The One Who Always Stood Behind

Lorenzo walked over and stepped in front of me.

“Mrs. Romano,” he said, his voice calm but carrying enough weight to silence the whole table, “I think you’re mistaken about something. I came here with Chiara — the woman I love, and also one of the finest financial analysts Visconti Holdings has ever had.”

He turned to Alessandro.

“By the way, Mr. Moretti — Visconti Holdings currently holds twelve million euros in convertible bonds from Moretti Group. My audit team just uncovered a suspicious ‘strategic consulting’ payment routed through a shell company registered to one of your relatives.”

Alessandro went pale.

“That’s just a misunderstanding about accounting procedure—”

“You can explain that to the board at tomorrow’s emergency meeting,” Lorenzo said.

“Under the terms of the bond agreement, if fraud is confirmed, Visconti Holdings has the right to demand immediate repayment, or to convert the debt into a controlling equity stake.”

“You have no right—” my father started, his voice shaking with anger.

“I have every right, Mr. Romano,” Lorenzo cut in.

“And I should mention, since it seems you don’t know: Casa Romano currently holds a short-term credit line with a bank in which Visconti Holdings owns a forty percent stake. I have no interest in making things difficult for your family — unless I have to keep watching your daughter get pushed aside simply because she wasn’t ‘notable’ enough for her own family to care about.”

Valentina, standing frozen, suddenly turned to her mother, her voice breaking: “You told me being with Alessandro was the right thing, you never said anything about his family’s company having problems—”

“Valentina, be quiet,” my mother said through gritted teeth.

But it was too late.

The guests nearby had already started whispering, and the way they looked at both families had lost every trace of the respect they’d carried into the evening.