Chapter 3 - THE NAME ON THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE
I had never told Alessandro who Mia's father was.
I had never told anyone in the Duca household.
Her birth certificate listed:
Father — Unknown.
That was deliberate.
Six months before Mia was born, I had been working as a waitress.
I'd met Daniel Reyes.
He was charming.
Kind.
Funny.
Then I discovered he was married.
I walked away.
Three weeks later, I learned I was pregnant.
Daniel never knew.
I wanted it that way.
Because Daniel Reyes wasn't just married.
He was connected to a powerful criminal family in Queens.
The kind of family whose name appeared in newspapers only when someone died.
I had spent eight months protecting Mia from that world.
Now someone knew.
Alessandro sat across from me in his private dining room.
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I was scared.”
“Of Daniel?”
I nodded.
Alessandro's expression became unreadable.
“Daniel Reyes is dead.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“Two years ago.”
I didn't believe him.
“He disappeared.”
“His body was never found.”
Alessandro leaned forward.
“His organization was absorbed by another group.”
“Whose?”
He didn't answer.
I already knew.
“Yours?”
“No.”
He paused.
“Mine killed the men responsible for his disappearance.”
I couldn't breathe.
“You knew him.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He worked for my father.”
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Alessandro stood.
“I didn't know about your daughter.”
“I believe you.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because if you knew, you wouldn't have needed to ask.”
He looked at me for a long time.
Then:
“Daniel had a daughter.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“A little girl.”
“Where is she?”
“Dead.”
I covered my mouth.
Alessandro's voice softened.
“She was killed during the conflict that destroyed his organization.”
I looked at Mia.
She was playing with a wooden block.
“Someone thinks Mia is Daniel's surviving heir.”
Alessandro nodded.
“That's why she matters.”
“But she's not.”
“Biologically, she might be.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Unless you've had a DNA test.”
I hadn't.
I never wanted to know.
Alessandro stood.
“Then we need one.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because once that test exists, she becomes a target.”
“She already is.”
That sentence silenced me.
The next morning, I agreed.
The test took twenty-four hours.
During those twenty-four hours, everything changed.
Someone attempted to break into my old apartment.
Someone followed Rosa home.
And someone sent Alessandro a photograph of Mia sleeping.
The message underneath said:
THE GIRL BELONGS TO THE REYES FAMILY.
Alessandro stared at it.
Then deleted the message.
“Where are we going?”
I asked.
May you like
He looked at me.
“To find out who wants her.”
