The pretender didn’t speak out of fear, Lucas nodded before raising his hand, ready to slap the man again. The pretender’s eyes widened, “Boss, boss, I’m sorry, I was just forced,” he said before kneeling down.
“Forced?” Lucas asked with surprise, “does that mean there’s someone behind you?” he smirked, “who is this fool who dares to send you to pretend to be the richest man in Italy? I wonder what Mr. Rozzo will do to you when he finds out that someone is pretending to be him or what he will do when someone pretends to be the father of his daughter and uses her daughter’s body to pay off debts?” he asked, showing a menacing smile.
The pretender shuddered, “Boss, I need to do this to get rid of the person who is a hindrance to my daughter.”
“Oh, so you mean, my wife is a hindrance to your daughter?” Lucas thought for a moment before recalling, “my wife wouldn’t have any competition when it comes to jewelry because she already has a reputation, the only thing I can think of is if this has something to do with the inheritance of the richest man in Italy,” Lucas made a casual guess.
The man bit his lip, knowing he said something wrong and his daughter would be involved. When Lucas saw the man’s reaction, he thought his guess was right, “take him away, I have no use for him,” Lucas ordered the debt collector.
The leader nodded, then ordered his men to drag the man away before leaving the scene. Lucas returned to his car, “you heard everything and I think you know who’s behind all this,” he said to Victoria.
Victoria nodded, “from the beginning, I knew this woman was bad news, I didn’t expect her to really use her biological father just to make sure her plan doesn’t fail,” Victoria smiled before waving her cellphone, “good thing I recorded his confession, I’ll just edit out your slap,” she said with a smile.
Lucas smiled, “my wife is truly clever, now let’s see how that serpent woman will react,” he said before driving towards Mr. Rozzo’s villa.
…
In a large compound in the southern part of Rome, a sprawling garden can be found, requiring the use of a golf cart to navigate the entire place and taking half a day just to tour this vast garden. In the midst of the garden stands the most magnificent villa in all of Italy, the palace of the wealthiest man in Italy, the home of Xavier Rozzo.
In front of the villa, a woman can be seen walking back and forth while holding her phone, her face a mix of confusion and an inexplicable expression, deep in thought. “Dad, you’re taking so long to call,” she whispers repeatedly. She is worried, about her father and about the possibility of his failure that might ruin her plans. The woman walking back and forth is none other than Rosalie.
Mr. Rozzo emerges from the villa and sees the restless Rosalie. “Rosalie, why are you pacing back and forth? Are you eager for your sister’s arrival?” he says with a smile, thinking that Rosalie is impatiently awaiting Victoria’s arrival.
Rosalie is surprised, “Ah, yes dad, I am waiting for my sister’s arrival,” she awkwardly smiles, ‘damn it, I didn’t know she was coming now, but my father is acting now, she might not make it on time if my plan succeeds,’ she thinks.
At that moment, Rosalie’s cellphone rings and she sees that it’s a call from her father. She smiles broadly, thinking that their plan is successful. At the same time, a sports car enters the area and parks in front of her. Victoria and Lucas get out of the car.
Rosalie’s smile freezes upon seeing Victoria stepping out of the sports car. “You’re alive?!” she blurts out.
Victoria looks at Rosalie before smiling, “Did you expect me to be dead?”
Mr. Rozzo also looks at Rosalie with a faint suspicion, “What do you mean, Rosalie?” he asks with a furrowed brow.
Rosalie stops in her tracks and immediately closes her mouth, knowing she said something wrong.
Victoria approaches Rosalie, “Little sis, it seems your biological father is trying to reach you,” she says with a smile, but not a genuine one.
Rosalie’s eyes widen and she thinks of a frightening possibility. She wonders if it’s not Victoria in danger but her father. “What did you do to my father?!” she exclaims.
Victoria shrugs, “What do you mean, what did I do to your father? Isn’t your father is my father?” she innocently asks, “unless you’re referring to your biological parents?”
“Rosalie! What does this mean? Didn’t you say you were an orphan?” Mr. Rozzo asks, suspicion evident on his face.
“Dad, how did you meet Rosalie?” Victoria asks Mr. Rozzo.
“Five years ago, while I was looking for you, I found her outside the compound scavenging for food. She said she was doing it to eat. I felt sorry for her because she was almost your age, so I let her into the villa and fed her. She told me her parents died when she was young, so I decided to adopt her,” Mr. Rozzo explains.
“Dad, what if I told you her real father approached me as well?” Victoria cryptically says.
“Victoria! Don’t speak nonsense! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Rosalie defends.
Victoria smiles, “Little sis, don’t you know yourself well enough to know if I’m speaking senseless words? By the way, your father keeps calling you, answer, or you might not be able to talk to him after his debtors take him away. And I don’t think they are good people.”
Rosalie is frightened and answers the call, “My daughter, save me, help me, they want to kill me, come to me, I’m where I gamble-”
“Dad! Dad! Dad! What’s happening, dad?!” Rosalie screams as the call cuts off.
She looks at Victoria with resignation before leaving, knowing she’s been exposed and explaining further is pointless. All she can think about now is saving her father.
Mr. Rozzo sighs after witnessing the scene unfold in front of him, “My butler’s suspicions were right. That’s why he once said that Rosalie sneaks out because she secretly meets with two people and gives money to them, perhaps they are her biological parents.”
Lucas approached after just finishing a call, “Mr. Rozzo, I have already investigated about Rosalie’s background with my people, and just now according to my men, Rosalie’s father is deep in debt from gambling. The mother and daughter planned to target you. Her mother confessed that they pretended Rosalie was an orphan because they knew you had been searching for your daughter for a long time and might be feeling lonely. Their initial plan was for you to adopt Rosalie, and then gradually they would deplete your wealth.”
Lucas nodded towards Victoria. Victoria handed her cellphone to Mr. Rozzo to show the confession of Rosalie’s father in the video. Mr. Rozzo was stunned after watching Lucas’s slap.
“I thought you were going to edit it?” Lucas asked Victoria in a soft voice.
“I played the wrong video,” Victoria said hesitantly.
After watching the video, Mr. Rozzo returned the phone to Victoria.
“When Rosalie found out that Victoria was the true heiress, she planned to have Victoria eliminated, but she failed. Rosalie’s real intention was to inherit your family’s wealth and hold the title as the heiress of the richest person in Italy,” Lucas continued.
Mr. Rozzo sighed, “I thought this woman would change. Initially, I thought she became arrogant because she had only recently stepped into the upper class. I did not realize that she was coveting my property,” he said regretfully, “it seems she believed the whispers outside that I would not leave her an inheritance. I even planned to give her half of my fortune, whether I see my real daughter or not,” he added.
Victoria touched Xavier’s back and said nothing, knowing that Mr. Rozzo had grown fond of Rosalie during their five years together.
Mr. Rozzo smiled upon seeing Victoria’s understanding face, “Let’s go inside, your mother is waiting.”