Chapter 106

Chapter 106
Benedetta’s POV
The afternoon sun filtered through the silk curtains of my private study as I reviewed the documents Carlo had delivered. My fingers traced the edges of the contract—Damian Cavalieri's surrogacy agreement with Aria Rossi, laid bare in black and white.
"You're certain this is authentic?" I asked, not looking up from the papers.
Carlo shifted his weight by the door. "Verified through three separate sources, ma'am. The contract was filed with the family's private attorney. Every clause, every signature—it's all legitimate."
I allowed myself a smile. The document in my hands was more than just a contract. It was a weapon. A beautifully crafted instrument of destruction that would serve my purposes far better than any lie I could fabricate.
I set the contract down and moved to the window, gazing out at the manicured gardens of the Montrosso estate. Antonio was out there somewhere, probably tending to his roses, completely oblivious to the chaos I was about to unleash. He'd grown far too attached to that orphan girl, started looking at her with the same paternal warmth he'd once reserved for Isabella.
That could not stand.
Aria represented everything I'd worked thirty years to conceal.
"Ma'am?" Carlo's voice interrupted my thoughts. "What would you like me to do with this information?"
I turned back to face him, my mind already weaving the threads of my plan. "Nothing yet. The contract itself is only the first piece. I need you to arrange something else for me."
"Of course."
"There's a nurse at Sant'Anna Hospital—Santos. I want you to approach her. Discreetly." I moved to my desk and pulled out a thick envelope. "Inside, you'll find ten thousand euros and very specific instructions about what information she needs to relay to Aria Rossi."
Carlo took the envelope, his expression carefully neutral. He'd been in my employ long enough to know better than to ask unnecessary questions. "What kind of information?"
"A lie wrapped in just enough truth to be believable." I settled back into my chair. "Nurse Santos is to tell Aria that there's a compatible kidney donor for Jessica. That the transplant has been ready for weeks, but that Damian Cavalieri has specifically blocked the surgery."
"But that's not true, is it?"
"Of course it's not true." I waved my hand dismissively. "There is no compatible donor. But Aria doesn't need to know that. She only needs to believe that Damian has been deliberately keeping her sister sick to maintain his leverage over her."
Carlo's eyes widened with understanding. "You want her to lose trust in Cavalieri."
"More than that. I want her to hate him." I leaned forward, my voice taking on a sharper edge. "A woman who trusts her captor is difficult to manipulate. But a woman who believes she's been betrayed by the one person she'd started to rely on? She becomes desperate. Unpredictable. Easy to control."
"And the nurse will cooperate?"
"For ten thousand euros? She'll say whatever I need her to say. Make sure she understands the money is contingent on her performance. Aria must completely believe that Damian has been blocking Jessica's transplant."
Carlo nodded, tucking the envelope into his jacket. "Anything else?"
"Yes." I pulled out another document—this one far more delicate. "I need you to deliver this information to Jessica. Not directly, of course. It needs to seem like an accident. A casual mention, a slip of the tongue. The girl is clever; she'll put the pieces together herself."
"What am I revealing?"
"The truth about her sister's arrangement with Damian. That Aria is bound by a surrogacy contract, living in the Cavalieri estate, preparing to carry his child—all to pay for Jessica's medical treatment." I smiled coldly. "Young Jessica is proud. Stubborn. The moment she realizes what her sister has sacrificed, she'll be consumed by guilt. She'll probably try to refuse further treatment, try to 'free' Aria from her obligation."
"Creating more chaos in their lives."
"Exactly." I stood, moving to the sidebar to pour myself a glass of wine. "Aria will be caught between her sister's rejection and what she perceives as Damian's betrayal. She'll be isolated, vulnerable, easy to manipulate."
Carlo hesitated at the door. "If I may ask, ma'am... what's the ultimate goal here? Why go to such elaborate lengths?"
I took a slow sip of wine, considering how much to reveal. Carlo had been loyal, discreet. But there were some secrets even he didn't need to know.
"Let's just say that Aria Rossi poses a threat to my daughter's future," I said finally. "Antonio has shown far too much interest in the girl. If he were to dig deeper into her background, to discover certain... connections... it could unravel everything I've built for Adriana."
