Chapter 4

Ophelia’s POV

The butler met me at the front door when I returned to the De Luca estate. His expression was neutral, but his hesitation told me he had something uncomfortable to say.

“Signora, Mr. De Luca went out earlier with Signorina Moretti. He did not say when they would return.”

“Thanks.”

I did not ask anything else. I walked straight upstairs to my study. I had changed into black pants and a soft gray sweater before coming home. My hair was pulled back, and the only jewelry I wore was the sapphire brooch pinned at my collarbone.

Inside the study, I sat at the desk. I opened my laptop and unlocked the files.

I started with the private financial records I had access to through the charity. Page after page showed transfers, shell companies, and unexplained payments.

My chest tightened when the pattern became clear.

There were apartments in Bianca's name, expensive gifts charged to different accounts, private security, and payments disguised as business expenses.

The companies all led back to Matteo in the end. He had been paying for apartments, security, gifts, and other expenses for months, possibly longer.

My hands stayed steady on the keyboard, but something cold settled low in my stomach. I copied the files and screenshots before moving to my charity account.

The account showed several unusual transactions.

Payments had gone out without my permission. Private donor information had also been accessed and downloaded.

Someone was using my name.

I traced the transactions one by one until I found an account connected to Bianca. My pulse quickened, but I kept working.

A few minutes later, I heard voices downstairs.

Bianca's voice rose above the others. “I need to speak with Ophelia.”

I closed the laptop and walked downstairs.

Bianca stood in the main living room in a navy dress, her blonde hair loose around her shoulders. A woman holding a folder stood behind her.

Matteo sat on the couch with a glass of wine in his hand. His dark shirt was open at the collar, and he looked relaxed.

Bianca turned when she saw me. “Matteo asked me to take over the foundation for now. He believes it would be better if I handled it.”

I looked from her to him. “Is that true?”

Matteo set the glass down. “Yes. Bianca will handle it for now.”

We had been together last night. He had held me, kissed me, and told me he would find me wherever I went if I ever left. Now he sat there calmly agreeing to let his ex take control of what my mother had built.

“I refuse,” I said, keeping my voice calm.

“I don't understand what changed. We were together last night, and now you're handing my foundation to Bianca.”

His jaw tightened.

I realized then that Bianca's influence over him was stronger than I had imagined.

“The foundation was created with my mother's money. Bianca has no right to take control of it.”

Matteo’s eyes hardened. “Yesterday, you made an issue over the brooch, and I let it go. Can't you just let her oversee the charity? If you keep resisting, I'll freeze your access to every household account.”

I looked him straight in the eye. “Do it then. You are giving another woman control over something that belongs to me while treating your own wife like she has no say. Did you marry her instead of me?”

“No,” he said quickly. “That's not the point. You’re only making this a big deal.”

I stepped closer, keeping my voice steady even while my hands wanted to shake.

“Last night, you told me you loved me while you were holding me like everything between us was fine. You told me you would find me if I ever left. Is this how you prove you love me? By letting your ex take control of something that belongs to me?”

His expression changed, and surprise flickered across his face. Bianca's expression tightened as she looked at Matteo, but she quickly composed herself.

Then her eyes moved slowly over me before returning to my face.

“You have always depended on Matteo for your place in this family, Ophelia. Don't pretend you have more authority than you do.”

I met her gaze without flinching.

“That's interesting, considering Matteo has been secretly paying for your lifestyle for months. The apartments, the private security, and the gifts charged through different companies are all in the records. I saw them.”

A flicker of unease crossed her face before she quickly composed herself.

Matteo stood abruptly. “That’s enough. Both of you.”

I turned and walked upstairs without another word. Behind me, Bianca started speaking again, but I kept walking.

That evening, Matteo came into our bedroom while I sat on the edge of the bed. He closed the door hard behind him and faced me.

“What the hell are you planning?” he asked. “Why are you doing this?”

I looked at him calmly. “Perhaps you should start paying closer attention to your own wife.”

He crossed the room quickly, caught my face in one hand, and kissed me before I could move. I pushed against his chest, but he did not stop.

His other hand moved down my body as he tried to pull me closer and lift my sweater.

I bit his lower lip hard enough to make him pull back. Then I shoved him back and slapped him across the face.

“You betrayed me with another woman in front of everyone, then came back at night expecting me to let you have your way with me like I was a fool.”

“Watch how you speak to me, Ophelia. I’m your husband.”

“You no longer get access to me simply because you want it. A husband doesn't betray his wife and then expect her to open her arms to him whenever he wants,” I said, keeping my voice low and steady. “So leave me the hell alone and go fuck your ex if that’s what you need.”

Matteo stood still, one hand against his cheek. He looked at me as though he had never heard me speak to him that way before.

I held his stare until he finally looked away. Then he left without another word.

Later that night, alone again in the study, I pulled up the charity records one more time. The suspicious transactions had increased around the time Bianca returned to the De Luca family.

There was more going on than Matteo's affair with Bianca.

I had five days left.