Just when peace seemed to finally envelop our lives, a final, unexpected shadow emerged from the past.

It was a cold Tuesday morning in December. Luca was at his office preparing for the annual Moretti Global shareholder gala—an event where he planned to officially introduce Eli and Mara as his heirs to the business world.

I was at my interior design studio in downtown Chicago, finalizing plans for a new boutique hotel project, when my office door opened unexpectedly.

Evelyn Shaw walked inside.

She wore a long white cashmere coat and dark sunglasses. She looked stunning, but there was a sharp, brittle edge to her composure.

“Evelyn?” I said, standing up from my desk in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

Evelyn took off her sunglasses, revealing cool, calculating gray eyes. She walked slowly around my office, admiring the fabric swatches and architectural blueprints pinned to the walls.

“I came to give you a warning, Nia,” Evelyn said, her voice smooth and devoid of warmth. “You think you’ve won. You think because Eleanor is in handcuffs and Luca is sleeping in your bed again that you get to have your happy fairy tale ending.”

I narrowed my eyes, my protective instincts flaring up immediately. “I didn't 'win' anything, Evelyn. I reclaimed the life and family that was stolen from me. What do you want?”

Evelyn opened her leather handbag and pulled out a manila envelope, setting it on my desk.

“My father holds twenty percent of Moretti Global’s commercial debt through his investment bank,” Evelyn revealed with a cold, triumphant smile. “When Luca annulled our marriage, he humiliated my family publicly. My father doesn't take humiliation lightly.”

I looked at the envelope. “What is that?”

“A formal notice of loan acceleration,” Evelyn stated coldly. “Unless Luca pays back four hundred million dollars in commercial debt by midnight tomorrow, my father’s bank will initiate a hostile takeover of Moretti Global’s primary real estate assets—including the land where your precious new medical foundation is being built.”

My blood ran cold. The Moretti Foundation had just broken ground on a state-of-the-art pediatric hospital wing named in honor of Eli and Mara—a project Luca had funded personally to give back to the city.

“You’re trying to destroy his life’s work just because he didn't love you?” I said, disgust rising in my chest.

“I’m giving him a choice,” Evelyn countered smoothly. “Luca can either call off his public announcement tomorrow night, reinstate my family’s seat on his executive board, and hand over control of the international logistics division... or I will bankrupt his foundation before the first brick is laid.”

She stepped toward the door, turning back to give me one last, icy glare.

“Tell Luca he has twenty-four hours to make up his mind,” Evelyn sneered. “Let’s see if his little domestic fantasy is worth four hundred million dollars.”

After she left, I picked up the envelope, my heart pounding in my chest.

Evelyn believed she had found Luca’s weak spot. She believed that by threatening his empire and his legacy, she could force him back into submission. But what Evelyn Shaw failed to realize was that Luca Moretti was no longer a man fighting alone.

He had me. And I was done letting arrogant elites try to dictate our family's future.

I grabbed my coat, grabbed the envelope, and headed straight for Moretti Global.