Chapter 1 - The Shadow of a Protector
The footsteps behind me did not sound like those of a humble server,
nor did they belong to the federal judge I had been expecting to intimidate.
They were heavy,
deliberate,
and filled with a terrifying kind of confidence that only a man who holds the world in his hands can possess.
I turned slowly,
my hand instinctively reaching for the holster hidden beneath the silk lining of my jacket,
but my fingers froze before they could grip the cold steel.
A man stood there,
framed by the golden light of the foyer,
wearing a charcoal suit that looked like it had been spun from moonlight and silver.
He didn't look like a soldier,
nor did he look like one of my underbosses.
He looked like a king.
"This is Julian Vane,"
Elena said,
her voice steady and devoid of the tremors I remembered from our final night together.
"He is the reason I am still breathing,
Dominic."
"He is also the man who ensures that no Valenti ever touches a hair on my daughter's head again."
The name hit me like a physical blow.
Julian Vane.
The man who controlled the European markets,
the one man whose reach was said to be longer than my own.
He stepped toward the table,
placing a hand on Elena’s shoulder with a familiarity that made my blood boil with a jealousy I had no right to feel.
He looked down at the little girl,
who gave him a bright,
gap-toothed smile that she hadn't yet offered me.
"Hello,
Isabella,"
he said softly,
ruffling her midnight curls.
"Did you finish your picture?"
Isabella.
The name was beautiful,
classic,
and echoed the name of my own grandmother.
I stood there,
holding a purple crayon like it was a holy relic,
feeling the weight of five years of lies crashing down on my shoulders.
I looked at Elena,
searching for the broken girl I had left behind,
but she was gone.
In her place was a woman who had been forged in the fire of my betrayal.
"You reserved this restaurant to talk about fear,
Dominic,"
Elena whispered,
leaning forward until the candlelight reflected in her hard,
unforgiving eyes.
"But you don't know the first thing about fear."
"Fear is being told you are defective by the man you worship."
"Fear is walking away with a secret that could get you killed."
"And now,"
"fear is what you should feel every time you look at that little girl."
May you like
The purple crayon snapped in my hand,
the sound echoing through the silent dining room like a gunshot.
