Chapter 1 - The Bloodline
I froze as Lorenzo Rossi’s dark eyes locked onto the cheap plastic bracelet on my wrist.
The silence in the nursery was so heavy I could hear my own heart pounding in my ears.
He took a slow step toward me, signaling his armed guards to wait outside with a single flick of his hand.
The heavy oak door clicked shut, leaving me completely alone with the most dangerous man in New York.
I instinctively pulled Leo closer to my chest, making sure the baby did not lose his latch.
Leo swallowed greedily, his tiny hands gripping the fabric of my uniform as if his life depended on it.
Lorenzo stopped inches from my chair, his gaze dropping to his son before returning to my terrified face.
"I asked you a question, Hunter," he said, his voice dangerously soft.
"Whose baby did you lose three weeks ago?"
I swallowed hard, tears blurring my vision as the memories of my tragedy flooded back.
"His name was Julian," I whispered, trembling as I spoke my dead ex-boyfriend's name.
Lorenzo's face turned to absolute stone.
"Julian Moretti?" he asked, his jaw clenching so tightly I thought his teeth might shatter.
I nodded slowly, terrified of how a billionaire mafia boss knew the name of a low-level street mechanic.
Lorenzo let out a dark, humorless laugh that sent a chill down my spine.
"Julian was not a mechanic, Hunter."
"He was my estranged half-brother."
The room seemed to spin around me as the truth hit me like a physical blow.
I had been pregnant with a Rossi.
"Julian died in a hit-and-run two months ago," I cried, defending the man I had loved.
"It was not a hit-and-run," Lorenzo stated coldly.
"My enemies murdered him, just like they murdered my wife."
He reached out and gently touched Leo's pale cheek.
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"And your baby did not die of natural causes in that hospital, Hunter."
"The doctor on duty was paid to inject your newborn with a respiratory toxin to wipe out my father's bloodline entirely."
