"Vincent Moretti promised his pregnant wife he would come back for her after their private jet made a terrifying emergency landing. But he took his first love to safety first—and moments later, the aircraft exploded before Anna emerged. For three years, Vincent believed he had buried his wife and unborn child… until one crowded gala changed everything.

Vincent flinched as if she had struck him across the face.

"She wasn't my mistress!" Vincent rasped, reaching out to grasp her shoulder, but stopping himself when she gave him a warning glance. "Sophia was an old friend! She was screaming, she was having an asthma attack—"

"And your wife was seven months pregnant with your child!" Anna’s voice finally cracked, her composure slipping for a fraction of a second, revealing the burning inferno of hatred beneath. "You looked me in the eyes, Vincent! You held my hand and said, 'I'll come back for you.' And then you turned your back and took her."

"I ran back!" Vincent yelled, his chest burning. "The moment she touched the grass, I ran back for you! The plane exploded in front of my eyes! Do you have any idea what it did to me? I spent three years in hell!"

"You spent three years living in your penthouse with Sophia!" Anna spat back, her eyes shining with unshed tears of deep, ancient agony. "Do you want to know what I spent three years doing, Vincent?"

She took a step closer, pointing a finger at her own chest.

"I spent three months in a burn unit in Zurich under a fake name! I had second-degree burns on my back because I had to crawl through melted carpet! I had emergency surgery at thirty-two weeks because the trauma triggered internal bleeding! I almost died on an operating table while your doctors were writing a fake death certificate for me!"

Vincent felt his legs go weak. Tears finally escaped his eyes, trailing down his cheeks. "Anna... my God... Anna..."

"My name is Anna Bennett," she snapped, stepping back and pulling her professional mask back over her face like a steel shield. "Vincent Moretti died to me the second that plane turned into a fireball. If you come near me or my son again, I will use every dollar I have to destroy your company, your reputation, and your life."

She grabbed her briefcase and swept past him.

As she reached the door, Vincent called out, his voice broken. "He's my son, isn't he? Leo is my son."