The Rebirth of My Dead Billionaire Wife

Chapter 68

The room was silent except for the soft hum of the hospital equipment. Victoria sat by Alessia’s crib, her hand resting protectively on her daughter’s chest as the baby slept peacefully. But her mind was far from quiet. The revelations about Fidel—no, Xanos—gnawed at her, leaving her with more questions than answers. Why had her grandmother allowed such a man into their lives? Why hadn’t she warned them?

Zaiden entered the room quietly, holding two steaming cups of coffee. He placed one on the small table beside Victoria and sat across from her, his face shadowed with concern.

“You’re thinking too hard,” he said softly.

Victoria let out a heavy sigh. “How can I not? He was family, Zaiden. Family. My grandmother trusted him enough to make him her godson, and yet he… he did this. He took Alessia.”

Zaiden leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “Trust me, I get it. But maybe it’s time you got some answers. Your grandmother must have had her reasons. Maybe she saw this coming.”

Victoria glanced at Alessia, her resolve hardening. “You’re right. I need to know the truth.”

The following day, Victoria and Zaiden sat in the parlor of her late grandmother’s estate, an elegant but slightly weathered room that still bore the scent of lavender and old books. They were joined by Mary, the family’s longtime housekeeper, a woman in her seventies who had been by Victoria’s grandmother’s side for decades.

Mary poured tea with steady hands, her sharp eyes watching Victoria as she explained everything—Alessia’s kidnapping, Fidel’s betrayal, and the revelations about his demands for shares in the family company.

When Victoria finished, Mary sighed deeply, setting the teapot down with a slight clink. “I suppose it’s time you knew the full story,” she said, her voice low and steady. “Your grandmother always feared this day would come.”

Victoria sat up straighter. “She knew? About Fidel? Why didn’t she tell me?”

Mary hesitated before answering. “Your grandmother was a proud woman. She believed she could handle Fidel herself, that she could keep his ambitions in check. But over the years, he began to take more than what was given to him. At first, it was small things—jewelry, cash from her desk. She forgave him, thinking he was just a young man making foolish mistakes.”

Zaiden frowned. “But it didn’t stop, did it?”

Mary shook her head. “No, it didn’t. He became more brazen, more entitled. Your grandmother confronted him many times, but he always had an excuse, a justification. He claimed she owed him for raising him in such wealth and comfort. But it wasn’t enough for him.”

Victoria’s hands clenched into fists. “So that’s why she didn’t leave him anything in her will.”

“Yes,” Mary confirmed. “It was her way of protecting the family. She knew that if Fidel got control of any part of the estate or the company, he would destroy it out of greed. But she also knew it would enrage him. That’s why she took precautions.”

Victoria’s brow furrowed. “What kind of precautions?”

Mary hesitated again, her eyes darting to Zaiden as though she wasn’t sure whether to speak in front of him. Victoria noticed and interjected firmly, “Mary, if you know something, you need to tell me. Zaiden’s here because I trust him.”

Mary nodded slowly. “Your grandmother suspected that Fidel might do something drastic. She left detailed notes and evidence of his wrongdoings with her lawyer—proof of everything he’d stolen, every lie he’d told. She hoped it would be enough to keep him at bay.”

Zaiden leaned back in his chair, his jaw tightening. “Clearly, it wasn’t.”

Victoria rubbed her temples, her mind racing. “Did she ever think he’d go this far? That he’d… take Alessia?”

“She feared he might,” Mary admitted. “But she hoped it would never come to that.”

Later that evening, Victoria sat in her study, going through her grandmother’s notes with Zaiden and Elena. The room was dimly lit, the glow of the desk lamp illuminating the neatly typed pages that detailed Fidel’s history of theft and manipulation. As they worked, a call came in from the police station.

It was Tobias. “We’ve just finished questioning Fidel—or Xanos, as you know him. He’s sticking to his story that he didn’t intend to harm Alessia, but he said something… odd.”

Victoria’s stomach knotted. “What did he say?”

“He said, ‘Not everything is what it seems.’ He wouldn’t elaborate, but he was smirking the whole time. It’s like he’s daring us to dig deeper.”

Zaiden, who had been listening on speaker, frowned. “What could he mean? He’s already been exposed for who he is.”

Victoria shook her head. “No, it’s more than that. He’s playing a game. He always has.”

Elena leaned forward. “What if there’s something we’re missing? A backup plan, a hidden motive?”

Victoria closed her eyes, trying to piece everything together. “He wanted shares in the company. He couldn’t have Alessia, so he used her as leverage. But if this was just about money or power, why leave that cryptic message?”

Zaiden placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out, Victoria. Whatever he’s hiding, we’ll uncover it.”

The next day, Victoria sat across from Fidel in the stark interrogation room at the police station. His hands were cuffed to the table, but he still carried himself with an air of arrogance.

“You came all this way just to gloat?” he asked, smirking.

“I came for answers,” Victoria said coldly. “Why did you do this? Why Alessia?”

Fidel leaned back, his smirk widening. “You think this is all about money? About the company? You’re wrong. It’s bigger than that. Your grandmother thought she could erase me from the family, but I’m a part of it whether you like it or not.”

“She didn’t leave you anything because you didn’t deserve it,” Victoria snapped. “You betrayed her trust, and now you’ve done the same to me.”

Fidel’s expression darkened. “Not everything is what it seems, Victoria.”