My Husband Asked For A Second Wife (Serafina and Matteo) novel Chapter 26

Matteo

“The plan failed.”

Mother’s sitting in the parlor like she’s announcing the weather instead of the complete destruction of my last chance at salvaging this clusterfuck of a marriage.

“Failed how?”

“Your wife is alive. Safe. And probably planning seventeen different ways to have us all killed.” Bianca’s lounging on the velvet couch, examining her manicure like we’re discussing weekend brunch plans instead of kidnapping and attempted murder.

“Castellano was supposed to handle it.”

“Castellano’s an idiot who underestimated Adrian Vasquez.” Mother’s voice could cut diamond. “Apparently your wife’s boyfriend has connections we didn’t account for.”

Boyfriend. The word tastes like battery acid mixed with broken glass.

“He’s not her boyfriend.”

“Please.” Bianca’s laugh could power a small generator. “Have you seen the way they look at each other? She’s probably fucking him while carrying your child.”

“Shut up.”

“Truth hurts, doesn’t it?”

Yeah. It really fucking does.

“The rescue was military precision,” Mother continues, because apparently my humiliation needs detailed analysis. “Professional. Coordinated. Either Adrian is much more than Lord Ferdinand’s driver, or—”

“Or what?”

“Or we severely miscalculated who we’re dealing with.”

Great. Just fucking great. I orchestrated the kidnapping of a woman who’s apparently under the protection of someone with serious firepower, and now I’m sitting here listening to my mother dissect exactly how spectacularly I’ve fucked up my own life.

“She’ll divorce me now,” I mutter.

“She was already divorcing you,” Bianca points out helpfully. “This just gave her more ammunition.”

“Thank you for that insight.”

“You’re welcome.”

“There’s only one way to secure the future of this family,” Mother says finally.

“Which is?”

“Your father needs to die.”

The words hit the room like a bomb going off in a library. Dead silence, except for the ticking of the antique clock that’s been counting down to family disasters for three generations.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Mother’s voice doesn’t change tone. “Your father’s will leaves everything to you, but only if you’re married. If you’re divorced, Bianca gets nothing. The family business goes to distant cousins. We lose everything.”

“So we make sure I don’t get divorced.”

“We tried that. It didn’t work.”

“So we—”

“So we accelerate your inheritance.” Bianca’s sitting up now, eyes bright with the kind of excitement that usually precedes someone getting murdered. “Daddy dies of natural causes. You inherit everything. Divorce or no divorce, we’re covered.”

“Natural causes?”

“Heart attack. Very sad. Very believable, given his age and stress levels.”

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