Chapter 6 - The Bride No One WantedSophia spent fourteen hours in a holding room that smelled like old coffee and hopelessness.
Detective Harris questioned her twice. Another detective watched through the glass. They asked about Enzo, the brooch, her ex-husband, her finances, her daughter, her relationship with Alessandro.
That last word was said with raised eyebrows.
Relationship.
Sophia almost laughed.
She was a maid.
He was Alessandro Moretti.
Their relationship was terror, gratitude, confusion, and one purple flower on his hand.
By morning, she had no tears left.
Then the door opened.
Alessandro entered with a woman in a navy suit and red glasses.
“This is Rebecca Vale,” he said. “Your attorney.”
Sophia stood too fast. “Where is Emma?”
“Sleeping at the estate. Vincent stayed beside her all night. She has eaten toast, strawberries, and half a blue crayon.”
Sophia blinked.
Alessandro added, “The crayon was not intentional.”
A broken laugh escaped her.
Then she covered her mouth.
Rebecca placed a folder on the table. “Sophia, listen carefully. The evidence against you looks ugly but weak. No murder weapon with your prints. No witnesses to the act. No motive that survives scrutiny. But the Moretti name changes how people behave. The family wants you charged quickly.”
Sophia looked at Alessandro. “Your family.”
His jaw tightened. “Yes.”
Detective Harris entered a moment later, his expression irritated.
“Mr. Moretti, this is irregular.”
“My attorney is here. Her attorney is here. Proceed.”
Harris glanced at Sophia. “Ms. Rivera, new information has come in.”
Sophia’s stomach dropped.
“What information?”
“A witness claims you were seen arguing with Enzo Moretti two hours before his death.”
“That is a lie.”
“The witness is Marco Moretti.”
Alessandro’s eyes went flat.
Rebecca spoke before he could. “Convenient.”
Harris ignored her. “He says Enzo confronted you about stealing and threatened to call child services.”
Sophia went cold. “I never spoke to Enzo that night. I never even saw him until the chapel.”
Harris studied her. “Then why would Marco lie?”
Sophia looked at Alessandro.
Because he could.
Because people believed rich men.
Because women like her were easy to throw away.
Alessandro leaned forward. “Detective, I suggest you ask Marco where he was at 9:17.”
“We will.”
“No. You will ask now.”
Harris’s mouth tightened. “You do not direct my investigation.”
“Then stop walking in the direction my aunt points.”
The room crackled with tension.
Rebecca touched Alessandro’s arm lightly. “Careful.”
He stood back.
But the damage was done.
Harris left with a warning look.
Sophia sank into the chair. “They are going to take Emma.”
“No,” Alessandro said.
“You cannot promise that.”
“I can.”
“You are not her father.”
The room went silent.
Sophia regretted the words immediately.
Alessandro looked away first.
“No,” he said. “I am not.”
Rebecca closed her folder slowly. “Actually, there is a legal issue we need to discuss.”
Sophia frowned. “What issue?”
“Derek Walsh filed an emergency custody petition this morning.”
Sophia felt the floor disappear.
“No.”
Rebecca continued carefully. “He claims you are under investigation for homicide and therefore unfit. His filing includes statements from two witnesses claiming you brought Emma into dangerous criminal environments.”
“His men,” Sophia whispered.
Alessandro turned toward the window, his hand tightening at his side.
Sophia’s voice shook. “If I am charged, they can give her to Derek?”
“It is possible temporarily,” Rebecca said. “We can fight it, but family court moves unpredictably when there is a criminal investigation.”
Sophia stood, panic rising. “No. No, he cannot have her. He will scare her. He will use her to punish me. You don’t understand—”
“I understand,” Alessandro said.
“No, you don’t!” she snapped. “You live in a fortress. I live with locks I pray will hold. He doesn’t need to hurt me to destroy me. He only needs to take her.”
Alessandro absorbed the words without flinching.
Then he looked at Rebecca.
“What prevents Derek from taking custody?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“Rebecca,” he said.
She removed her glasses, thinking. “A stronger immediate household claim. Stable residence. Legal guardianship support. Marriage can matter, but—”
“No,” Sophia said instantly.
Alessandro looked at her.
“No,” she repeated. “Whatever you are thinking, no.”
Rebecca said, “I did not suggest—”
“You didn’t have to.” Sophia backed away from the table. “I am not marrying a man because I am desperate.”
Alessandro’s expression tightened. “I would never ask that of you.”
“But you thought it.”
“Yes.”
His honesty stunned her.
He stepped closer, but not too close.
“Only because Derek is using the system faster than we can stop him. My name can protect Emma today while Rebecca dismantles the case tomorrow.”
Sophia laughed once, bitter and broken. “Your name is the reason I am in this room.”
“Yes,” he said. “And I will spend the rest of my life answering for that if I must. But right now, your daughter is in danger.”
Sophia closed her eyes.
Emma’s face filled the darkness.
Emma hiding from Derek.
Emma trembling at the gate.
Emma asking why red.
“What would it mean?” Sophia whispered.
Rebecca answered, not Alessandro. “A civil marriage. Immediate filing. Alessandro can petition as a household guardian and spouse. It does not erase the investigation, but it makes Derek’s petition much harder. It gives us time.”
Sophia opened her eyes. “And when this is over?”
Alessandro said, “You walk away with whatever protection you need. No debt. No claim. No cage.”
She searched his face.
“Men always say the cage is open until a woman tries to leave.”
Pain moved through his eyes.
“I am not him.”
“No,” she said softly. “You are more dangerous.”
He accepted that.
“Yes.”
The door opened.
Detective Harris returned.
“We are releasing you pending further investigation,” he said. “Do not leave the city.”
Sophia should have felt relief.
Instead, she felt the trap tightening.
Outside the precinct, cameras waited.
Reporters shouted.
“Sophia, did you kill Enzo Moretti?”
“Mr. Moretti, is she your mistress?”
“Was the maid stealing from your family?”
Sophia froze under the lights.
Then a voice rang out from the courthouse steps.
Derek.
“Emma belongs with me!”
He shoved through reporters, holding papers high.
Sophia went white.
Alessandro saw the cameras turn.
He saw Derek smiling.
He saw Valentina’s plan unfolding perfectly: murder accusation, custody threat, public humiliation.
So he did the one thing no one expected.
He took Sophia’s hand.
She looked up at him, shocked.
Alessandro faced the cameras.
“Sophia Rivera is under my protection,” he said.
Reporters erupted.
Derek shouted, “You can’t just claim her!”
Alessandro’s eyes found Derek’s across the crowd.
Then he said the words that detonated through New York before noon.
“I can when she is my bride.”
Sophia stopped breathing.
Derek’s face collapsed.
May you like
The reporters screamed questions.
And somewhere inside the Moretti estate, Valentina watched the live broadcast and threw a crystal glass into the fireplace.
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