The Hidden Truth Behind the Bruised Face of my Daughter's Mother — Part 2

Previously: When Matteo found Elena, the mother of his child, hiding in his restaurant's kitchen with a bruised face, he uncovered a dark family conspiracy orchestrated by his wealthy fiancée.

Unmasking the Monster

The silence in the kitchen was suffocating. Matteo turned to Victoria, his jaw clenched so tightly the muscles in his cheek twitched. The love he thought he felt for the woman in the velvet gown evaporated, replaced by a cold, hard realization. "What did she just say?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

Victoria scoffed, though a flicker of panic danced in her eyes.

"She’s lying, Matteo! She’s an unstable girl we hired out of pity. You know Lily’s mother abandoned her when she was a baby. I’m the one who has been raising your daughter!"

But Elena shook her head, pulling a worn, laminated photograph from the pocket of her green apron. It was a picture of a newborn baby girl, held by Elena in a hospital bed, with a distinctive birthmark on the infant's wrist—the exact same birthmark Lily had.

"I didn't abandon her," Elena sobbed. "Three years ago, Victoria found me. She told me you would lose your inheritance if you stayed with a penniless chef. She paid off my medical debts but threatened to use her family's lawyers to take Lily away forever if I ever tried to see you. She forced me to sign custody over to her, promising Lily would have a perfect life."

Matteo stared at the photograph, the truth crashing down on him like a tidal wave. "And the bruise, Elena? Who did that?"

Elena looked down, trembling.

"I saw Lily upstairs tonight... in the dining room. I just wanted to look at her through the glass. Victoria caught me. She dragged me down here, struck me, and told me that if I ever looked at my daughter again, she would make sure I went to prison for breaching our contract."

Victoria stepped back, her face twisting into a mask of pure malice.

"She signed the papers, Matteo! Legally, that child is mine. You can't change that. If you ruin our wedding, I will take Lily and you will never see her again!"