The previous nanny ran out of the mansion wearing only one shoe.

The victory in Genoa was total, but as Vittorio knew all too well, a cornered animal is at its most dangerous when its escape routes are cut off.

At three o'clock in the morning, as Vittorio’s armored SUV navigated the rain-drenched streets of Manhattan heading back toward the estate, a urgent signal flashed on Marcus’s tablet in the front passenger seat.

"Mr. Rinaldi," Marcus said, turning his scarred head around. "Gia Valenti just left her hotel near Central Park. She’s alone, driving a rental car."

Vittorio, sitting in the back seat with his arm wrapped securely around Serena as she rested her head against his shoulder, didn't open his eyes.

"Where is she going?" Vittorio asked calmly.

"Our GPS tracking shows her heading north," Marcus replied, his voice dropping into a tense tone. "She’s taking the Parkway... toward the estate."

Serena sat up instantly, her exhaustion vanishing. "She knows Valerio’s assets were seized. She knows she lost."

"Which means she’s desperate," Vittorio said smoothly. He opened his amber eyes, looking at Marcus. "Intercept her vehicle at the valley turnoff before she reaches our outer gates. Do not harm her. Bring her to the perimeter gatehouse."

"Understood," Marcus nodded, tapping his radio to deploy two security units ahead.

Twenty minutes later, the armored SUV pulled up outside the stone gatehouse guarding the entrance to the Rinaldi estate. The autumn rain had turned into a soft mist, the streetlamps casting long, amber halos across the damp pavement.

Parked near the gatehouse was Gia Valenti’s rental car, flanked by two heavy black security sedans.

Gia stood inside the heated glass gatehouse, surrounded by three of Marcus’s guards. She had discarded her elegant trench coat; her hair was disheveled, her pale face streaked with rain and tears, her violet-gray eyes wild with panic.

When the gatehouse door opened and Vittorio stepped inside, followed closely by Serena, Gia spun around.

"You ruined him!" Gia screamed, her aristocratic composure completely shattered. "You destroyed Valerio’s accounts in Genoa! The Italian police are seizing my mother’s apartment in Milan right now!"

Vittorio stopped three feet from her, towering over her, his hands tucked inside his coat pockets. His expression was not angry; it was cold, analytical, and entirely detached.

"Valerio used you, Gia," Vittorio said plainly. "He used your mother’s name to register those illegal warehouses. He set you up to take the criminal fall if the operation failed."

Gia blinked, her breath catching in her throat. "What... what are you talking about?"

Serena stepped forward, pulling a printed legal document from her portfolio and setting it on the wooden counter between them.

"This is the corporate registry filing for Apex Global from Panama," Serena said gently, her voice holding a deep, empathetic warmth despite everything Gia had attempted to do. "Valerio didn't make you a co-owner, Gia. He listed you as the sole managing director. If we hadn't exposed the fraud to Judge Bellini, you would have faced twenty years in an Italian prison while Valerio fled to Paraguay with forty million dollars."

Gia stared at the paper. Her hand trembled violently as her fingers touched the printed sheet. She read her own signature at the bottom—a signature Valerio had tricked her into signing under the guise of an inheritance trust document.

"He... he told me it was my mother's legacy," Gia whispered, her voice breaking into a ragged sob. She collapsed onto a wooden bench inside the gatehouse, burying her face in her hands. "He told me you killed my father during the tribunal... he told me you took everything from us..."

Serena walked over to the weeping woman. She knelt down beside her, completely ignoring the security guards standing around the room, and laid her warm hand on Gia’s shaking shoulder.

"Vittorio didn't kill your father, Gia," Serena said softly. "Dominic destroyed himself through greed and hatred. Vittorio tried to save the family. And he’s trying to protect this family now."

Gia looked up through her tears, staring into Serena’s kind, honest eyes.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Gia choked out. "I tried to ruin your husband's business. I threatened your home."

"Because you were lied to," Serena replied gently. "And because no one should be used as a weapon by men who don't care about them. You're family, Gia. Distant, messy family... but family."

Vittorio looked down at his wife, his amber eyes shining with a love so deep it consumed his entire soul. He walked over, standing beside Serena.

"The Italian warrant for your mother's apartment has been canceled," Vittorio said quietly to Gia. "I called Judge Bellini twenty minutes ago and clarified that you were an unwitting signature on Valerio's shell company. You are legally clear."

Gia gasped, looking up at Vittorio in utter disbelief. "You... you cleared my name?"

"On one condition," Vittorio said, his tone turning firm. "You take a plane back to Milan tomorrow morning. You cut all ties with Valerio. And if you ever need help—real help, legal help—you call my office. You don't come to my home with lawyers again."

Gia wiped the tears from her face, taking a long, shaking breath. She looked at Vittorio, then at Serena, bowing her head in profound shame and gratitude.