Chapter 4 - The Midnight Raid
“Step away from the desk, Alina.”
Dante stepped out of the dark corner of the study, a silver pistol resting easily in his hand.
I spun around, tears streaming down my face as I pointed at the gruesome photograph.
“You killed her.”
Dante lowered the weapon slowly, his face etched with genuine pain.
“I did not kill your mother.”
He walked over to the desk and flipped to the next page in the binder.
“The woman in that photo is my wife, Isabella.”
I stared at the image again, realizing the dead woman had darker hair and different features than my mother.
“Then why was she wearing my mother’s locket?”
Dante poured himself a drink with a slightly trembling hand.
“Because Isabella gave it to Elena to protect her.”
He explained that a rival family, the Morettis, had put a hit out on his pregnant wife.
My mother had switched clothes with Isabella to act as a decoy, but the plan failed.
Isabella was murdered, and my mother vanished into the night with the newborn baby to keep him safe from the assassins.
“Leo is your son,” I whispered, the pieces finally clicking together.
“Yes, and your mother has been hiding him for nine months while I tore this city apart looking for them.”
I felt a sudden wave of dizzying relief that my mother was not a murderer.
“So where is she now?”
Dante looked out the massive window toward the front gates.
“She texted me this morning, saying she was finally ready to bring him home.”
Suddenly, a deafening explosion shattered the peaceful silence of the estate.
May you like
The heavy windowpanes blew inward in a terrifying shower of broken glass.
Dante tackled me to the expensive rug just as a hail of automatic gunfire ripped through the study walls.
