Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Wanted the Rizzano Name
By late afternoon, the Rizzano estate had become a fortress of quiet activity.
Security personnel moved through the grounds. The gates remained closed. Staff members were asked to preserve messages, schedules, and anything related to Bianca's visits. Matteo Bellini coordinated the inquiry while Alessandro stayed upstairs with Livia.
The little girl had refused to let anyone brush the hair that remained.
When Rosalie offered her a soft pink headband, Livia turned away.
“Bianca said my hair was ugly.”
Rosalie knelt beside her.
“Bianca was wrong.”
“But it's different now.”
“Yes,” Rosalie said carefully. “It is different. And you can decide what you want to do with it.”
Livia looked at her reflection in a small hand mirror.
“Can I have short hair like a princess?”
Rosalie smiled sadly.
“Of course you can.”
“Will Daddy still like it?”
From the doorway, Alessandro answered before Rosalie could.
“Your daddy will like whatever makes you feel happy.”
Livia looked toward him.
He sat beside her and let her examine his face.
“Even if I look funny?”
“Especially then. You could shave your head tomorrow, and you'd still be my beautiful girl.”
She leaned against his arm.
It was a small moment, but Alessandro understood that trust was not restored by one promise. It would have to be rebuilt through hundreds of ordinary moments in which Livia learned that adults could be safe.
Downstairs, Matteo was waiting with a laptop.
“Bianca's family has called four times,” he reported. “Her father says this is a private disagreement and wants you to reconsider before the story becomes public.”
“Did he ask what happened to my daughter?”
“No.”
“Then I don't care what he wants.”
Matteo opened a file.
“We've reviewed the available hotel footage. It confirms Bianca sent the attendant away. It also shows her entering the suite with a small case that wasn't listed among the items brought in by the wedding planner.”
“What was in it?”
“We can't tell from the corridor camera.”
“Find out.”
“There is another issue. Bianca's assistant contacted the wedding planner this morning and asked whether the marriage certificate could be signed before the ceremony.”
Alessandro looked up.
“Why?”
“She claimed you wanted to avoid delays. The planner refused because you hadn't authorized it.”
Alessandro leaned back.
The wedding had been scheduled for months. Bianca had insisted on an elaborate ceremony, a long guest list, and a public announcement of their future family.
She had also insisted that they finalize several legal arrangements before the wedding.
At the time, her requests had seemed practical. Alessandro had been planning to create a charitable foundation in Elena's memory and wanted a clear structure for family finances.
But he had never agreed to give Bianca authority over Livia's trust.
Now he wondered whether that had been her real objective.
“Get Michael Grant on the phone,” he said.
Michael was the family's attorney, a cautious man who had handled the Rizzano estate for nearly fifteen years.
When he joined the call, Alessandro explained the events at the hotel and asked him to review every document Bianca had submitted during the past six months.
Michael listened without interruption.
When Alessandro finished, the lawyer exhaled.
“I need to ask you something. Did you sign a proposed family estate amendment last month?”
“No.”
“Not even a preliminary acknowledgment?”
“I signed documents related to the foundation. Nothing that gave Bianca control of Livia's assets.”
Michael paused.
“Then I need to verify the copies in our office. Bianca's representatives sent a draft amendment naming her as a potential guardian and financial administrator if something happened to you.”
Alessandro's expression became unreadable.
“Who approved it?”
“No one. We returned it with questions.”
“Did Bianca know?”
“She was copied on the correspondence.”
“Send me every version.”
“I will.”
“And Michael?”
“Yes?”
“Do not contact Bianca about this yet.”
“Understood.”
After the call, Alessandro stood at the study window. The garden below was exactly as Elena had left it: white roses near the fountain, lavender beside the stone path, and a small wooden bench where she used to sit with Livia.
He had promised Elena that their daughter would never be treated as an inconvenience.
He had kept the promise in the obvious ways. He hired trusted caregivers, built a secure home, and made sure Livia had everything she needed.
