Chapter 9 - The Man at the Garden Gate
Paolo returned on a rainy Tuesday evening.
He did not arrive at the estate. Instead, he requested a meeting through Michael Grant and offered to provide documents that would clarify his relationship with Bianca and Victor Sloane.
Alessandro agreed to meet him at Michael's office, with counsel present.
He had no intention of allowing an old family connection to turn the matter into a private bargain.
Paolo entered wearing a dark overcoat. His hair had grayed at the temples, and his confidence seemed less effortless than it once had.
“You look tired,” Paolo said.
“I've been busy protecting my daughter.”
Paolo lowered his eyes.
“I heard she's doing better.”
“That's not a subject we're discussing.”
“Of course.”
They sat across from one another.
Michael explained that the meeting was being documented and that no agreement would be made without reviewing the evidence. Paolo nodded, then placed a folder on the table.
Inside were emails, payment records, and notes from his meetings with Sloane.
He admitted that he had introduced Bianca to the consultant because he believed she might help him regain influence within the family. He insisted he had not known she would cut Livia's hair.
Alessandro studied him.
“I believe you when you say you didn't know about the clippers.”
Paolo looked surprised.
“But you knew she resented my daughter.”
“I knew she felt excluded.”
“And you thought that was useful.”
Paolo didn't answer.
“You knew Bianca wanted authority over the household,” Alessandro continued. “You knew she was trying to influence the trust arrangement. You knew she believed marriage would give her leverage.”
“I thought it would be a negotiation.”
“You were willing to make my daughter's life part of that negotiation.”
Paolo's face tightened.
“I never wanted her hurt.”
“Then you should have refused to use her as a bargaining chip.”
Silence filled the office.
Paolo finally said, “I thought you had become so focused on Livia that there was no room left for the rest of the family.”
Alessandro's expression did not change.
“There was room for the family. There was no room for someone who wanted to use my daughter to gain power.”
Paolo looked down at the documents.
“I made a mistake.”
“You made several. The investigators will determine which ones have legal consequences.”
“Will you help me?”
“No.”
The answer came without anger.
Paolo looked up.
“After everything we've been through?”
“Because of everything we've been through, you knew exactly what you were doing. You knew what loyalty meant, and you chose your ambition instead.”
Paolo swallowed.
“I'm still your cousin.”
“And Livia is still my daughter.”
The meeting ended with Paolo agreeing to provide additional records to the investigators. Michael made it clear that cooperation did not guarantee immunity from any consequences.
Alessandro left without shaking Paolo's hand.
For the first time, he felt no desire to punish the man himself. He wanted accountability, not revenge. If the evidence showed wrongdoing, the proper authorities could decide what followed.
His responsibility was to keep the past from reaching into Livia's future.
When he returned home, Livia was waiting near the front window in her pajamas.
“Daddy!”
She ran toward him, her small feet pattering across the floor.
He lifted her into his arms.
“Why aren't you in bed?”
“I wanted to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
“I dreamed about the wedding room.”
His smile faded slightly.
“Was it a scary dream?”
She nodded.
“What happened?”
“The buzzing sound came back.”
Alessandro held her more securely.
“I'm sorry, sweetheart.”
“But then you came in.”
He kissed her hair.
“I'm glad I came in.”
“You always come in now.”
The words struck him with quiet force.
She was not merely remembering the day. She was measuring whether the world had become safer.
“I will keep coming when you need me,” he said. “And if I'm not in the room, Rosalie or another trusted grown-up will help you.”
Livia considered that.
“Can I sleep in your room tonight?”
“Of course.”
He carried her upstairs and settled her into the large bed, where she curled beside him with her rabbit. He did not open his laptop or check the reports Matteo had sent. For that night, he let the work wait.
The next morning, he arranged for a family photographer to visit the estate—not for a public announcement, but to take ordinary pictures of Livia in the garden, with Rosalie, and beside the fountain where Elena used to sit.
Livia loved the idea.
