Chapter 7 - THE NIGHT DANTE CHOSE HER
Money was supposed to solve problems.
That was what I'd believed while standing in grocery stores comparing prices.
That was what I'd believed while watching overdue notices pile up on my kitchen counter.
But four billion dollars didn't make me feel rich.
It made me feel hunted.
Dante insisted on independent DNA testing.
For forty-eight hours, nobody discussed family relationships.
Nobody discussed inheritance.
And nobody discussed the moment in the hallway when I'd reached for his hand.
We barely spoke.
Then the results arrived.
Dante opened the envelope in his study.
I stood across from him.
Marco waited beside the door.
Dante read the first page.
Then the second.
His shoulders loosened.
“What?”
He looked up.
“We aren't related.”
I exhaled.
“Are you sure?”
He handed me the report.
Two independent laboratories had confirmed it.
The archived samples had been deliberately mislabeled.
Caterina was my mother.
Bianca was Dante's.
The women were sisters.
That made us cousins through our mothers.
Dante stared at the report for a long moment.
Then he looked at me.
“We're still family.”
I nodded slowly.
“Cousins.”
“Yes.”
The realization settled between us.
Whatever complicated feelings had begun to develop could not become the romance I had imagined.
Dante seemed to understand that before I said anything.
He folded the report.
“I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
“For every confusing thing I've made you feel.”
I looked toward the window.
“Neither of us knew.”
“No.”
He paused.
“But we know now.”
That evening, Leo developed a fever.
Not dangerous.
The pediatrician examined him and said it was likely a mild viral infection.
But Dante panicked.
Not visibly.
He didn't shout.
He didn't pace.
He simply sat beside the crib, staring at the baby monitor as though sheer determination could keep his son alive.
I found him there after midnight.
“Dante?”
He didn't turn.
“He was so small when he was born.”
I sat beside him.
“How small?”
“Four pounds, nine ounces.”
I looked at Leo.
His little chest rose and fell beneath the blanket.
“Isabella died before she could hold him.”
Dante swallowed.
“I promised her I'd protect him.”
“You have.”
“Someone nearly poisoned him because of me.”
“No,” I said. “Someone nearly poisoned me. Leo saved my life.”
Dante looked at me.
His eyes were tired.
“He likes you.”
I smiled faintly.
“I like him too.”
“He's never reached for anyone the way he reaches for you.”
I looked at the baby.
“Maybe he recognizes something.”
Dante frowned.
“What?”
I touched my pendant.
“Something connected to his mother.”
He stared at me.
Then he stood abruptly.
“Come with me.”
We went to the library.
Dante opened a locked cabinet and removed a velvet box.
Inside was a silver bracelet.
Five stars.
A broken crown.
My breath caught.
“Where did you get that?”
“Isabella wore it.”
I looked up.
“What?”
“She said it belonged to her grandmother.”
I touched the bracelet.
The metal was worn in the same places as my pendant.
“Was Isabella a Bellandi?”
Dante shook his head.
“Her maiden name was Ricci.”
“Could she have been related?”
“Possibly.”
He studied the bracelet.
“Her family history was complicated.”
I looked at him.
“How complicated?”
“She grew up in foster care.”
My chest tightened.
“Did she know her parents?”
“No.”
I thought about Leo reaching for my necklace.
About the way he stared at the silver pendant.
About the photograph of the baby in white.
“Dante…”
He looked up.
“What if Leo isn't reaching for me?”
He frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“What if he's reaching for the necklace because he's seen something like it before?”
Dante stared at the bracelet.
Then he whispered, “Isabella.”
A noise came from the hallway.
Both of us turned.
Marco appeared.
His face was grim.
“Boss, we have a problem.”
Dante closed the box.
“What?”
“Salvatore's men attacked the south gate.”
My heart stopped.
“Are they inside?”
“Not yet.”
Dante reached for his gun.
“Take Alina and Leo to the safe room.”
I grabbed his arm.
“Don't go.”
He looked at me.
For a moment, the dangerous man disappeared.
Only a frightened father remained.
“I have to.”
“No. Let your guards handle it.”
He hesitated.
Then the lights went out.
The entire mansion fell into darkness.
A second later, the emergency generators activated.
Red lights glowed along the hallway.
Marco spoke into his radio.
No response.
He tried again.
Static.
Dante's expression changed.
“They're jamming us.”
A distant explosion shook the windows.
I screamed.
Dante caught my shoulders.
“Listen to me.”
I looked at him.
“Take Leo. Follow Marco. Do not stop.”
“What about you?”
“I'll be behind you.”
I knew he was lying.
He knew I knew.
Then he said something unexpected.
“Alina, you don't owe my family anything.”
I stared at him.
“You didn't ask for this. You didn't ask for the money or the danger.”
His voice softened.
“But Leo needs someone who sees him as a child instead of an heir.”
I felt tears rise.
Dante looked toward the nursery.
“And if I don't make it…”
“Don't.”
“Promise me you'll keep him safe.”
I swallowed.
Then nodded.
“I promise.”
He released me.
Marco led me toward the stairs.
I ran into the nursery.
Leo was awake.
Crying.
I lifted him.
“It's okay, sweetheart. I've got you.”
He pressed his face against my neck.
Then his tiny hand closed around the pendant.
A soft click sounded.
I froze.
The silver oval had opened.
Inside was a folded piece of paper.
So small I almost missed it.
I pulled it free.
May you like
Written in my mother's handwriting were seven words.
The child is not Isabella's biological son.
