Chapter 26–Alice
“Look at that.” Emma Bianchi narrowed her eyes, almost as if she was looking at an insect “It seems that your condition is not as critical as your lawyers said to find an excuse to further delay the process of transferring positions in the company.”
“Mother…” the man next to her, who Alice knew very well was Massimo’s half–brother, Dante Bianchi, tried to calm his mother, but neither Emma nor Massimo paid any attention to her.
“Do you want me to call the i intimidatingly “Or do you want to do this with your own legs, Emma?”
to get you off my land…?” Massimo questioned,
“Still disrespectful even after all that’s been through, I see.” His stepmother raised an eyebrow “I thought a situation like this would have at least taught you some humility.”
“Go fuck yourself!” Massimo banged his fists against the arms of the chair, leaning towards her “If you came here to try to humiliate me, thinking that this way I will clear the way for you to get what you want, then you better get the hell out of my property, before my security guards force you into it! That accident was just a stumbling block in my path! What you see is temporary and, as soon as my legs are recovered, I will go back to work at the same pace as before, so that neither you nor those stupid old men will have an excuse to try to steal from me the position that my father wanted to be mine!”
“Yours?” Emma snapped, offended “Tommaso could be a fool who brought a bastard into our family, but not even he would be capable of committing such an idiocy. That’s why he gave 40
% of our companies to you and 40% to Dante. He knew very well that he just needed to give you a high enough position for you to fall on your own!”
“Then sit down and wait for me to fall.” He smiled a smile that was everything, but not friendly “Because I haven’t finished with everything I could do.”
“Do you think you can fool me or any of the partners? We all know very well that if what that accident did to your legs was that harmless, you would have announced it a long time ago.” Tommaso’s widow threw back her hair, as if she genuinely believed that she and her son were the only worthy people there “I’m wrong to say that you will stay exactly as you are for the rest of your life? So, instead of seeking even more humiliation for yourself, why not make this whole situation a lot easier and continue living in peace in this pathetic hole, like you seem to want?”
“I would rather die.” Massimo said each of those words with bloodthirsty emphasis, almost like a battle cry, but what made Alice shudde
in surprise was not that, but rather the sudden sensation of something gripping the fabric of her pants.
“Mommy…” Millie, who until then had been a little distant from them with her toys, was now there, whispering scared “Are we… Aren’t we going to play anymore?”
“Oh.” A derisive snort brought Alice’s attention back to Emma, whose eyes were on Millicent ” So, those are the wife and child you bought from the Dawseys, after Amber realized you were a goner?”
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729 BONUS
Chapter 26 Allon
“I would appreciate it if you would be more respectful to me and my daughter, Mrs. Bianchi.” Alice gritted her teeth “You know, the basics of etiquette, like not going into someone’s house uninvited.”
“I see what Kendra always said about her eldest daughter was true. You are a very unpleasant girl.” Emma’s words lashed her, but Alice kept her expression unchanged, especially when Massimo’s stepmother’s eyes fell to Millie, narrowing as if there was something on her daughter’s face that was making the gears in Emma’s mind move.
“I would particularly call someone unpleasant who forces their way onto private property to bother their stepson, who is recovering from an accident.” Alice countered, hating how that woman reminded her of the arguments she had with Kendra “So, if you’re done trying to destabilize my husband and maybe even worsen his condition, feel free to leave.” She growled, hiding Millie further behind herself and placing her hands on Massimo’s shoulders, even though the last thing he probably wanted was her protection.
“You seem to have a lot of courage for someone who is among the most despised members of High Society, don’t you think? Have you ever imagined how much worse your life could be if I told your family how you just disrespected your grandfather’s best friend’s widow?” Emma threatened, but Alice could do nothing but laugh dismissively.
“Are you talking about the mother who always made a point of being the first to create rumors about me at these parties? Don’t worry, you can go ahead.” She shrugged and, even without lowering her head, she could feel Massimo’s gaze on her.
“Massimo’s wife is right, mom.” Dante spoke more than a few words for the first time, his tone much more measured and sensible than his mother’s “None of the shareholders can make a decision before communicating it to him, anyway. Once his condition is stabilized, we can properly invite him to the office….
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“Micah Griffin has decided he will support Dante as CEO of the company.” Emma interrupted her son, her tone oozing superiority, while Massimo became a statue in Alice’s hands “That means we now have 60% of the company on our side: 40% that Tommaso left to his legitimate son, 5% of the shareholders and the 15% that goes to Mr. Griffin now that he is on our side.”
“That son of a bitch…” Massimo growled, more possessed than Alice had ever seen him “Do you think you’re fooling me or what? I know that bastard! All he wants is to buy the entire multinational and everything related to it! Why would he do something like that?”
“Because he knows very well which of the two parties will become a better business partner for him. Just as all the other partners have known for a long time.”
“You damn…” Massimo’s teeth squeaked “They can’t do this to me! My numbers are much more expressive! Even those stupid old men were forced to admit that the growth has been significant since I took over my father’s position! You only have your damn last name while I have
my competence, and none of you can take that away from me!”
Chapter 26–Alice
“And do you think that’s worth anything?” Emma rolled her eyes “Do you think the partners and shareholders will want a CEO stuck in a wheelchair? Always ending meetings early because of your health condition? Always having to worry about where to set up meetings? How will they act at parties with you? Always having to look down to see the man who was supposed to be the most powerful among them?” she sneered “Growing the company for a year or two won’t mean anything when you need to take months off to live in hospitals instead of fulfilling your duties. Our companies need someone healthy, who can be consistent in his actions and who can generate heirs to follow his legacy, in case death takes him too soon, as happened to my husband.” Despite her expression of contempt, she seemed almost pleased with the anger and humiliation in Massimo’s face “It doesn’t even surprise me that you haven’t realized all this since the day that accident ruined your legs and your chances of being a father or a good CEO. As I imagined, no matter how hard Tommaso tried, a boy who spent the beginning of his life in a tenement would never be able to understand what it really means to be in this family.”
“That’s enough!” Alice growled, no longer able to stop herself from leaving where she was and placing herself between Massimo and that despicable woman “If Massimo really had no chance of continuing in his position, then why bother coming here? Just to rub it in his face or to try to encourage him to give up completely, to eliminate any threat to you?”
“How do you dare?! Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?” Emma growled, but Alice didn’t hesitate for an instant.
“I may not know who I’m talking to, but my grandfather let me know that this farm belongs only to Massimo since his father passed away, so don’t try to fool me by saying that you have every right to be here bothering my husband like this!” she raised her finger towards the farm gates “Joshua, get this woman out of here! Record the behavior of her security guards if they dare to threaten you, so that we can use it in an assault and invasion process. But get her out of here right now!”
