Chapter 21 - WHAT MAEVE SIGNED AND WHY SHE REGRETS IT
Maeve had her own decision to confront.
She signed the agreement.
No one held a gun.
No sedative.
No physical imprisonment.
Octavia pressured her.
Misled her.
Exploited pregnancy and financial vulnerability.
Still, Maeve signed.
She later told the civil mediator:
“I thought I was protecting the boys from Luciano’s family.”
Then:
“I also wanted the money.”
Honest.
“Was that wrong?”
“No.”
Children cost money.
Then:
“I kept taking partial payments even after I suspected Octavia was lying about him.”
There.
When did she begin suspecting?
Around the twins’ third birthday.
A former Ferretti employee told her Luciano still asked occasional questions about “the old paternity matter.”
Maeve wondered:
If he truly took money to forget us, why ask?
She considered contacting me.
Did not.
Why?
Fear of losing support.
Fear I would demand custody.
Fear she was wrong.
That decision cost time too.
Not equal blame.
Octavia created the deception.
But Maeve owned that she had a chance to test it earlier and did not.
I did the same.
May you like
Two adults afraid of different things.
One matriarch benefited from both.
