Chapter 13 - The Unwelcome Visitor
That evening, the grand dining hall—once a site of cold, silent meals—glowed with warm candlelight. Mia sat in a custom high chair between Alina and Lorenzo, giggling as she used a plastic spoon to build a mountain out of mashed potatoes.
Suddenly, the heavy oak doors swung open.
The room went dead silent. Standing on the threshold was not an assassin, nor a capo, but a tall, elegant woman wrapped in a white mink coat, her dark hair swept back in an immaculate chignon. Her eyes were sharp, cold, and unmistakably familiar.
Elena Valery—Lorenzo’s estranged maternal aunt, who had spent the last decade living in self-imposed exile in Monaco—stepped into the room.
Lorenzo stood up so fast his chair scraped loudly against the parquet floor. His face hardened into a mask of pure ice.
May you like
"Elena," Lorenzo’s voice dropped an octave, dripping with danger. "You were not invited."
"Is that how you greet family after five years, nephew?" she asked, her voice smooth as silk as she unbuttoned her coat. Her gaze swept past Lorenzo and landed directly on Alina and little Mia. "Especially when you've turned our legacy into a domestic daycare run by a former auditor."
