The Heiress of Shadows

roposal came o

her stepmother's assistant. A brief message with attached documentation-contracts, legal agr

ents, had expressed interest in a "strategic alliance" with Casa Moretti. The proposal suggested a merger not only

even heard of Dario Levanis outside of vague press coverage. A name occasionally floated in finance blogs and international

most iconic fashion houses in the world, not a

e it sound li

he stood near the fireplace in her usual designer black. "You work too hard, fight too much. This

would be proud. Always spoken when someone wanted her to s

nd to run my company,

. Real ones. And the board-well, they're nervous. They're looking for

worked. Valeria was tired-tired of fighting boardroom wars and leaking stories, of trying to

ng. There were discussions, tense dinners, vague mentions of

Tuscany, standing beneath a floral arch of white orchids an

nes-picturesque villa, candlelit reception, artisanal food plated like art. But it was eerily intimate. Too inti

sn't eve

or so they said. He appeared only briefly-a grainy image of a man in a suit with dark hair and unreadable eyes, o

wedding? In any other world, it would've halted everything. But by

Rings were placed on fingers. Papers were handed to her to s

g her hand and guiding it to the page. "The pre

on edge, but the eyes of the guests were on her, the cameras flashing softly,

si

personal email and found a second document-an official marriage certificate filed an

long time, the blood

ely. The wedding hadn't been a celebration. It had been a transaction. A performance. And

d her off witho

al, deliberate control. She wasn't just being undermined at work anymore. They were rewriting her

esigner gown shimmered in the soft lamplight. Her makeup was flawless. Her hair cu

omething cold and furi

ught the

f silence would n

d anything to