Chapter 6
629words
Madwoman, toxic bitch, evil ex-wife—those labels clung to me like grime no one bothered to wipe away.
Inside my father's study, Frank Rosa, my father's most trusted aide and someone who had watched me grow up, stood to the side.
"This is what you asked for." He spoke quietly. "Miss Vitale, we recovered every backup we could from the Galante family's internal security system. In particular, the core surveillance footage from the days surrounding the explosion."
I had never intended to let the armory incident fade into the past. In this life or the last, my child's death, my own death, every debt would be repaid in full. By Enzo. By Monica.
"Thank you, Frank. I appreciate it." I gathered the files and put them away with care.
My father lifted his teacup and took a slow sip. His eyes never left my face.
"My daughter, what do you plan to do next?" he asked calmly.
I looked up and met his gaze.
"Dad, I want to bring the Galante family down," I said evenly, with resolve strong enough to burn bridges.
I went on, my thoughts sharp and deliberate, "They've grown arrogant over the years. They've made too many enemies, and they're fractured internally. The markets they control and the resource channels they monopolize are all vulnerable. We can take them.
"Our family has stayed quiet for too long. It's time the world remembered who truly rules this ground. I want to lead the Vitale family to a level of power we've never reached before."
My voice remained steady. "Power strong enough that we never have to read anyone's expression again. Strong enough that rumors lose their force. Strong enough that my fate belongs to me alone."
Two lifetimes had taught me one truth. If I wanted control over my life, I had to seize it myself.
…
For the next two months, I all but lived inside the Vitale Group's core strategy division. With the family's deep foundation and the intel Frank compiled, I struck fast and decisively. I targeted the Galante family's pressure points one by one.
First, I intercepted an overseas energy deal they had been negotiating for more than half a year.
Next, I engineered several "incidents" along their traditional shipping routes. I leveraged regulatory pressure and media scrutiny until multiple lines were forced to suspend operations. The losses cut deep.
I did not spare the financial markets either. I launched a series of aggressive strikes against Galante-controlled public companies, and their stock prices collapsed in response.
That was when the news broke. Enzo and Monica were getting engaged.
They'd have a shotgun wedding because Monica was pregnant.
I was reviewing an investigation report on the Galante family's underground banking network when I heard that. The pen froze in my hand, and the ink spread into a small, dark stain.
"Pregnant?"
I set the pen aside and leaned back with a cold smile.
I knew it. The timing had arrived.
…
Perhaps Enzo had finally realized who had been working against him all along because he began trying to contact me.
At first came calls and messages from unfamiliar numbers. I blocked them all. Then he attempted carefully staged encounters at business events.
"Sophia. We need to talk."
I stopped and looked at him without emotion. "Mr. Galante, I believe we said everything that needed to be said that day at the courthouse."
"The child. Sophia, I'm the child's father. That won't change. I have the right to see him. Running away won't solve anything."
A slow, deliberate plan took shape in my mind.
I spoke at last. "Fine. I'll bring the child to see you on your wedding day."
