Chapter 60: The Price of Truth

The world of power, fame, and wealth was a complicated one. It often didn’t matter how much one had. What mattered was the perception—the stories others told, the masks they wore. And in the world Antonio lived in, every move, every action, and every word could be manipulated, twisted, and used against you.

Valentina knew that all too well. After her failed attempt to return to Antonio's life, she had quickly turned to the media, the very thing she knew how to manipulate like a puppet on a string. She had a public voice, a presence that commanded attention. So, when her previous attempts to win Antonio back failed, she did what she did best: she went on the attack.

It started innocuously enough. A few articles appeared online, insinuating that Isabella had only married Antonio for his money, that she was the ambitious woman who had stepped into a world she had no business being in. They were subtle at first, but it didn't take long before the jabs became sharper. The headlines were inflammatory, designed to tarnish Isabella’s image, to turn the public against her.

But Valentina wasn’t satisfied with the initial media storm. She wanted more. She wanted to ruin Isabella, to make Antonio regret his decision. So, she took the gloves off.

The next round of attacks were far worse. Valentina was now on the offensive, calling Isabella power-hungry, claiming she was a homewrecker who had been manipulating Antonio from the very beginning. She didn’t stop there—she dragged out her fake boyfriends from the past, people she claimed Isabella had been romantically involved with before Antonio. Every detail was exaggerated, every event distorted.

Isabella watched it all unfold with a cold, unblinking gaze. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about the lies being spread—she did. She felt the sting of them, felt her reputation being torn apart. But she knew how to keep her composure. Antonio, on the other hand, wasn’t the type to let something like this slide. His protective instincts were fierce, and he wasn’t about to let anyone—least of all Valentina—harm his family.

As the media frenzy continued to escalate, Antonio spent days in meetings with his team, orchestrating the perfect counterattack. He’d built an empire based on power and control, and now he was using every ounce of that power to protect what was most important to him: Isabella and Luca.

Isabella, meanwhile, remained mostly silent, letting Antonio take the lead. She trusted him, and she knew he would do everything in his power to shield her. Still, there were moments when the weight of Valentina’s words crushed her. It was hard not to internalize the accusations, especially when the world was watching and judging. But every time she felt the weight of it, she looked at Antonio, and her resolve returned. She wasn’t going to let Valentina win.

One evening, as the storm continued to rage outside, Antonio sat in his study, his mind working through the next steps. The situation had gone too far, and it was clear Valentina wasn’t going to stop. His mind kept circling back to one thing—the video.

It was a video he had never wanted to see the light of day, one that had remained hidden in the darkest corner of his memories. A moment he’d tried to bury. The fight. The argument that had torn his world apart. The day Valentina had walked out of his life—and Luca’s.

He had kept the video as a reminder of how far he had fallen. It was a moment of weakness, of rage. It was the day when everything had collapsed. And now, with Valentina once again playing the victim, it seemed the only way to end her lies was to expose the truth, no matter how painful it might be.

He couldn’t let Valentina continue to twist the story. He couldn’t allow her to destroy Isabella’s reputation. Antonio knew he would have to use the video, not just to show who Valentina truly was, but to show the world the lengths she had gone to destroy him, destroy their family.

He sat in front of the camera, his fingers hovering over the play button. The room was quiet, save for the soft hum of the laptop and the steady beat of his own heart. Isabella had been asleep in their room, and he had waited until the house was quiet before making the decision to release the video. He knew it was a risk—opening up old wounds, showing the world the private side of his life. But for Isabella, for Luca, he would do anything.

With a sigh, Antonio clicked the button.

The screen flickered, and the video began to play.

It was raw. It was unfiltered. The camera had been set up by one of Antonio’s men to capture the heated argument between him and Valentina. The night she had left him. The night everything had changed.

In the video, Antonio stood in the middle of the living room, his face twisted in anger. Valentina was standing across from him, her face streaked with tears, her voice shaking as she screamed at him.

“You never cared about me, Antonio!” she shouted, her voice breaking. “You only care about your business, your empire, and your precious son! I was nothing to you!”

Antonio’s expression was stone-cold as he responded, his voice a low growl. “I gave you everything, Valentina. And you walked away from it. You walked away from me. From Luca.”

“Luca?!” she spat, her voice turning venomous. “He was never enough! I couldn’t take it anymore, Antonio! I couldn’t live in your shadow!”

Antonio’s fists clenched, his anger simmering just beneath the surface. “You never even tried to make it work. You never even tried to be a family. You—” He stopped himself, shaking his head in disbelief. “You abandoned your son. You abandoned me. And now you want to come back? To what? To destroy everything again?”

The raw emotion in his voice was undeniable, and the camera captured every moment—every word spoken with pain, every tear shed in frustration.

As the argument intensified, Valentina’s voice broke. “You think you’re the only one who’s suffered? You don’t know what I’ve been through, Antonio. You don’t know how alone I’ve been. You don’t know what it’s like to be second place in your own marriage. I gave up everything for you, for your business, for your empire. And in return, you took me for granted.”

Antonio took a step forward, his jaw tight with barely controlled rage. “You made your choice, Valentina. You left us. You don’t get to come back and play the victim now.”

The video cut abruptly, but the damage had been done. The world could now see the truth: Valentina was not the victim. She was the one who had walked away. She was the one who had abandoned her family for selfish reasons, not the other way around.

Antonio sat back in his chair, staring at the screen, his heart heavy with the memories. The world would see this, and Valentina’s lies would finally be exposed. He knew it wouldn’t stop her completely—she would fight back, find new ways to attack—but he had a plan in place.

As he clicked the upload button, he glanced over at Isabella, who had entered the room quietly. She stood in the doorway, watching him. He could see the silent question in her eyes. She knew what he was doing.

“It had to be done,” Antonio said quietly, his voice low with a mix of resolve and sadness. “I won’t let her destroy you, Isabella. Not anymore.”

Isabella walked over to him, her steps soft. She placed a hand on his shoulder, her touch warm and reassuring. “I know, Antonio. I trust you.”

He looked up at her, his eyes softening. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she whispered back.

The video was released, and within hours, the media storm shifted. The lies began to crumble, and Valentina’s carefully crafted narrative fell apart. The truth was out now, and no amount of manipulation could undo it.

But Antonio knew this wasn’t the end. Valentina would come for them again. But he was ready. This time, he wouldn’t let her win.