Chapter 1 - The Shattered Glass
The dinner was progressing in a calm, almost surreal, manner when Sofia arrived at the central table.
Her plate was heavy, her thoughts elsewhere.
One moment of inattention was enough.
The glass slipped.
The red wine splattered on the collar and the hand of the famous Don Riccardo Marino.
The silence was immediate.
Sofia felt the stares fall on her like knives.
But Riccardo didn't get angry.
On the contrary, he suddenly grabbed her wrist.
She wanted to get away.
Then he clearly saw the bracelet.
It was a small gold band around an oval plaque.
Her lips froze.
Chiara.
Sofia lowered her eyes.
On the plaque was written a single word.
Chiara.
Riccardo closed his eyes.
It was my daughter's name.
The same bracelet was with her the night the hospital caught fire.
The restaurant manager quietly retreated.
He seemed to know that name too.
Sofia stared at the powerful mafia boss, her heart hammering against her ribs.
She had worn this bracelet since her earliest days at the orphanage.
It was the only thing she owned that proved she existed before the system took her in.
Riccardo slowly released her wrist, his dark eyes searching her face for ghosts of the past.
You have her eyes.
He whispered the words as if the rest of the crowded room did not exist.
Sofia took a step backward, terrified of the sudden vulnerability in a man known for ruthless violence.
I am just a waitress, sir.
I don't know anything about a hospital fire.
Before Riccardo could respond, the heavy mahogany doors of the restaurant slammed shut with a deafening metallic clank.
The quiet click of heavy deadbolts sliding into place echoed through the silent dining room.
The restaurant manager stepped out from the shadows near the kitchen.
He was no longer holding a wine menu.
He was holding a suppressed automatic weapon.
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I am sorry, Don Riccardo, but some ghosts are supposed to stay dead.
The manager raised the weapon and pointed it directly at Sofia's chest.
