Chapter 16 - The Apple Orchard Incident
The sun hung high over Green Valley Orchard, bathing the rows of heavy, fruit-laden apple trees in a warm, golden autumn glow.
Family day out had become a weekly tradition, though "tradition" in the Rinaldi-Valente household usually meant organized chaos.
Marco was currently attempting to climb a semi-dwarf Honeycrisp tree with the tactical precision of a mountain goat, while Nico pelted Alessandro with overripe apples like a medieval siege engine.
“Nico! Drop the fruit or I’m turning you into fertilizer!” Serena called out, hands on her hips, wearing her favorite denim jacket and boots.
Nico froze, grinned mischievously, and hurled an apple directly at Victor instead.
Victor caught it mid-air with one hand, without even looking away from Serena, and tossed it back with pinpoint accuracy, bonking Nico gently on the nose.
“Hey! No friendly fire!” Nico protested, rubbing his nose and laughing.
Nearby, Arthur Sterling’s hired private investigator—a slimy-looking man in a trench coat trying to blend in with the tourists—was hastily snapping photos of the domestic scene from behind a cider stand.
Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly. He didn’t reach for a gun. Instead, he whistled sharply, and Chaos the golden retriever bolted across the grass, zeroing in directly on the investigator’s trousers with enthusiastic, muddy paws.
The man yelped, tripping over a pumpkin display and tumbling backward into a pile of hay as the dog triumphantly licked his face.
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Serena burst out laughing, leaning against Victor’s shoulder. “Did you train the dog to do that?”
“Family intuition,” Victor smirked, pulling her closer by the waist. “Let them take all the pictures they want. There’s nothing left to blackmail. My empire is legal, my house is full, and my heart is completely locked down.”
