I lost my husband, my marriage, and the life I had spent eleven years building in a single morning when Jason signed our divorce papers / Chapter 37 / 60

Chapter 37 - The Midnight Extraction

The rain poured in violent sheets across the winding mountain roads between Lake Como and Lugano.

Inside the armored black Mercedes, Francesca sat beside Julian and two of their most trusted private security operatives. The vehicle cut through the dense alpine fog, heading toward an isolated private estate perched high above Lake Lugano in Canton Ticino.

Through Giancarlo’s discreet intelligence network, they had discovered that Nicole and Jason had not left the Contessa in Milan. To keep her compliant and out of public view before tomorrow's hearing, they had secluded the frail seventy-year-old Dowager in an estate owned by Nicole’s family.

"This is dangerous, Francesca," Julian said, checking his tactical watch. "If Jason has hired private mercenaries from London, this could turn into a firefight."

"Jason is a coward, Julian," Francesca said coldly. "He never fights his own battles. He hires lawyers, hides behind women, and manipulates sick elders. When he sees us, he will fold."

Twenty minutes later, the Mercedes glided through the iron gates of the Lugano villa, the electronic locks bypassed by Julian’s security team.

The front entrance gave way with a muffled crash. Francesca stepped into the marble foyer, Julian right beside her.

From the upper landing, a frantic voice cried out. Jason Vance appeared in a silk bathrobe, his hair disheveled, holding a whiskey glass. Behind him, Nicole stood in silk pajamas, shrieking as the security guards took up positions in the hallway.

"Francesca?!" Jason sputtered, nearly dropping his glass. "What the hell are you doing here? This is private property! This is trespassing!"

"Save your legal threats for Milan, Jason," Francesca said, stepping deliberately up the marble stairs. "Where is Julian’s mother?"

Nicole lunged forward, her face twisted with hysteria. "Get out of our house, you pathetic bitch! Christian will crush you tomorrow! Aurelia is going to London with him, and you will be left with nothing!"

Julian stepped past Francesca, his presence looming like an executioner. "Touch my wife, Nicole, and your family will spend the next twenty years behind bars in Bellinzona."

Julian brushed past them, kicking open the double doors to the master bedroom at the end of the hall.

Sitting in an antique armchair by the window, wrapped in a lavender shawl, was a thin, frail woman with snow-white hair and delicate, trembling hands. Her eyes were clouded with confusion, but as Julian stepped into the room, a sudden shock of recognition illuminated her pale face.

"Julian...?" the old woman whispered, her voice trembling. "My boy...?"

Julian fell to his knees before her, taking her frail, paper-thin hands into his own. "Mother. It’s me. I’m here."

The Contessa looked at him, her eyes welling with tears. "They told me... they told me Christian was dead... and then they brought Christian to me. They made me sign papers, Julian. They said if I didn't sign, Christian would take the little girl away forever..."

Francesca stepped into the room, kneeling beside Julian. She looked up at Jason and Nicole, who stood paralyzed at the doorway, flanked by security guards.