Chapter 3 - BLOOD DOES NOT MAKE A FATHER
Alessandro entered the small sitting room.
Emma sat on the carpet beside Vincent.
She had lined up wooden animals in a crooked row.
When she saw Alessandro, she smiled.
“Did the angry man leave?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
She returned to her toys.
Alessandro stood several feet away.
For the first time in years, he did not know what to do with his hands.
Sophia remained at the doorway.
“You don’t have to speak to her yet.”
Alessandro looked at her.
“She has spent three years without knowing me.”
“She spent three years safe from you.”
The words struck harder than she intended.
Vincent rose.
“I will give you privacy.”
Emma held up a wooden lion.
“No.”
Vincent paused.
“You want me to stay?”
She nodded.
“You’re nice.”
The elderly steward sat back down.
Alessandro studied the child.
“What is that?”
“A lion.”
“I can see that.”
“He lost his family.”
Emma placed the lion beside a small rabbit.
“But the rabbit found him.”
Alessandro glanced at Sophia.
She looked away.
He lowered himself onto the carpet.
“Does the lion get his family back?”
Emma considered the question.
“Maybe.”
“What does he have to do?”
“Say sorry.”
“For what?”
“For being scary.”
Vincent coughed into his hand.
Sophia almost smiled.
Alessandro picked up the wooden lion.
“I do not usually apologize.”
“That’s why he’s alone.”
The statement was simple.
It cut through him.
Sophia saw it.
For an instant, the powerful man seemed less like a mafia boss and more like a wounded boy who had never been allowed to admit he was hurt.
Emma picked up the paintbrush she had carried into the room.
“Can I make the lion flowers too?”
“No.”
She frowned.
Alessandro sighed.
“One flower.”
Emma brightened.
Sophia watched her daughter paint a small yellow mark on the lion’s head.
Then she noticed Isabella standing in the hallway.
The older woman was observing them.
Her face revealed no tenderness.
Only calculation.
Later that evening, a doctor arrived to collect DNA samples.
Sophia objected.
Alessandro did not.
“I need certainty.”
“You already heard the truth.”
“I heard a story.”
Sophia’s face hardened.
“You think I wanted this?”
“I think you hid her.”
“I protected her.”
“From me.”
“From your world.”
Alessandro stepped closer.
“You took away my choice.”
“I woke every morning terrified that one of your enemies would learn who she was.”
“You could have come to me.”
“And said what?”
“Hello, Mr. Moretti.”
“My abusive husband stole your genetic material, bribed a corrupt doctor, and forced me into a pregnancy I never consented to.”
“Would you have believed me?”
He did not answer.
“That is what I thought.”
She walked toward the door.
Alessandro caught her arm.
Not hard.
But enough to stop her.
Sophia looked down at his hand.
He released her immediately.
“I would have protected her.”
“You don’t even know how to protect yourself.”
His eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
“You live in a fortress.”
“You have armed men outside every door.”
“Your own mother enters rooms without permission.”
“Your uncle questions your decisions.”
“Your family is not loyal.”
“They are afraid.”
“That is not the same thing.”
Alessandro’s face became cold.
“Fear has kept this family alive.”
“Fear brought Ryan through your front door.”
He turned away.
She had found the wound.
Someone inside the estate had helped Ryan enter.
Vincent had already confirmed it.
The outer gate logs had been altered.
Two cameras had gone dark.
Sophia gathered Emma’s things.
“We’re leaving tonight.”
“No.”
She faced him.
“You do not control me.”
“My enemies may already know about Emma.”
“Because your mother sent for your uncle.”
Alessandro looked toward the hallway.
“How do you know?”
“I saw her.”
He left the room without another word.
Isabella was in the library pouring herself a drink when Alessandro entered.
“Did you contact Carlo?”
She did not bother denying it.
“He had a right to know.”
“No one had a right to know.”
“This family has rules.”
“This is my daughter.”
“She is an heir.”
“She is three.”
“She is Moretti blood.”
Alessandro struck the glass from his mother’s hand.
It shattered against the fireplace.
“She is not a bargaining piece.”
Isabella’s expression did not change.
“You sound like your father.”
“That is not a compliment.”
“He understood responsibility.”
“He understood ownership.”
“He built everything you have.”
“He died because he trusted family.”
For the first time, Isabella’s composure slipped.
“Be careful.”
“Why?”
“Will the dead hear me?”
Her hand moved toward his face.
She stopped before touching him.
“You have always blamed me.”
“You told him where I would be the night of the warehouse bombing.”
Isabella stared at him.
“That is a lie.”
“Is it?”
“Your father had enemies.”
“One of them knew my exact route.”
“You survived.”
Alessandro gave a humorless smile.
“That almost sounds like disappointment.”
A car engine sounded outside.
Then another.
And another.
Isabella looked toward the window.
“Carlo is here.”
Alessandro’s expression darkened.
“He was three hours away.”
“He traveled quickly.”
“No.”
Alessandro moved to the security monitor.
The camera showed five black vehicles entering the gates.
Dozens of armed men filled the courtyard.
Carlo had not come for a family conversation.
He had come prepared for war.
Alessandro reached for his gun.
At that exact moment, the lights went out.
May you like
From somewhere upstairs, Emma screamed.
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