Chapter 117 Let your mother think she’s winning
Giovanni’s POV
Octavia should know by now that I would never allow any harm to come close to Roger, so what exactly did she mean by that? About to speak, Molly beat me to it.
“You know that I love Roger like my son.”
“Then I won’t fight for custody, and I won’t disturb your lives if you promise to give me the protection I need,” she said. I was more confused.
Because of her relationship with me, I always had enough bodyguards around her, though I tried as much as possible to keep her out of the limelight.
Molly was the only woman I couldn’t keep secret even if I tried because of how much I love her. Keeping our relationship secret was suffocating.
“Octavia, get to the point already. Don’t you have enough bodyguards, and I hope you were joking about Gael?” I really hoped she wasn’t, but her reply stunned me.
“No, Vanni. Gael is alive. I spoke to him on FaceTime. He’s Beatrix’s only son.”
Was it what I was thinking? After finding out she wasn’t my real mother, I couldn’t help thinking about so many things.
“Let me guess. She made Gael take the bullet for me to make me marry you and take care of his son?”
I still couldn’t understand why Gael would take the bullet for me and why he couldn’t take care of his son. What more did he want?
“You are partly correct, but he wanted me to inherit everything, and that way, it would be automatically his when you die. They would have killed you if you had married me. Beatrix said she sent someone to poison your coffee, but you survived it,” she revealed. Molly pulled away and went to sit on the sofa.
It was understandable how the weight of the information was too much for her to bear.
That made sense. Raphael’s poisoning my coffee was not his intention. Mom set him up to do it, and he foolishly agreed. Well, I already took care of him, but that woman?
“That day, Molly was the one who saved me. She caught my friend poisoning the coffee and took a video of it. If she had not been there, I would not have been alive.”
“That makes sense,” Octavia said. I was confused. “What?”
“Well, Mom tried to tear you both apart because she knew she couldn’t manipulate Molly, and she wanted to make sure that you never had a child of your own, which was why she caused your accident. She wanted everything for herself, but what I didn’t ask was why she wanted you to father Roger.”
I couldn’t believe how much my family had been deceived by these impostors. Did it hurt? Like a bitch.
“It’s as clear as day,” Molly said. “Roger could grow up to inherit the Dawson’s group, but that would be too late for her. Or Roger might also fall in love and get married, so she might not have the power she craves.”
Molly was right, and I was glad she was using her brain effectively these days. “Of course, she can’t manipulate Roger because the kid is just like me.”
I trained him, and that's why I trusted him. Even though I never had a child of my own, I knew Roger would be a worthy son. “So you won’t give up on him?” Octavia asked. I wondered if she was insane or if I didn’t understand her question better.
“Give up on my son?”
“Gael is still alive,” she emphasized. “He’s in London and will be back in a few days. What if he fights for custody?”
I couldn’t help but laugh internally. To think he was a good man for taking the bullet for me, but it turned out he was just as manipulative as his mother.
“How can a dead man fight for custody?” I asked. Octavia was confused, so I explained it to her. “Well, he already faked his death, so technically, he won’t be missed.”
Gael and his mother were indeed cunning, but Octavia should know more. “Did she tell you about my parents?”
“Yes. Your dad took everything from her dad because he almost raped your real mother. Beatrix is in for revenge and to take back everything. She pretended to be a nurse in the labor ward and gave your mother a wrong injection. You were supposed to die too, but you survived, so she took care of you after marrying your father.”
“Then she realized she couldn’t get everything because your father found out Gael was her son. When he wanted to tell you, they killed him in that feud after failing with a heart attack.”
At this point, I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. In a way, I blamed myself for not being there for him. After all that Octavia had said, I realized she was quite useful after I sent her away. But would mom tell her all this for nothing?
“What's the catch for you in all of this?" I asked her, noticing her slight nervousness.
"She wants me to seduce you to make you marry me no matter what," she replied.
I was relieved that Octavia had changed and confided in me about this plan. If she hadn't, she could have been in danger. But now that she had made the right choice, I was determined to protect her from that evil woman who had harmed the daughter of our family doctor.
"Molly, what should we do?" I inquired, to which she smiled and said, "Simple. Let your mother think she's winning until Gael returns."
I was pleased that we were on the same page, but I wanted more details. "And how do we make that happen?"
"Starting tomorrow, Octavia can send her updates that show progress," Molly suggested.
Regardless of the level of protection, everyone needed to be able to defend themselves. Octavia had been lax in her training, only practicing when I was around and never having faced a real enemy. I expressed my concern to her.
"Octavia, I hope you're taking your training seriously," I said. Her expression indicated otherwise, so I thought of Hank, who ran a karate and martial arts training school with professionals.
Hank could either provide a trainer or personally train Octavia. While he had been eager to help Molly or Roger, I wasn't sure about Octavia.
"Alright. I'll ask Hank to help with your training, and we'll follow Molly's plan. But if you mess this up?" I warned her.
She quickly assured me, "No, I understand now. I used to think Molly was a problem between us, but I see that she's the only woman you love. I've accepted that."
Impressed by her insight, I instructed her to update Beatrix with a fabricated message the next day. Octavia composed a text and showed it to me.
'Mom, it's going well. Molly fell for my deception. She trusts me now. Don't worry, they've accepted me back at the mansion. Tonight, I'll try my luck with Vanni.'
She sent the message along with a selfie of her and Molly in the kitchen. Roger didn’t like her presence, upset with us for letting her in, whereas Hank had agreed to train her and even arrived at dawn.
Thanks to him, Roger was excited. With this information, I knew I wouldn't have to struggle to obtain legal documents to take control. The scheming woman and her son would be ousted, and the extended family would be powerless to intervene.
‘Great. I've already won over two of his mansion's bodyguards. If you get caught, let me know, and I'll have them protect you," Beatrix texted Octavia, indicating that the situation was more complicated than expected.
I wondered which two bodyguards she had bribed and how she had managed it.