---- Chapter 14 Giovanni POV: | sat in my car, the screen of the tablet illuminating my face in the dark, and read every single message. Every vile, triumphant word Sofia had sent to my wife. "He doesn't love you anymore." "He told me your marriage was just a business arrangement." "This baby will be the new Moretti heir. You're just a barren old woman he feels sorry for." | saw it all now. It wasn't just an affair. It was a calculated, sadistic attack. Sofia's goal wasn't just to have me; it was to annihilate Isabella, to erase her, to drive her to the edge of insanity. And | had been her willing accomplice. The detective from the station walked over to my car and tapped on the window. | rolled it down. He looked at the screen in my hands, then at my face. "Your wife didn't kill herself, Mr. Moretti," he said, his voice laced with a cold, professional contempt. "But after seeing this, I'm amazed she didn't. You're a real piece of work." The words hit me harder than any physical blow. ---- A hot, black rage, different from any anger | had ever felt, began to build in my chest. It was a rage born of shame and disgust, directed at Sofia, but mostly at myself. | started the car and peeled away from the curb, leaving the police and the abandoned Mercedes behind. | had a new focus. A singular purpose. | called Sofia. "Gio, baby!" she answered, her voice bubbly and carefree. "I was getting worried. Did you find her?" "I'm on my way to the penthouse," | said, my voice dangerously calm. "We need to talk." "| can't wait to see you," she purred. "I'll put on that little black dress you like so much." | hung up. The penthouse, the place | had set up as my secret escape, now felt like a viper's nest. | let myself in with my key. The air was thick with her cloying, cheap perfume. She had redecorated. The elegant, minimalist furniture Isabella had chosen was gone, replaced with gaudy, ostentatious pieces. It was a cheap imitation of my own home. A pathetic attempt to replicate the life she was trying to steal. She came out of the bedroom, wearing a slinky dress, a hopeful, triumphant smile on her face. "There you are. | ---- missed-" She stopped when she saw my face. The smile faltered. "Gio? What's wrong?" She tried to put her arms around my neck, to seduce her way out of whatever trouble she sensed was coming. | looked down and saw it. Around her neck, she was wearing a delicate gold necklace. A necklace | had given Isabella for her birthday two years ago. It must have been one of the few things left behind in the chaos. A trophy. The last thread of my control snapped. A low growl rumbled in my chest. | saw red.