Chapter 4 - THE PRICE OF DISOBEDIENCE
Sophia looked around desperately.
The underground room had one door.
No windows.
No second staircase.
She slipped her phone beneath her blouse and backed toward the filing cabinets.
Valentina entered holding a small pistol at her side.
Victor followed.
“You disappoint me.”
Valentina descended the final step.
Sophia said nothing.
Valentina looked toward the open folder.
Then at the bronze key in Sophia’s hand.
“Where did you get that?”
Sophia stayed silent.
Victor grabbed her wrist.
Sophia fought him.
He twisted her arm behind her back.
Valentina removed the key from her fingers.
“Lily found it, didn’t she?”
Sophia’s face betrayed her.
Valentina smiled.
“Children always pick up things adults overlook.”
“Do not touch her.”
Valentina slapped Sophia hard across the face.
“Stop telling me what to do.”
Sophia stumbled against the steel table.
Valentina grabbed her hair and forced her upright.
“You were supposed to wash sheets.”
“You were supposed to clean bathrooms.”
“You were supposed to be invisible.”
Sophia tasted blood.
“You’re stealing from Lorenzo.”
Valentina laughed softly.
“Stealing?”
She leaned closer.
“I’m building something.”
Victor tightened his grip.
Valentina continued.
“Lorenzo inherited an empire and wastes it moving legitimate cargo.”
“He has ports, warehouses, political connections, customs relationships, and shipping contracts worth billions.”
“All of that power, and he uses it to transport appliances and medical equipment.”
Sophia stared at her.
Valentina’s eyes were bright with contempt.
“I’m simply making the company profitable in ways Lorenzo is too weak to understand.”
“You’re using his name.”
“For now.”
Sophia realized the marriage was never about love.
Valentina planned to gain legal authority over the company.
Perhaps over the estate too.
Valentina stepped back.
“Take her upstairs.”
Victor dragged Sophia from the room.
They entered the main house through a service corridor.
Several staff members saw Sophia’s bleeding lip.
No one intervened.
Valentina ordered Victor to bring Sophia into the kitchen.
Then she did something worse than beating her.
She called the household staff together.
“She stole from me.”
Sophia stared at her.
“That’s a lie.”
Valentina slapped her again.
“No one asked you to speak.”
Then Valentina ordered Sophia to kneel and scrub the kitchen floor.
Sophia refused.
Victor shoved her down.
Valentina looked around at the silent staff.
“This is what happens when employees forget their place.”
Sophia lifted her head.
Then the rear doors opened.
A man’s voice cut through the room.
“What the hell is going on?”
May you like
Everyone turned.
Lorenzo Moretti had come home three days early.
