The Queen They Abandoned in the Shadows Chapter 04

The Queen They Abandoned in the Shadows Chapter 04

Quinn’s voice cut through the air like a stone dropping into still water.

Noah’s arms around my waist went rigid. He looked up, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

He glanced from me to the little girl in my arms, then back again, like he couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing.

Matteo’s face drained of color. His gaze locked onto me, then onto the girl who bore a faint resemblance to him—clearly younger than Noah.

All the longing, guilt, and anguish in his eyes froze, then shattered into something close to feral suspicion.

“What did she just call you?”

His voice came out rough and hoarse, as if he was forcing the words up from his throat.

I didn’t answer. Instead, I stroked my daughter’s back gently.

“Here you go, Quinn. This one’s for you.”

Quinn’s face lit up. She grabbed the treat, took a huge, defiant bite, then fixed Noah with a wary stare.

“Let go of my mama!”

Noah pulled his hands away like he’d been burned, stumbling back a step, his small body shaking.

“Mama, who is she? Why are you her Mama?”

His words tumbled out, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Bianca stood frozen too, the jealousy and resentment she’d always hidden threatening to burst free.

She stared at Quinn, then at me, her nails biting into her palms.

She’d tolerated Matteo’s grief over Elisa, convincing herself Elisa was emotionally dead and would never return. But if Elisa had built a new life with another child? That meant Bianca would never, ever replace her in Matteo and Noah’s hearts—not even as a second choice.

Matteo advanced step by step, his gaze piercing, as if trying to see through my soul.

“Elisa, who is this child?”

His voice was shaking.

I met his stare without flinching.

“She’s my daughter. My husband’s and mine.”

“Husband?”

Matteo let out a bitter, disbelieving laugh, then grabbed my shoulders, his grip brutal enough to crush bone.

“A husband, Elisa? You’ve barely been out of prison. How dare you?”

“Sir.”

A deep, steady male voice cut through the tension, carrying unshakable authority.

“Take your hands off my wife.”

A tall, broad-shouldered man had come up quietly. He was dressed casually, but there was something solid about him—still, steady.

He gently but firmly pulled Matteo’s hands away, then stepped between us, putting himself in front of me and Quinn.

He looked down at me, his expression soft with concern.

“Are you all right?”

I shook my head.

This man was Leone Vitelli, my husband.

After my release, I’d been completely alone—exhausted, shattered. He found me at my lowest and gave me a home. And he gave me Quinn.

He knew every detail of my past, yet never judged me, quietly protecting our new family in his own gentle way.

“Your wife?”

Matteo’s eyes moved from Leone to me, then down to Quinn, who was peeking out from behind Leone’s leg, happily munching her cotton candy. When his gaze fell on my hand—the missing fingers—his face went dark.

“How could you do this, Elisa…”

He’d spent all this time drowning in regret, desperate for a chance to make amends.

Meanwhile, she’d left their shared history behind and built a new life without him?

What did all his pain and remorse amount to? Nothing but a joke?

“Mama, let’s go home,” Quinn whispered, tugging on my hand.

“Okay, baby. Let’s go.” I bent to lift Quinn into my arms and walked away without looking back. I didn’t spare the three of them a second glance, “Let’s go.”

Leone nodded, stepping beside us as we turned to leave.

Matteo tried to follow, but his legs wouldn’t move.

He stood there, watching us walk away—watching Quinn peek over my shoulder and stick her tongue out at him.

In that moment, an invisible hand squeezed his heart so tight he could barely breathe.

“No, Elisa… you can’t do this to me…”