Chapter 2 - The Legacy in the VaultThe iron gates slammed shut with a heavy, metallic clang that signaled the end of Vivienne’s reign.
Instantly, earpieces crackled and guards moved into defensive positions. The onlookers behind the glass vanished. Vivienne stood motionless beneath the portico, her dress dry, but her composure completely unraveled.
Fear had finally entered her eyes.
Roman strode across the wet gravel, completely ignoring the rest of his family. He shed his heavy overcoat, wrapping it around my trembling frame before dropping to his knees in the mud. His hands touched my bare feet, checking for injuries with a tenderness that brought tears to my eyes.
“Bianca,” he murmured, his voice thick. “Look at me, please.”
“She... she ordered them to hurt the baby,” I choked out, the cold making it hard to breathe.
A dark shadow crossed Roman's face.
He stood up slowly, turning around to face his mother. The protective husband vanished, replaced by the ruthless leader of the Kane syndicate.
“Who touched my wife?” he demanded.
No one spoke.
Roman glanced at his men. “Make them speak.”
A maid near the threshold collapsed in tears. “It was Mrs. Kane! She said the baby was a stain on the family!”
Vivienne crossed her arms, her jaw tight. “I did what was necessary for our survival.”
Roman stepped closer to her, his shadow enveloping her. “You assaulted my wife.”
“I preserved our bloodline.”
“You humiliated the woman who carries my child,” Roman said, his voice dangerously low.
Vivienne attempted a patronizing smile. “Your child? Roman, let’s not be ridiculous. A girl from the streets of Queens was never meant to hold the keys to this empire.”
“Our empire?” Roman asked softly.
A second vehicle, a black SUV, sped down the driveway. The family physician and Roman’s lead attorney stepped out, holding a sealed document case.
Vivienne turned pale.
“Open it,” Roman ordered.
The attorney broke the seal, his hands trembling under the tension. “We found this hidden in Mrs. Kane’s private safe in Switzerland, sir.”
Roman read the document, his eyes scanning the text as the rain poured down around us.
“What does it say, Roman?” I asked from behind him.
When he looked up at his mother, any trace of familial love had evaporated. He looked like a judge delivering a death sentence.
“You knew,” Roman said, his voice deadly calm. “All these years, you kept this hidden.”
Vivienne took a step back into the doorway. “Roman—”
He raised the document for the entire estate to see.
“My father’s will explicitly states that the Kane empire does not descend to me,” Roman revealed, each word hitting like a mallet. “It passes entirely to my firstborn daughter.”
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Beneath my hands, the baby gave a powerful kick.
And from somewhere inside the upper levels of the mansion, a piercing scream shattered the night.