But he had also made a dangerous mistake.
He had assumed that because Bianca wanted to join their family, she must care about the child who already belonged to it.
That evening, Bianca called from a number he didn't recognize.
Alessandro answered.
“You've had enough time to calm down,” she said immediately. “We need to discuss what happened.”
“What happened is that you cut my daughter's hair while she cried and begged you to stop.”
“I was disciplining her.”
“She is three.”
“Children need boundaries.”
“Boundaries don't require electric clippers.”
Bianca sighed as though he were being unreasonable.
“You're making me sound like a monster.”
“You managed that without my help.”
Silence.
Then her voice changed.
“Alessandro, think about the consequences. Your family has a reputation. The guests saw you walk out. People will talk. The business community will wonder whether you can control your own household.”
“My household is not your concern anymore.”
“You can't throw away everything we've built because of one mistake.”
“One mistake?” he repeated.
She went quiet.
He continued.
“You sent the attendant away. You isolated my daughter. You cut her hair after she told you no. And you mocked her dead mother.”
“I did not mock Elena.”
“Livia heard you.”
Bianca's breath caught, but only briefly.
“She misunderstands things. She's too young to know what she's saying.”
“Then why were you so concerned about keeping the room empty?”
No answer came.
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
“That's what I thought.”
“You're twisting this into something it isn't.”
“No. I'm finally looking at it without the wedding decorations.”
Her voice hardened.
“You'll regret humiliating me.”
“You've already said that.”
“Because you don't understand what you're losing.”
Alessandro ended the call.
Minutes later, Michael sent the first batch of documents.
One email stood out. It had been sent by Bianca's assistant to the attorney's office.
Miss Moretti would like confirmation that the family arrangement can be completed before the public ceremony. She believes the marriage should begin with a clear understanding of her role in household and estate matters.
Below it was Michael's response:
No change can be made to the child's existing trust without the required approvals and legal review.
Alessandro read the exchange twice.
Then Matteo appeared at the door.
“We found the attendant,” he said. “She's willing to speak with you.”
“Bring her in.”
The woman, named Hannah Price, entered looking nervous. She had worked at the hotel for four years and had no connection to the Rizzano family beyond the wedding.
“I don't want trouble,” she said.
“You won't be punished for telling the truth,” Alessandro replied.
Hannah took a breath.
“Miss Moretti asked me to leave the suite because she said she needed privacy with Livia. I heard the little girl crying after I reached the corridor. Then I heard the clippers.”
“Why didn't you go back in?”
“I thought Miss Kent was still there. When I realized she wasn't, I turned around. But before I reached the door, Miss Kent came running from the other end of the hall.”
“Did you see Bianca with the clippers?”
“Yes.”
“Did you hear what she said?”
Hannah hesitated.
“She said something about teaching Livia not to think she owned the place.”
Alessandro remained silent for a moment.
Then he thanked her and told Matteo to arrange for her statement to be documented properly.
After she left, he went upstairs.
Livia was asleep beneath a pale blue blanket. Rosalie had placed a stuffed rabbit beside her pillow.
Alessandro sat near the bed and watched her breathe.
He had once believed that marrying Bianca would give Livia another person to love her.
Instead, Bianca had tried to establish her place by making the child feel small.
And now the evidence suggested that her ambitions reached far beyond a wedding.
The next morning, Michael called with a discovery that changed everything.
“Alessandro,” he said, “we found a payment from a company connected to Bianca's family to a consultant who specializes in estate restructuring.”
“For what?”
“According to the invoice, the work involved reviewing the Rizzano family trust and identifying possible changes after your marriage.”
Alessandro's hand tightened around the phone.
“Send me the name.”
Michael did.
Alessandro recognized it immediately.
The consultant had once worked for a man who had spent years trying to gain leverage over the Rizzano organization.
May you like
A man who had disappeared from the city after a bitter dispute.
And if Bianca had been communicating with him, the cruel scene in the dressing suite might have been only one piece of a much larger plan.