Everything I've built on lies and abandoned babies and stolen identities.
"I understand."
"Good. Then get started immediately. I want Nurse Santos in position by tomorrow. And arrange for Jessica to 'accidentally' learn about the surrogacy contract by the end of the week."

After Carlo left, I returned to the surrogacy contract, reading through it again with a more critical eye. The clauses were ironclad, designed to give Damian complete control over Aria's life for the duration of the arrangement. But there were gaps—small vulnerabilities I could exploit.
One clause in particular caught my attention: medical procedures required mutual consent. If Aria could be convinced that Damian had been sabotaging her fertility treatments, had been deliberately preventing her from conceiving...
Oh, that's delicious.
My research on Damian Cavalieri had revealed something interesting. According to my sources at the medical clinic, he had indeed intervened in Aria's medical evaluations. Her initial tests showed she was perfectly capable of conception, but somehow the reports that reached her suggested otherwise, creating the impression that her body needed more time, more preparation.
Damian had been stalling.
Here I was, planning to accuse him of keeping Jessica sick to maintain control, when he'd actually been doing something similar with Aria's fertility treatments. The man was a control freak, unwilling to let Aria conceive too quickly, probably afraid of losing his leverage once she became pregnant.
I could use that. Not immediately—that would be too obvious. But once Aria was already doubting Damian's intentions regarding Jessica's transplant, once that seed of suspicion had taken root, I could carefully reveal the truth about the medical reports.
See, my dear? The man you've been trusting, the man you've been developing feelings for—he's been manipulating you from the very beginning.
The next afternoon, I made my visit to Sant'Anna Hospital. Nurse Santos was easy to find—a tired woman in her forties, underpaid and overworked, exactly the type who could be bought with the right incentive.
I intercepted her during her break, in a quiet corner of the hospital cafeteria.
"Nurse Santos?" I approached with my most charming smile. "I hope I'm not disturbing you. I'm Benedetta Russo, a family friend of one of your patients."
She looked up warily. "I can't discuss patient information—"
"Oh, I'm not here about medical details." I slid into the seat across from her, lowering my voice. "I'm here to offer you an opportunity. One that could be quite profitable for you."
Her expression shifted from wariness to interest. "What kind of opportunity?"
"I need you to deliver a message to a young woman named Aria Rossi. She visits her sister Jessica frequently, I believe you're familiar with the case?"
"I know Jessica," she admitted carefully.
"Excellent." I placed a small envelope on the table—not the full payment, just enough to show I was serious. "Inside is two thousand euros. Consider it a down payment. The remaining eight thousand will be yours once you've completed a very simple task."
Santos glanced around nervously before taking the envelope and peeking inside. Her eyes widened. "What do you want me to do?"
"I need you to tell her something very specific." I leaned closer, my voice dropping to barely a whisper. "You'll tell her that there's been a compatible kidney donor available for Jessica. That the transplant could have been performed weeks ago, but that Damian Cavalieri has specifically instructed the hospital not to proceed."
"But that's not true—"
"I'm not paying you to verify facts." My voice took on a harder edge. "I'm paying you to deliver information. Whether it's true or not is irrelevant. What matters is that Aria believes it completely."
Santos bit her lip, clearly torn between moral qualms and financial desperation. "And if she checks with the doctors? If she demands proof?"
"Tell her the information came from staff gossip, from administrative whispers. Make it sound plausible but difficult to verify. The key is to plant doubt in her mind. Once she starts suspecting Damian of this level of manipulation, she'll see betrayal everywhere she looks."
"I could lose my job—"
"Or you could make more in a single week than you earn in six months." I pushed the envelope closer. "The choice is yours, Nurse Santos. But I suggest you choose carefully. Opportunities like this don't come often."
She stared at the envelope for a long moment, then slowly pocketed it. "When do you need this done?"
"Soon. Within the next few days." I stood, smoothing my skirt. "And Nurse Santos? Make sure she believes you. Your performance determines whether you receive the rest of the payment."
"I understand."
"Good." I smiled coldly. "Oh, and one more thing. If you mention this conversation to anyone—anyone at all—the consequences will be far worse than losing your job. I trust that's clear?"