Chapter 4 - My Ex-Husband Tried to Take My Daughter From Me—Until Victor Exposed the Secret Daniel Had Been Hiding for YearsDaniel arrived at the mansion at nine the next morning.
Uninvited.
Angry.
Confident.
And dressed in the expensive gray suit he always wore when he wanted to make himself look respectable.
Victor met him at the entrance.
I stood upstairs with Lucia.
I could see them through the glass.
Daniel pointed toward the house.
“I want my daughter.”
Victor said something.
Daniel laughed.
Then he tried to walk inside.
Two guards stopped him.
I came downstairs.
“Daniel.”
He looked at me.
“Serena.”
Lucia ran toward me.
“Daddy!”
Daniel's expression softened.
“Come here, sweetheart.”
She hesitated.
Then grabbed my hand tighter.
Something flashed in his eyes.
Anger.
He smiled quickly.
“I'm not here to fight.”
I looked at him.
“Then why are you here?”
“To talk.”
Victor stood behind me.
Daniel looked at him.
“So you're Victor Rinaldi.”
Victor said nothing.
Daniel smiled.
“I've heard a lot about you.”
“You should leave.”
Daniel laughed.
“You can't keep my daughter from me.”
Victor's voice remained calm.
“She isn't staying with you.”
Daniel looked at me.
“You've already replaced me with a criminal?”
My blood boiled.
“Don't.”
“What?”
“You don't get to talk about him like that.”
Daniel's smile disappeared.
“You barely know the man.”
“I know enough.”
Daniel looked at Lucia.
“You've poisoned her against me.”
I stepped forward.
“You did that yourself.”
He lowered his voice.
“You're making a mistake.”
Victor moved between us.
“Leave.”
Daniel's eyes met his.
“This isn't over.”
Victor smiled.
“No.”
“It isn't.”
Daniel turned.
Then he stopped.
“One more thing.”
He looked at me.
“Ask your new employer why he knows so much about your daughter.”
I froze.
“What?”
Daniel smiled.
“You don't know, do you?”
Victor's expression hardened.
“Get out.”
Daniel left.
I turned to Victor.
“What was he talking about?”
“I'll explain.”
“When?”
“Now.”
He led me to his office.
Closed the door.
Then placed a file on the desk.
My file.
I opened it.
Everything was there.
My divorce.
My finances.
Lucia's medical records.
My daughter's birth.
But one page made my heart stop.
A photograph of Lucia as a baby.
Taken in the hospital.
Victor looked at me.
“I didn't take that.”
“Then who did?”
“Daniel.”
I stared.
“Why?”
He slid another document toward me.
A financial transfer.
Daniel had received money from an offshore account.
The account was connected to a man named Marco Santori.
I recognized the name.
A businessman from the news.
Victor nodded.
“One of my enemies.”
“What does he want?”
“Access.”
“To what?”
He looked at me.
“To my family.”
I swallowed.
“And Daniel?”
“A useful middleman.”
My hands trembled.
“How long?”
“Three years.”
I looked at him.
“My divorce was three years ago.”
“Yes.”
“So this started before I met you.”
“Yes.”
“And my daughter?”
“Daniel was gathering information.”
I felt sick.
All those times he had demanded her schedule.
Her pediatrician.
Her school.
Her routines.
I had believed he was controlling.
He had been collecting information.
I whispered,
“He was planning something.”
“Yes.”
The room became silent.
“What?”
Victor stared at me.
“We don't know yet.”
“Then find out.”
“We will.”
I stood.
“What if the court believes him?”
Victor looked at me.
“I can hire the best attorneys.”
“I don't want to win because you're powerful.”
“Then win because you're right.”
The words surprised me.
That was the moment I realized Victor understood me.
He knew I didn't want charity.
I wanted my life back.
That afternoon, the boys found me crying in the library.
Marco frowned.
“Why are you sad?”
“I'm okay.”
Matteo looked at me.
“You're lying.”
I laughed through tears.
“Maybe.”
Lucia climbed onto my lap.
“Mommy doesn't like lawyers.”
I smiled.
“Mommy doesn't like your daddy.”
Everyone laughed except Matteo.
He asked,
“Are you scared?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
Marco sat beside me.
“I don't get scared.”
“You do.”
“No.”
“You cried when the dog chased you.”
“That dog was huge.”
“It was a beagle.”
Marco looked offended.
“You don't understand beagles.”
I laughed.
The boys surrounded me.
For the first time in years, I didn't feel alone.
Then Victor entered.
He stopped when he saw us.
Marco looked up.
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“Can Serena stay forever?”
The room became silent.
Victor looked at me.
I held my breath.
Then he said,
“I don't know.”
Marco frowned.
“Why?”
Victor looked at me.
“That's up to her.”
Something in my chest moved.
He wasn't ordering me.
He was asking.
That night, the boys convinced me to read them a bedtime story.
Victor stood outside their room.
I finished the story.
Marco was asleep.
Nico was pretending.
Alessandro was snoring.
Matteo was awake.
He looked at Victor.
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Are you going to marry Serena?”
I nearly dropped the book.
Victor went still.
“No.”
Matteo frowned.
“Why?”
Victor looked at me.
“Because she would have to agree.”
Matteo looked at me.
“Would you?”
I laughed awkwardly.
“Go to sleep.”
“That's not an answer.”
“Exactly.”
Victor smiled.
Then he walked away.
I watched him go.
And realized something dangerous.
I was beginning to care about him.
Not because he was powerful.
Not because he could save me.
Because when he looked at his sons, the hard man disappeared.
And the father remained.
The next morning, the custody hearing became public.
A local news article appeared online.
MAFIA HEIR'S NANNY FACES CUSTODY BATTLE AFTER MOVING INTO RINALDI MANSION.
My name.
Lucia's name.
Everything.
My reputation was being attacked.
Daniel was behind it.
I knew.
Victor knew.
But before we could respond, another article appeared.
This one included something much worse.
A photograph of me entering the Rinaldi mansion.
And a caption:
SERENA VALENTE: INSIDE WOMAN OR INNOCENT NANNY?
The internet exploded.
My attorney called.
“The judge is concerned.”
I closed my eyes.
Victor stood across from me.
“I'll handle it.”
“No.”
He looked surprised.
“I will.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Tell the truth.”
“You think people want the truth?”
“I know I do.”
I looked at him.
He nodded.
“Then that's what we'll give them.”
For the first time, I wasn't hiding.
I wasn't begging.
I wasn't running.
I would stand in court.
I would tell the truth.
May you like
And if Daniel wanted a war—
he had chosen the wrong woman.
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