She Was Always the Jewel of Windsor

At the reading of old Mrs. Moretti's will, Elena learns that her husband Dominic already has a son. A woman named Vivienne Lacroix sits with her head bowed, and a small boy, Nico Moretti, rests his hand in Dominic's palm while Dominic gently files his nails. The lawyer announces that the estate passes to Nico, the family's third-generation heir.

The Moretti family explains it all as an arrangement: the old woman's fear for the family line, Dominic's claim that he was set up, Vivienne's insistence that she was used. Six years of marriage and no children, they remind Elena, because of her condition. When she quietly suggests a divorce, every gentle face changes, and the family warns of intertwined assets and consequences.

That night Nico falls ill with a fever. When Elena calls Dominic home, his panic turns to accusation, and he tells her the one who cannot have children is her, not him.