Chapter 11 - THE ENEMY INSIDE THE FAMILY
The Romano mansion became a battlefield.
Guards surrounded the property.
Cars blocked every exit.
Security searched every corner.
But Alessio knew the truth.
The shooter wasn’t trying to escape.
He was sending a message.
A message only family could understand.
I stayed upstairs with Leo while doctors checked him again.
The baby had finally fallen asleep.
For the first time all night, he looked peaceful.
I watched him breathe.
And wondered how many times he had been close to losing everything.
A quiet sound came from behind me.
I turned.
Alessio stood in the doorway.
No gun.
No anger.
Just exhaustion.
“You saved him twice.”
I looked away.
“I did my job.”
He walked inside.
“No.”
He looked at Leo.
“You did more than that.”
Silence filled the room.
Then he said something I never expected.
“I was wrong about you.”
I looked at him.
The mafia boss was apologizing.
Not easily.
Not comfortably.
But honestly.
“That doesn’t change what happened.”
“I know.”
His jaw tightened.
“I accused the one person protecting him.”
I didn’t answer.
Because I knew something.
Trust wasn’t repaired with words.
Especially not after someone pointed a gun at you.
Then Alessio placed something on the table.
The evidence bag.
The blue bead.
“I had it tested.”
I looked at him.
“And?”
His expression became dark.
“It wasn’t from a pacifier.”
I already knew.
“Then what was it?”
He looked at Leo.
“It came from a necklace.”
My heart stopped.
“What necklace?”
“The necklace my wife wore the night she died.”
A cold feeling moved through me.
Victoria had been right.
Everything connected.
The bead.
The fire.
The brother.
The lies.
Before I could speak, Dominic rushed into the room.
“Boss.”
Alessio turned.
“We found the person who accessed the hidden camera.”
“Who?”
Dominic hesitated.
“It was someone with full access to the estate.”
Alessio’s eyes narrowed.
“Name.”
Dominic looked at me.
Then at Alessio.
“The person who installed the cameras…”
A pause.
“Was your wife’s personal assistant.”
Alessio froze.
“That’s impossible.”
Dominic handed him a file.
“She never left the city.”
Alessio opened it.
His face changed.
The woman everyone thought disappeared after the fire…
had been living under another name.
And she had been working close to the Romano family for years.
Then Dominic added one more thing.
“Boss…”
Alessio looked up.
“What?”
“She contacted us ten minutes ago.”
The room became silent.
“What did she say?”
Dominic looked terrified.
“She said…”
May you like
He swallowed.
“She has Leo’s real birth records.”
