Chapter 5 - The Paternity of Blood
The night was long,
filled with the sounds of a house being purged.
Sofia’s belongings were tossed into suitcases and hauled away by my men.
She screamed,
she begged,
but she was a ghost to me now.
Isabella and Lily were settled into the guest suite,
but I couldn't sleep.
I sat in my study,
the DNA report of the first baby shredded in the trash,
and a new one pending.
I didn't need a lab to tell me the truth about Lily,
but my enemies would.
If I was to claim her as a Moretti,
she had to be untouchable.
Tony walked in,
dropping a file on my desk.
"Marcus is moving,
boss,"
he said.
"He knows Sofia is out."
"He’s telling the other families that you’ve lost your mind,
bringing a maid and her kid into the inner circle."
"He thinks you're weak."
I leaned back in my leather chair,
the shadows of the room wrapping around me.
"Let him think that,"
I said.
"Weakness is a trap for the arrogant."
"I want a full security detail on Isabella and Lily."
"Twenty-four hours."
"They don't go to the grocery store without a four-man team."
"And Tony?"
"Find the man who was supposed to be Lily’s father."
"The one Isabella mentioned."
Tony nodded and vanished.
I walked to the guest suite,
cracking the door open.
Lily was fast asleep,
the stuffed bear tucked under her arm.
Isabella was sitting by the window,
watching the moon over the gardens.
I stepped inside,
the floorboards silent under my weight.
"You should sleep,"
I said.
"I can't,"
she replied.
"This place...
it's too quiet."
"It feels like the silence before a storm."
I sat on the edge of the bed,
the darkness between us feeling like a bridge.
"I’m sorry,
Isabella,"
I said.
"For the life I've led,
and the danger I've brought you into."
"But I won't let them hurt you."
"I've spent my life protecting a name that meant nothing."
"Now I have a reason to protect it."
She looked at me,
and for a moment,
I saw the girl from the basement again.
"I didn't save you so you could become a killer,
Alessandro,"
she said.
"I saved you so you could live."
"Help me show her how to live,
not just how to survive."
I took her hand,
her skin warm against mine.
"I'll try,"
I promised.
May you like
But in my world,
promises were written in blood.
