If I’d wanted to destroy her before, it wasn’t enough now.
Now I wanted her to suffer.
I wanted her to feel every second she stole from me. Every drop of pain she’d caused.
She would pay—dearly—for deceiving me, for manipulating my life in that sick, calculated way.
She’d played with fire.
Now she was going to burn.
And I would make sure of it myself.
FOURTEEN
VALENTINA MUNIZ
I stared at the document that had arrived minutes earlier—delivered officially, in a way that nearly made me drop an entire tray of macarons onto the kitchen floor.
Court order.
DNA test.
Paternity investigation requested by Enrico Ferrara.
The printed words blurred as my mind refused to fully process what was happening. Less than twelve hours had passed since Enrico stormed out of my house—after seeing Clara for the first time—and now this?
How was it possible? How could he move that fast?
The vulnerability the document dragged up inside me was crushing.
I had braced myself for many things since running into him again, but this—an official demand for a DNA test—was beyond anything I’d imagined.
I swallowed hard, my heart racing out of control as fear grew inside me like a silent, dangerous shadow. My hands began to shake, forcing me to set the paper down on the counter before I crumpled it.
I drew in a breath, trying to regain control, but the tightness in my chest only worsened.
What did Enrico intend to do with this?
Why would he need a test to confirm what was already written on Clara’s face?
A terrible thought sliced through me, making my skin go cold.
What if he was doing this to get formal proof—something he could use against me?
To take my daughter from me?
My stomach twisted painfully.
No. He wouldn’t.
…Would he?
I didn’t know what Enrico Ferrara was capable of anymore. The man who’d been in my house—full of hate and vengeance—was not the man I once loved. He was blind with rage, and I had no doubt he would do anything to get what he wanted.
Anything.
Even use his own daughter as leverage.
