Chapter 1 - The Woman Who Called Me “Nate”
For thirty years, I had buried the name Nathan Moretti beneath layers of money, power, and fear.
Everyone called me Mr. Moretti.
Some called me boss.
Others called me sir.
Nobody called me Nate.
Not anymore.
Except Sarah.
The woman lying in that tiny bedroom.
The woman I had believed was dead.
I stood frozen in the doorway.
Sarah looked older.
Much older.
Her face was pale.
Her dark hair was streaked with gray.
But her eyes were exactly the same.
Those eyes had haunted me for three decades.
“You're alive,” I whispered.
Sarah swallowed.
“Unfortunately.”
I stepped into the room.
“Where have you been?”
She looked toward Lily.
“Not here.”
“That's obvious.”
Lily stood behind me, confused.
“Mommy, do you know him?”
Sarah closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“How?”
Sarah looked at me.
“He was my best friend.”
I almost laughed.
“Best friend?”
My voice cracked.
“You disappeared without saying goodbye.”
“I had to.”
“You were twenty-one.”
“I know.”
“You left me with nothing.”
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
“I left you alive.”
That stopped me.
“What does that mean?”
She looked at Lily.
“She's the reason.”
My chest tightened.
“Lily?”
Sarah nodded.
“She's your daughter.”
The room seemed to tilt.
I stared at the little girl.
Seven years old.
Seven.
I did the math automatically.
“That's impossible.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No.”
I looked at Lily.
Then back at Sarah.
“You're telling me…”
“She is yours.”
Lily stared at me.
“Are you my daddy?”
I couldn't answer.
I had spent thirty years believing I had no children.
No family.
No reason to care about anything except survival.
And suddenly a seven-year-old girl was standing in front of me with blood on her fingertips and my eyes.
I looked at Sarah.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
She began crying.
“Because your father threatened me.”
My body went still.
“My father?”
“He said if I stayed with you, he'd kill us both.”
“My father died twenty years ago.”
“I know.”
“Then why were you still hiding?”
Sarah looked away.
“Because his people didn't.”
I felt anger rising.
“Who?”
She whispered a name.
A name I hadn't heard in decades.
“Victor Bellini.”
My oldest enemy.
A man I had believed died in prison.
I stared at her.
“He's dead.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No.”
She reached beneath her pillow.
Then pulled out a photograph.
It showed a much older man.
But I recognized him.
Victor.
And beside him stood someone else.
Someone I trusted.
Someone who currently controlled a large portion of my organization.
My right-hand man.
Daniel Rossi.
I felt the room grow colder.
Sarah whispered:
“They've been looking for Lily.”
“Why?”
She looked at me.
“Because she inherited something.”
“What?”
“Something your father left behind.”
I stared at the photograph.
Then Lily suddenly screamed.
A car door slammed outside.
May you like
Sarah grabbed my arm.
“They found us.”
