Chapter 3 - The Ghost of Elmhurst
“You think I would have let anything happen to you?” Adrian’s voice dropped to a lethal murmur, his eyes flashing with the cold fury of a man accustomed to absolute control. “Or to her?”
“I know you wouldn’t have meant to,” I replied, my hands gripping the edge of the kitchen counter until my knuckles turned white. “That’s the point, Adrian. Your enemies don’t care about intentions. They use knives, bombs, and leverage. How long before someone figured out the crown prince of the Moretti family had a weakness? How long before a bullet meant for you found its way into a nursery?”
Adrian didn't answer. He couldn't. Because he knew the blood on his hands couldn't be washed off just because he wanted to play domestic.
Across the room, Emma shifted in her chair. “Mommy... is he really my daddy?”
The question dropped like a lead weight.
Adrian turned slowly, kneeling once more so he was eye-level with the little girl who possessed his exact features. The hard, untouchable mafia boss melted away into a stranger desperate for a scrap of grace.
“What’s your name, little one?” Adrian asked, his voice softening in a way I had only ever heard once before—on the night he asked me to marry him.
“Emma,” she said softly, tilting her head. “Oliver is your boy?”
“Yes,” Adrian nodded, a small, fragile smile touching the corner of his mouth. “Oliver is my son. And... if you’ll let me... I think I’m your daddy, too.”
Emma looked down at her hands, then looked up at me for permission. My throat tightened. I couldn't lie to her anymore, not when the truth was standing right in front of us, wearing her face.
“He is,” I whispered, tears finally breaking free.
Emma looked back at Adrian, her eyes shining with sudden wonder. “Did you bring me a present?”
May you like
A startled, breathy laugh escaped Adrian’s chest. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, velvet-wrapped box—something he’d clearly been carrying for reasons entirely unrelated to tonight. He flipped it open. Inside sat a delicate silver bracelet with a tiny diamond star.
“I didn't know you existed,” Adrian said softly, sliding the bracelet onto her small wrist. “But I think I’ve been looking for you for six years.”
