dependence. The memory now made him sick.
"Where is she?"
"You should worry about the company."
"I asked where my children are."
Vittorio's eyes hardened. "They belong with us."
Dante heard the distinction. Not with their father. With us.
His phone buzzed. A message from Sophia appeared: THE BABIES ARE SAFE WITH MEDICAL STAFF. DO NOT SEND ARMED MEN. ANY CONTACT GOES THROUGH MY ATTORNEY.
He typed three replies and deleted them all. Finally he wrote: ARE YOU OKAY?
No answer came.
At the recovery suite, Sophia read the message and turned the phone facedown. For three years she had wanted Dante to ask that question. Now that he finally had, she could not bear to answer.
Then Emma's laptop chimed. Someone had accessed Sophia's prenatal medical records using credentials issued to Isabella Russo.
May you like
Sophia sat upright despite the pain. "Why would she need my records?"
Rebecca studied the access log. "Because she was looking for something before the babies were born."
