CHAPTER 13 — THE LAST SECRET OF ALESSANDRO ROSSI
The letter revealed that Maribel had not been Estelle's enemy from the beginning.
She had been Alessandro's secret ally.
Together they had planned the escape.
Maribel had deliberately made herself look cruel so the council would believe she hated Estelle.
Every insult.
Every rejection.
Every attempt to push Estelle away.
Some had been real.
But others had been protection.
Alessandro had written:
I know my daughter may hate Maribel one day. Let her. Hatred is safer than knowing the truth while Victor is alive.
Estelle looked at Maribel.
"You protected me."
Maribel shook her head.
"I failed you too."
"Both can be true."
Maribel cried.
Estelle hugged her.
It was the first time they had embraced.
Leandro watched from across the room.
The Rossi family had spent twenty-three years fighting over blood.
Now the truth had finally made them understand something.
Family wasn't simply the person whose blood ran through your veins.
It was the person who stayed when leaving would have been easier.
Then the lawyer spoke again.
"There is one final instruction."
Estelle looked up.
"Your father wanted the Rossi estate transformed into a foundation."
"For what?"
"Children who are victims of organized crime."
Estelle closed her eyes.
It was exactly what Alessandro had wanted.
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The Rossi name would no longer represent fear.
It would represent protection.
