Chapter 2: The Man Everyone Feared

Scarlett stared at Alexander Moretti, certain she had misheard him. Around them, the entire ballroom held its breath. No one interrupted him. No one dared.

'Home?' Scarlett whispered. 'This is my home.'

Alexander's gaze moved briefly over the room—the stepmother pretending concern, the father avoiding shame, the fiancé standing beside the wrong woman. His expression did not change, but the temperature seemed to drop.

'A home does not place its daughter in the corner like broken furniture,' he said.

Richard Whitmore finally forced a laugh. 'Mr. Moretti, surely there is a misunderstanding. Scarlett is well cared for.'

Alexander turned his head slowly. 'Is she?'

That single question silenced Richard.

Victoria stepped forward, smiling with practiced sweetness. 'Scarlett is sensitive after her accident. We protect her from stress.'

Scarlett felt humiliation burn through her chest. Protect her. That was what they called taking her company shares, canceling her meetings, hiding her grandfather's letters, and treating her like a tragic decoration.

Alexander crouched slightly beside her chair, bringing his eyes level with hers. 'Do you want to stay here?'

No one had asked her that in two years.

Scarlett looked past him at Ethan. He looked away. Her father said nothing. Victoria's smile sharpened, warning her to behave.

Scarlett lifted her chin. 'No.'

The word was soft, but it cracked through the room like thunder.

Alexander stood. 'Then we leave.'

Richard rushed forward. 'You have no right.'

Alexander removed a folded document from inside his jacket and placed it on a nearby table. 'Her grandfather gave me every right before he died. Legal guardianship over her trust, emergency protection authority, and full power to investigate any misuse of her inheritance.'

Victoria's face went pale.

For the first time, Scarlett saw fear in her family's eyes. Alexander placed one hand gently on the back of her wheelchair.

'Touch her rights again,' he said quietly, 'and I will take everything you own.'