My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 710

Chapter 710

Several older men exchanged another look.

Giovanni saw it, so, he pressed harder, “If a thief steals a painting, does that thief suddenly gain the right to gift it to someone else? The same goes for Hazel. She had no right. So her attempt to hand my daughter to another family means absolutely nothing.”

Vincenzo nodded once, “You’re right, but don’t stand there and insult this Council by pretending a title excuses a beating. Our world respects fathers. It also expects fathers to protect what belongs to them. If a father becomes the danger… then blood alone is no longer enough. We are not asking this Council to ignore Giovanni’s rights. We’re asking this Council to recognize Gianna’s. She isn’t sixteen anymore. She isn’t a child. She won’t be standing before this Council because the we chained her to our home.”

His eyes drifted toward the closed doors.

“If she wanted to leave us, she could have done so months ago.”

Giovanni smiled again, “A frightened victim often stays with the people who influence them.”

Vincenzo didn’t even react, “Perhaps. Which is exactly why she should be heard. Not through me or Giovanni. Through Gianna herself. Let the woman at the center of this dispute tell us why she ran.”

He looked at Giovanni.

“If your version is true, then you have nothing to fear from her testimony.”

Then Giovanni spoke, “No.”

Nikolai’s eyes lifted, “No?”

“My daughter will not testify.”

A faint crease appeared between Vincenzo’s brows, “And why exactly not?”

Giovanni reached for the leather briefcase resting beside his chair, the metal clasp clicked open. He

withdrew a thick folder and laid it carefully on the table.

“I expected this request.”

His fingers rested on the cover for a moment before he slid the file toward Nikolai.

“This is my daughter’s complete medical history. From the age of three until she disappeared at sixteen. So before anyone starts swallowing the bullshit coming out of his mouth, read it.”

Nikolai opened the file, while the rest of us were given copies of it. It was medical evaluations, hospital reports, psychiatric assessments, school records, recommendations. One by one, the folders were passed around the table.

I watched Scott Mancini’s expression tighten.

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Across the table, Leonardo Visconti adjusted his glasses before continuing.

Valentino Falcone’s jaw hardened.

Even Luciano Deverecci slowed as he reached the psychiatric evaluations.

Giovanni let out a quiet scoff before finally speaking, “Vincenzo Capone want to hang me based on the word of a girl whose head’s been a mess since she was a kid? My daughter’s been dragged through psychiatrists, specialists, and doctors half her life.”

He ticked them off with his fingers.

“Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Anxiety, Depression. Enough diagnoses to fill a damn book.”

He looked back at the men around the table.

“And that’s Vincenzo’s star witness?” A cold laugh escaped him, “You’re telling me the future of my family is going to rest on the memories of a confused, emotionally unstable girl who’s spent years in and out of psychiatric offices?” he spread his hands, “Come on. You men are smarter than that.”

I felt my jaw tighten.

Giovanni kept fucking pushing, “My daughter’s never been wired right. She’s struggled her whole damn life. She can’t read worth a shit. Writing’s a fight. The second pressure hits, her head starts spinning and she falls apart.”

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