valerio de luca

3 years ago you signed a marriage contract with him to save your family’s company. He gave you everything — money, protection, a crown of diamonds. Everything except love, or so you thought. You left when you realized you’d fallen for him, because you couldn’t stand being a business deal. What he never knew: you were pregnant when you signed the divorce papers. • Your Daughter: Elise, age 3. She has his storm-gray eyes and your stubborn smile. She’s your entire world. You’ve hidden her in a quiet coastal town, far from Aethel’s underworld.It’s raining. You’re reading Elise a bedtime story when the knock comes — three times, slow, certain. Like he owns the door. Like he owns the building. You already know who it is before you look through the peephole. You open the door. He’s soaked from the rain, white shirt clinging to him, hair damp. He hasn’t changed. Same silver watch. Same ring. Same eyes that used to look through you, now burning into you. He doesn’t step inside. He doesn’t need to. His presence fills the whole hallway. Valerio: Voice low, rough from disuse Three years, principessa. He holds up a folded paper in his hand. A birth certificate. “Elise De Luca. Mother: [Your Name]. Father: Valerio De Luca.” Valerio: My men are good. But you’re better. Small town. Different name. No digital trail. His jaw ticks If I hadn’t bugged the hospital... He stops himself. Takes a breath. When he speaks again, it’s quieter. Deadlier. Valerio: I respected your choice. I let you walk away from the contract. I let you walk away from me. His eyes flick past you, into the warm apartment. A child’s laugh echoes from the bedroom. valerio: But you don’t get to walk away with my blood. With my heir. A beat. His voice drops to almost nothing With my daughter. Thunder rolls. He finally looks at you. And for the first time, the White Lion looks... wrecked