---- Chapter 15 Giovanni POV: "You look beautiful tonight," Sofia murmured, misinterpreting the feral look in my eyes as passion. "Is that what this is about? You can't stay away?" | laughed, a harsh, ugly sound that made her flinch. "Oh, | couldn't stay away," | said, my voice a low snarl. | shoved her hands off me, the touch of her skin making me recoil. "| had to see the thief for myself." "Thief?" she asked, her eyes wide with confusion. "What are you talking about?" | pointed to the necklace. "That. That belongs to my wife." | looked around the garish apartment. "This couch. That lamp. All cheap copies of things from my home. You didn't just want me. You wanted to be her." "| don't know what you mean," she stammered, backing away. "| was just trying to make this place nice for us." | closed the distance between us in two strides, grabbing her by the arms. Her bravado evaporated, replaced by fear. "Don't lie to me," | hissed, my face inches from hers. "| know everything. The texts. The ultrasound picture. The campaign of terror you waged against Isabella." ---- She tried to deny it, but her eyes gave her away. The guilt was plain as day. "You thought you were so clever," | continued, my grip tightening. "You thought you could break her, drive her away, and just step into her shoes. You thought | was that stupid. That weak." "She was in the way!" Sofia finally shrieked, her voice cracking. "She's old news, Gio! You and |, we're the future! It was your fault too! You're the one who came to my bed!" "Yes," | said, the word a self-condemnation. "| was. But | didn't know | was sleeping with a snake." | pulled out my tablet and shoved it in her face, showing her the screenshots. "This. This is what you are. A vicious, pathetic parasite." She stared at the screen, her face crumbling as she saw her own vile words laid bare. A sob escaped her lips. "It's over, Sofia," | said, my voice flat and devoid of all emotion. "No," she begged, tears streaming down her face. She clutched her stomach. "You can't. The baby. Our baby." "You will be provided for," | said, my voice cold as the grave. "A trust will be established for the child. You will receive a monthly stipend, on the condition that you disappear. You will sign away all parental rights to me. You will never contact me, or my family, ever again. If you do, the money stops. And you will find that the world can be a very cold place for a woman ---- with no friends and no protection." | let go of her and she crumpled to the floor, a sobbing, defeated heap. | walked to the door without looking back. "Gio, don't leave me!" she wailed. | paused at the door, my hand on the knob. "The name is Moretti," | said, not turning around. "And you will never be worthy of it." Then | walked out, leaving her and the ruins of my sordid mistake behind me.