Chapter 2 - Shadows of the Past
The silence that followed was heavy,
suffocating the very breath out of the room.
Alessandro stood up slowly,
towering over us like a dark god of vengeance.
He looked at Emma,
who was still clutching my hand,
unaware that her world had just shattered.
"What was your husband's name?"
he asked,
his tone strangely gentle.
"Julian,"
I replied,
my heart hammering against my ribs.
"He told me his name was Julian Bennett."
Alessandro’s jaw tightened,
a muscle leaping in his cheek.
"Julian Vancini,"
he corrected,
the name hanging in the air like a curse.
"My younger brother,"
"who disappeared the night the docks burned."
Vivian’s face went from pale to ghostly white,
as she realized the implications.
If this child was the rightful heir to the Vancini legacy,
her own position as the future Mrs. Moretti was compromised.
"This is a lie,"
she shrieked,
her voice high and desperate.
"She’s a common thief,"
"she probably stole that toy from a museum!"
Alessandro turned his head,
his eyes fixing on her with a predatory stillness.
"Leave,"
he said.
It wasn't a request.
"But Alessandro—"
"Leave now,"
he roared,
the sound making the crystal chandeliers chime.
Vivian gathered her skirts,
humiliated in front of the most powerful people in Italy,
and fled the room with tears of rage in her eyes.
Alessandro turned back to the twelve families,
who were now whispering frantically among themselves.
"The meeting is adjourned,"
he announced,
his voice cutting through the chatter.
"My house is now under lockdown."
"No one leaves Milan,"
"until I find out who told me my brother was dead."
The guards began ushering the bosses out,
their faces grim and uncertain.
I stood there,
holding my daughter,
the simple housekeeper who had accidentally brought an empire to its knees.
Alessandro stepped toward me,
and I instinctively flinched.
"Do not be afraid,
Elena,"
he said,
using my name for the first time.
May you like
"You are no longer a servant here."
***
