Chapter 7 - Bianca's Last Bargain
Bianca's attorney, Evelyn Shaw, arrived at Michael Grant's office on Friday morning.
She brought no entourage, no public relations representative, and no demand for a public apology. Instead, she carried a folder of documents and asked for a confidential meeting with counsel present.
Alessandro agreed to listen by video from his study.
Bianca appeared on the screen wearing a plain black blouse. Without her wedding gown, jewelry, and elaborate makeup, she looked less like the confident bride who had stood over Livia and more like a woman who had not slept.
She did not apologize immediately.
“I want you to understand what happened,” she began.
Alessandro's face remained still.
“I understand what happened to my daughter.”
Bianca swallowed.
“Paolo told me the trust was more flexible than your lawyer claimed. He said that once we were married, I would have a legitimate role in family decisions.”
“You were never promised control over Livia's trust.”
“He said it could be arranged.”
“By whom?”
“Victor Sloane.”
Alessandro glanced at Michael.
“Continue.”
Bianca admitted that Paolo had introduced her to Sloane months earlier. He had presented the meetings as ordinary estate planning. She believed that if she married Alessandro, she could help manage the family's household and charitable interests.
But as the wedding approached, she became increasingly frustrated by the restrictions Michael imposed.
“He treated me as if I were an outsider,” she said.
“You were an outsider to my daughter's trust,” Alessandro replied. “That was intentional.”
Bianca looked down.
“Paolo told me that Livia would always come first. He said you would never let anyone else have a voice in the family.”
“He was right about the first part.”
Her expression tightened.
“I know what I did was wrong.”
“Then explain it without excuses.”
Bianca took a breath.
“I wanted Livia to stop seeing me as someone who could be ignored. I thought if she understood that I would be in charge after the wedding, she would stop resisting me.”
“So you frightened her.”
“I didn't think she would be so upset.”
Alessandro's eyes grew colder.
“She begged you to stop.”
Bianca said nothing.
“You heard her crying.”
“Yes.”
“And you kept cutting.”
Her lips trembled.
“Yes.”
For the first time, the admission sounded less like a strategy and more like the truth.
Michael asked whether she had brought the clippers to the hotel herself.
Bianca nodded.
“I had planned to trim a small section because the wreath wasn't sitting properly. Then she pulled away, and I got angry.”
“That doesn't explain the rest,” Michael said.
“No.”
Bianca looked toward the camera.
“I wanted her to understand that I was going to be part of the family. I thought if she feared disappointing me, she would obey me.”
Alessandro felt the urge to end the call.
Instead, he asked the question that mattered most.
“Did Paolo tell you to do it?”
“No.”
“Did Sloane?”
“No. That was my decision.”
The answer did not absolve either man of his own conduct, but it established an important distinction. Bianca had not been forced to hurt Livia. She had chosen to do so.
“Why are you telling us this now?” Alessandro asked.
Bianca hesitated.
“Because Paolo is preparing to blame everything on me. He says I acted alone, that I was unstable, and that he never promised me anything.”
“Did he?”
“Yes. He told me he could help me obtain influence over the trust and the household.”
“Do you have proof?”
Bianca's attorney opened the folder.
“There are emails and financial records. My client is prepared to provide them to the relevant authorities.”
Alessandro studied Bianca.
“You expect me to help you?”
“No.”
“You expect forgiveness?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Then what do you want?”
Bianca's voice broke slightly.
“I want the truth recorded. I don't want Paolo to use me as a scapegoat.”
Alessandro considered that.
“You can provide the evidence to Michael and the appropriate investigators. Your cooperation will be evaluated on its merits. It will not restore our engagement.”
“I understand.”
“And you will not contact Livia.”
Bianca closed her eyes.
“I understand.”
He ended the meeting.
For several seconds, the study remained silent.
Michael gathered the documents.
“Her statement aligns with some of what we've found,” he said. “The emails may help establish Paolo's role.”
“Then verify them.”
“Of course.”
Alessandro stood and walked to the window.
Bianca's confession had answered one question. She had cut Livia's hair to assert dominance. She had wanted the child to recognize her authority before the marriage began.
But the wider plan remained unresolved.
The documents Bianca provided contained messages between Paolo and Sloane discussing the possibility of obtaining a “strategic position” within the Rizzano family. They did not explicitly describe a criminal act, but they showed that Paolo had been seeking influence through the proposed marriage.
One message referred to the trust as “the first locked door.”
Another read:
Once the family is united publicly, Alessandro will have less room to refuse reasonable requests.
Alessandro felt a grim understanding settle over him.
Paolo had not merely wanted a larger share of the family estate. He had wanted to restore his influence by marrying someone into the household who could make demands from inside.
Bianca had accepted that bargain because she wanted power of her own.
And Livia had become the person standing between them and their ambitions.
That evening, Alessandro found Rosalie helping Livia prepare a small garden for her stuffed animals.
“Are you building something?” he asked.
“A house.”
“Who's going to live in it?”
“Me and Daddy and Rosalie.”
He crouched beside her.
“Anyone else?”
Livia considered the question carefully.
“Maybe Grandma Isabella's dog. But not Bianca.”
“That's your choice.”
She pressed a wooden flower into the dirt.
“Can we have a lock?”
“We can.”
“And a key?”
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“Then nobody can come in when we don't want them to.”
Alessandro helped her place the final flower.
He knew the world was more complicated than a toy house, but the principle was simple. Livia deserved to feel safe in her own home.
The next morning, Michael called with the first official development.
Investigators reviewing the financial records had found that one of Sloane's companies had received money from a business connected to Paolo. They were examining whether the payments were legitimate consulting fees or part of an undisclosed arrangement.
No charges had been filed, and Michael warned Alessandro not to speculate publicly.
Alessandro agreed.
He would let the evidence speak.
But the news brought a fresh message from Bianca's attorney.
My client has one final piece of information. Paolo intended to obtain copies of the estate's internal security procedures before the wedding. She says he asked her to arrange access.
Alessandro read the message twice.
Security procedures were not the same as financial records. They described how the estate protected its residents, how visitors were screened, and how emergency responses were coordinated.
If Paolo had sought those documents, his interest might have extended beyond influence over the trust.
Alessandro called Matteo.
“Review every request for security information made during the past year. Find out whether anything was copied or removed.”
Matteo's reply came quickly.
“I'm on it.”
Alessandro looked through the window at Livia playing in the garden.
May you like
The wedding had ended before the vows.
But the threat it revealed had not yet been fully understood.
