Chapter 5 - The Truth Unveiled
Dante guided Elena to a plush sofa in the adjoining library, pouring a cup of herbal tea. Outside, the rain began to fall in steady, melodic sheets against the panoramic glass.
“Why didn’t you call me when Mark died?” Dante asked quietly. “You knew I had the resources to protect you.”
Elena pulled her knees up to her chest, curling into the sweater. “Because I was terrified of dragging you back into a war, Dante. You were trying so hard to build legitimate shipping businesses. And… I was ashamed.”
“Ashamed of what?”
Elena swallowed hard. “Mark wasn’t Mia’s father.”
The room went still. Dante didn’t blink. The sound of the falling rain seemed to slow to an agonizing crawl.
“When I left you,” Elena choked out, “I thought it was the only way to save my unborn child from the crosshairs of your enemies. Mark was an old college friend. He offered to put his name on the birth certificate and give us a normal, peaceful life away from the underworld. He treated Mia like his own daughter, but he was never her father.”
Dante rose slowly to his feet, his pulse thumping loudly against his temples. He recalled Mia’s hazel eyes, the stubborn set of her jaw, the way she had stood up to him in the middle of L’Aura.
“Mia is mine?” Dante’s voice barely carried across the room.
May you like
Elena nodded, sobbing into her hands. “She’s your daughter, Dante. Every laugh, every brave gesture. I wanted to tell you tonight. That’s why I accepted your dinner invitation. But Vargas’s men intercepted me in the parking garage before I could even make it through the lobby.”
Dante turned toward the large glass window, staring down at the city. All his life, he had sought power to fill a void he could never name. But standing there, he realized that power meant nothing unless it served as a shield for those who shared your blood.
