Page 226 of My Husband’s New Fiancée

Dante steps onto the stage alone.

As always, he waits a few seconds before speaking. Just long enough for silence to settle naturally.

Then he takes the microphone.

“Thank you all for coming.”

His voice carries through the auditorium.

“As many of you know, the investigation has now progressed far enough to establish the facts. Bianca Fabre has been arrested for industrial espionage and the attempted murder of Valeria Delorme.”

A slight ripple moves through the audience.

Most of the employees already know. Rumors have been circulating for weeks.

But hearing it stated officially is different.

More real.

More final.

“But that is not why I asked you here today.”

The silence immediately returns.

“Today, I want to talk about Valeria.”

I feel several heads turn toward me.

I remain perfectly still.

“Two years ago, we all believed we had lost her. Myself included.”

His gaze leaves the audience and finds mine.

“Yet even in her absence, she never stopped being at the heart of this company.”

His voice remains calm.

“The research that secures Aurenza’s future today is hers. The innovations that allowed us to endure are hers. The treatments that will soon enter commercial development are hers.”

He pauses.

“A great deal was taken from her.”

The silence grows heavier.

“Her work. Her identity. Almost her life.”

No one moves.

“And despite all of that, she came back.”

His eyes remain locked on mine.

“She came back and picked up her work exactly where she left off. She kept moving forward when many others would have given up.”

I feel my throat tighten.