She chose a yellow dress and insisted that her rabbit be included in every photograph.
When the photographer asked her to stand near the rose bushes, she held Alessandro's hand.
“Can Daddy be in the picture too?”
“Absolutely,” the photographer said.
Alessandro knelt beside her.
The camera clicked.
In the photograph, Livia was smiling with her whole face, her shorter hair lifting slightly in the breeze. Alessandro's arm rested protectively around her shoulders, but she was standing on her own feet.
He kept the photograph on his desk.
Not as a reminder of Bianca.
As a reminder of what mattered.
Over the next several weeks, the investigation proceeded. Paolo provided documents that corroborated parts of Bianca's account, while other records remained under review. Sloane was questioned about his consulting work and financial arrangements. No one promised Alessandro an immediate resolution, and he stopped asking for one.
The truth would take the time it took.
Meanwhile, life at the estate became quieter.
Livia returned to her usual activities. She attended her playgroup, visited the pediatrician for routine care, and continued seeing Dr. Brooks when she needed help with difficult feelings.
Some days she talked about the haircut.
Other days she forgot about it entirely.
Alessandro learned not to measure her recovery by whether she mentioned Bianca. He measured it by whether she felt free to laugh, ask questions, and say no without fear.
One Saturday, they visited the beach.
The sky was clear, and the tide had left smooth sand near the water. Livia built a sandcastle with Rosalie while Alessandro sat nearby, rolling up his trousers and pretending not to notice when she decorated his shoes with wet sand.
“Daddy, you need a tower!”
“I thought I was helping.”
“You are. You can carry the shells.”
He obeyed.
When the castle was finished, Livia placed her rabbit at the entrance.
“This is his house.”
“Does he have a lock?”
“No. He has a door that opens when he wants.”
Alessandro looked at her.
“That sounds even better.”
She smiled.
“Because he gets to decide.”
The words were simple, but they carried a meaning she might not fully understand until years later.
Her life belonged to her.
That evening, as the sun sank over the water, Livia fell asleep in the back seat of the car. Alessandro watched her in the rearview mirror and felt a peace he had not known since Elena's death.
He had spent years believing he could protect his family by controlling every variable.
Now he understood that he could not prevent every hurt. But he could make sure his daughter never faced it alone.
When they reached the estate, Matteo was waiting at the entrance.
“The investigators have sent an update,” he said quietly.
Alessandro stepped away from the car so he wouldn't wake Livia.
“Go on.”
“Paolo's records support the conclusion that he tried to gain influence through the marriage arrangement. The authorities are reviewing possible financial misconduct. Sloane's consulting company has also been asked to preserve its records.”
“Any immediate threat?”
“Nothing credible at this time. We've updated the estate's access controls and reviewed every household procedure.”
Alessandro nodded.
“Good. Keep it professional.”
Matteo hesitated.
“There's one more thing. Bianca's attorney says she wants to send a final apology to Livia when she's older. She says she won't contact the child now.”
Alessandro looked toward the car, where his daughter slept beneath a small blanket.
“When Livia is older, she can decide whether she wants to hear anything from Bianca. Until then, the answer is no contact.”
“Understood.”
Alessandro carried Livia upstairs.
As he laid her in bed, she stirred.
“Daddy?”
“I'm here.”
“Did we win?”
He brushed a strand of hair from her forehead.
“There wasn't a game, sweetheart.”
She blinked sleepily.
“Then why are you smiling?”
He kissed her forehead.
“Because we're home.”
For the first time, that answer felt complete.
But the next morning, a letter arrived from an unexpected source: Elena's older sister, Catherine, who had been living in Vermont since Elena's death.
The envelope contained a photograph of Elena holding baby Livia and a handwritten note.
At the bottom, Catherine had written:
There is something about Elena's final months that you never knew. I think it's time you heard it.
Alessandro sat down slowly.
He had believed the secrets surrounding his family were finally coming to an end.
May you like
Apparently, one remained.
And it had begun long before Bianca Moretti entered the picture.
