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Krystal lifted her head off his shoulder and turned to Esther with a smug grin, laughing under her breath.

‘I acted twenty-four hours a day for two damn years,’ she scoffed secretly. ‘You want to challenge me? You’re just a brat throwing tantrums in front of me.’

Lorenzo didn’t spare Esther another glance. He stormed out of the room, Krystal cradled securely in his arms.

Esther stood frozen, helplessly watching him walk away with that woman. Her fists clenched by her sides as her chest tightened with frustration.

“Is Lorenzo really in love with her?” she whispered under her breath, shifting on her feet, agitated.

***

“She’s going to be fine,” the doctor said as he stepped back from Krystal, having just taped a dressing over her cheek. “It’s just a surface cut. Nothing serious.”

He packed up his kit and left the room. Krystal turned her face slightly, her voice soft. “You should go back now,” she said. “Esther must be waiting for you.”

Lorenzo’s jaw tightened at her words. His teeth ground together, but he kept his temper on a leash. His gaze sharpened as he looked at her.

“Why did you come home today without telling me?”

“I told you,” she replied quietly. “I needed clothes. I didn’t have any.”

“You’re lying.” He took a step closer, his voice deadly calm as his eyes searched hers.

She stiffened, panic rising in her chest. ‘Does he know? Has he figured out I’m Astra?’

He leaned in, his face inches from hers. She could feel his breath on her skin, his scent wrapping around her like a noose.

“You didn’t even take the hundred million dollars I offered you, Krystal,” he murmured, his voice dark. “But now you come back for clothes? You really expect me to believe that?”

Her fingers curled into the bedsheet beneath her. A beat later, she placed her hand on his chest and gently pushed him back. Standing up, she glanced at him and spoke softly.

“Actually, I came to go to the court with you. To finalize the divorce. I didn’t expect Esther to be there.”

His jaw clenched so tight, the veins in his neck stood out.

“You’re in such a hurry to divorce me now?” he asked, voice gravelly with anger.

She blinked, thrown off, brows furrowed in confusion. “Wasn’t it you who proposed the divorce?”

The glare he gave her turned from cold to absolutely lethal. He looked away, seething, his chest rising and falling with restrained rage. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, Xander rushed into the room, breathless.

“Mr. Moretti, I—”

Xander froze as soon as he sensed the tension crackling in the air. His eyes flicked from Lorenzo to Krystal and back, panic creeping onto his face.

“I—I’ll come back later,” he stammered, already retreating.

Lorenzo shut his eyes briefly and let out a sharp breath through his nose. “Get back in here. Speak.”

Xander hesitated, then stepped forward awkwardly. “Sorry for the interruption. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“What’s the matter?” Lorenzo demanded, his voice like ice.

They both stepped out of the room. Krystal moved quickly, pressing herself against the wall behind the door to eavesdrop.

“Mr. Moretti,” Xander began, lowering his voice, “Astra disappeared from the house. There’s no trace of her. The guards searched everywhere, but she’s completely vanished. No sign of her.”

Lorenzo’s voice turned into a furious growl. “She really thinks I’m a fucking joke? Took an outrageous sum from me, and then had the nerve to sneak into my house and try to kill Esther?”