Only My Blood Could Inherit

Chapter 4

At 7 a.m. on Wednesday, rain was still falling.

A black SUV waited outside the gates of Moretti Estate.

Cassiano stood on the steps with a cup of coffee in his hand, looking tired. Elena had been frightened the night before, and he had stayed with her until morning.

"Have Louis take you to the hospital."

He took a sip of coffee. "After the procedure, the doctor will arrange the best room for you. If you need anything to help you recover, tell the housekeeper to buy it."

I carried my black suitcase to the SUV.

"Cassiano."

I turned to look at him.

He lowered his coffee. "What is it? Are you scared?"

"Take care of yourself."

I opened the door and got in.

The SUV pulled away from Moretti Estate and disappeared deeper into the rain.

Louis Grant held the steering wheel and glanced at me in the rearview mirror.

"Mrs. Moretti, where are we going?"

Louis had been one of Dominic's most trusted men. He was loyal only to those who carried Moretti blood.

"The airport."

The SUV stopped outside a private terminal entrance 30 minutes later.

The family attorney was already waiting. He handed me a manila envelope.

"Mrs. Moretti, the forfeiture clause of the Moretti Family Trust is now in effect. From this moment on, every family business, account, and piece of real estate under Mr. Moretti's name will be frozen."

I took the envelope and glanced at the papers inside. The Moretti family seal was stamped across the documents.

"Make it public."

I handed the papers back to him.

End of Sylvia's POV.

At the same time, at Moretti Medical Center downtown, Cassiano was with Elena for an examination.

The attending physician studied the image on the screen, his expression strained.

"Mr. Moretti."

The doctor wiped sweat from his forehead. "We can no longer detect a fetal heartbeat in Ms. Carter's pregnancy."

Cassiano stared at him, not understanding.

"What did you say?"

"The pregnancy has ended in fetal demise," the doctor said, his voice tight. "The blood tests also show that Ms. Carter had been taking banned weight-loss medication for an extended period before the pregnancy. That is what caused the fetal demise. Yesterday's fall was only a contributing factor."

Cassiano's face darkened.

He turned toward Elena on the examination bed. She grabbed his sleeve in panic.

"No, that's not true. Cassiano, let me explain."

At that moment, his phone rang. It was Cassiano's assistant.

"Mr. Moretti, something's wrong!" His assistant sounded terrified. "The Moretti Family Trust just issued a notice stripping you of your inheritance rights. All our accounts have been frozen. They've even taken back ownership of Moretti Medical Center!"

Cassiano gripped the phone as his breath caught.

"What? Who did this?"

"Mrs. Moretti. The late Mr. Moretti's will contains an inheritance clause. Only a child born to Mrs. Moretti can inherit the family holdings. She just activated the forfeiture process."

Cassiano jerked his sleeve out of Elena's grasp and ran out of the examination room.

He called Sylvia, but all he heard was the automated message saying her phone was off.

He rushed downstairs to the abortion procedure room and shoved open the door.

The room was empty.

A nurse turned around.

"Mr. Moretti, Mrs. Moretti never checked in."

Cassiano stood in the deserted abortion procedure room, his fingers going numb.

His phone vibrated again.

It was a text from Louis.

Louis: Mrs. Moretti asked me to tell you that she will not abort the rightful heir to the Moretti family. She also said she has quite a show prepared for you.