Chapter 6 - THE TRUTH BEHIND THE LITTLE GIRL
The morning after the threat, Damiano Verrone changed everything.
The mansion was no longer a home.
It became a fortress.
Every entrance was guarded.
Every camera was checked.
Every person inside the estate was investigated.
Because someone had entered his world.
And they had chosen the one person he could not afford to lose.
Mia.
The little girl sat at the long dining table, swinging her legs while eating breakfast.
She looked around at the serious faces surrounding her.
Everyone was afraid.
Everyone except her.
“Why are all the people here angry?”
Damiano looked up.
“They are not angry.”
Mia tilted her head.
“They look angry.”
Damiano almost smiled.
“You notice too much.”
“My mommy says people tell the truth with their eyes.”
The words made Damiano pause.
Because Sofia had taught her well.
Later that afternoon, Rafael returned with new information.
“Boss.”
Damiano turned.
“What did you find?”
Rafael placed a file on the desk.
“The person who entered the mansion used an old security code.”
Damiano’s eyes narrowed.
“An old code?”
“Yes.”
“Only five people knew that code.”
The room became silent.
Damiano looked at the names.
His own.
Rafael’s.
His late wife’s personal assistant.
His former security chief.
And one more name.
Sofia Bellini.
Damiano looked up.
“She had access?”
Rafael nodded.
“But there is something strange.”
“What?”
“She never used it.”
Damiano opened the file.
Inside was a picture from three years ago.
His wife, Isabella Verrone.
Standing beside Sofia.
And between them…
Was baby Mia.
Damiano stared at the image.
His heart stopped for a second.
Because he finally understood.
Mia was connected to his past.
A past he thought was buried forever.
That night, Damiano sat beside Mia in the garden.
The little girl was drawing.
“What are you making?”
She looked at the paper.
“A family.”
Damiano looked at the drawing.
There was Sofia.
Mia.
And him.
A man who never believed he belonged in a family.
“Why did you put me there?”
Mia smiled.
“Because you promised.”
Damiano looked away.
A promise.
Something he had made without knowing the consequences.
May you like
But he would keep it.
No matter the cost.
