Chapter 1 - The Safe Deposit Box
I kept my eyes on the rearview mirror as I navigated the morning traffic of Manhattan.
Lily sat silently in the passenger seat.
Her tiny hands were wrapped tightly around the long ears of her stuffed pink rabbit.
Every instinct I had developed over twelve years of running the Moretti empire was screaming at me.
I had left my heavily guarded estate without telling Vincent, my head of security.
For the first time in a decade, I was entirely vulnerable.
I pulled into the underground parking garage beneath Maya Reyes’s law firm.
I checked my weapon before stepping out of the vehicle.
I opened the passenger door and lifted Lily into my arms.
We took the private elevator directly to the top floor.
Maya was waiting in the lobby with a grim expression on her face.
She did not say a word as she led us into her soundproof office.
She locked the heavy oak doors behind us.
Maya walked over to a steel wall safe hidden behind a painting.
She took the small brass key from my hand and inserted it into the lock.
The safe clicked open, revealing a single manila folder.
Maya handed the folder to me.
I opened it slowly.
Inside was a birth certificate and a sealed medical report from a private genetic laboratory.
The father listed on Lily’s birth certificate was Adrian Moretti.
I stopped breathing.
I stared at the name, unable to process the letters printed on the page.
Five years ago, after a nearly fatal car accident, my doctors told me I was completely sterile.
Vanessa’s family physician had personally delivered the devastating news to me.
I looked down at the little girl holding her stuffed rabbit.
She had my gray eyes.
She had my stubborn chin.
I realized with absolute certainty that Vanessa’s doctor had lied to me to secure my marriage to the Romano family.
Claire had hidden my own daughter from me in my own house because she knew the Romanos would eliminate any illegitimate heir.
May you like
Before I could speak, the reinforced glass window of Maya’s office suddenly shattered.
A high-caliber bullet embedded itself into the wall mere inches from my head.
