"She kicked me in the stomach too. It hurts so badly now. You have to stand up for me and our child." Gianna clutched at Enzo, her voice pitched to carry.
Carlo Valenti, the Family's political fixer, sucked in a sharp breath from behind the heir. "Whoever dares harm the heir's child must be severely punished! Everyone knows how difficult it's been for the heir to produce an offspring. The heir's wife has gone too far with her jealousy."
Enzo walked toward me. I was still on my knees, pinned down by the soldiers.
He glanced at me once, his lip curling in disgust. "What are you dressed like? You look nothing like the heir's wife."
I had just returned from Sicily, still wearing the plain dark clothes of the convent estate. The simplicity of my appearance only deepened his contempt.
Gianna burrowed into his arms. "My lord, I was so frightened. She truly meant to kill me. Our child and I nearly never saw you again."
Enzo looked down at me. "Wretched woman." Then he drove his foot into my body. I fell backward, and the veil slipped from my face.
Gianna let out a little gasp and pressed closer to Enzo. "No wonder you don't care for the heir's wife. Look at her. She looks even older than you."
"A man as handsome and distinguished as the heir, saddled with a woman her age? How could she possibly be a match?"
But Enzo had seen my face. His eyes went wide. The color drained from his skin, and his knees hit the ground with a crack.
