"By the time Luca Moretti saw me carrying his sleeping daughter down the staircase, my left ankle was already swollen inside my shoe.

The morning after Dominic’s arrest, the Moretti Holdings Board of Directors issued a formal ultimatum. They demanded a meeting at the estate.

Seven older men in pristine suits sat around Luca’s massive dining room table. I stood by the windows, pouring coffee, insisting on being present despite Luca's protests. I needed to know what we were up against.

"Luca, this has gone far enough," the chairman, an older man named Harrison, said sternly. "The Romano family is filing a massive lawsuit. Dominic's arrest is a PR nightmare. Our stock has dipped four percent this week alone."

"Let it dip," Luca replied coldly, sipping his espresso. "I have enough personal capital to weather a storm."

"This isn't just about money," Harrison countered, shooting a glaring look in my direction. "It's about image. You abandoned a strategic merger for a domestic worker. You are acting on emotion, not business acumen. The board wants a vote of no confidence."

Luca slowly set his cup down. The silence in the room was sharp enough to cut glass.

"A vote of no confidence?" Luca repeated, his voice dangerously soft. "I built this company from the ashes of my father's bad investments. I quadrupled our revenue in five years. You all sit at this table because I made you rich."

"And you are putting our wealth at risk because of her," another board member sneered.

Luca stood up. The sheer size and dominance of the man made the other executives shrink back in their chairs.

"Her name is Emma," Luca said, walking around the table until he stood directly beside me. He took my hand, intertwining our fingers in front of all of them. "And she is not up for negotiation. If you want a vote, call it. But know this: I own fifty-one percent of the voting shares. You cannot oust me. But I can, and will, fire every single one of you if you ever disrespect my future wife again."