Chapter 2 - The Ghost in the DNA ReportThe rain had ceased by the time Alessandro arrived at his gated estate in Alpine, New Jersey. The house was a quiet fortress of white marble, bulletproof glass, and forty acres of private woods. To the world, it was the sanctuary of a titan. To Alessandro, it was a tomb built on the memory of Sophia—his wife who had died four years ago in a horrific boat explosion off the coast of Amalfi.
He sat in his dark study, swirling two fingers of scotch in a crystal tumbler. He couldn't shake the image of Ruth Bennett’s face.
“I know who he is... He found us.”
Why would an impoverished grandmother in a crumbling Brooklyn tenement speak his name with such terrifying familiarity? And the pendant in the photograph... it was an exact replica of the silver songbird Alessandro had designed himself and gifted to Sophia on their wedding anniversary.
Alessandro slammed his glass onto the mahogany desk. "Marco!"
Marco Rossi stepped into the room, his long shadow stretching across the Persian rug. "Boss?"
"I want a full background check on Ruth Bennett," Alessandro commanded, his voice cold as ice. "And I want a swab of DNA from the little girl, Annie."
"Boss, with all due respect, she's just a street kid—"
"Do it, Marco. Tonight."
Forty-eight hours later, Marco returned. His face was unusually pale, his hands slightly trembling as he placed a sealed manila envelope on Alessandro’s desk.
"The old woman, Ruth Bennett, was a schoolteacher from upstate," Marco whispered. "Her daughter, Sophia Bennett, died three years ago during childbirth. The father was never listed on the birth certificate."
Alessandro tore open the envelope. The paper inside bore the crest of New York’s premier forensic laboratory. His eyes scanned down to the bottom line:
PROBABILITY OF PATERNITY: 99.998% SUBJECT: ALESSANDRO MORETTI IS THE BIOLOGICAL FATHER OF ANNIE BENNETT.
The room spun. Alessandro’s breath hitched in his throat. Sophia had been dead for four years... yet Annie was only three.
How could his deceased wife give birth a year after her death?
Before the staggering reality could settle, Alessandro’s cell phone buzzed. It was an emergency alert from the silent alarm he had secretly placed on Ruth Bennett’s apartment door.
"Marco, get the cars!" Alessandro roared, pulling a sleek black Sig Sauer from his desk drawer. "Now!"
They tore through the streets of New York, running red lights, tires screaming against the asphalt. When Alessandro kicked open the door to Apartment 7, the scene inside turned his blood to ice.
The apartment had been completely ransacked. Cushions were slashed, drawers overturned, and the photograph of Sophia was shattered on the floor.
Lying near the armchair was Ruth Bennett, her chest barely rising, a pool of dark blood expanding beneath her head.
Alessandro dropped to his knees, lifting the dying woman’s head. "Ruth! Where is Annie? Who took her?!"
Ruth opened her bloodshot eyes, her fingers clutching Alessandro’s lapel with surprising strength.
"She... she didn't die in Italy, Alessandro," Ruth gasped, coughing up blood. "They... they kept her alive... to breed your heir..."
"Who?!" Alessandro screamed, tears finally breaking through his stoic facade. "Who took my daughter?!"
"The serpent... inside your own gates..." Ruth’s hand went limp, falling to the floor. Her eyes glazed over.
Suddenly, Marco walked into the room, holding his phone with a look of utter horror. "Boss... we just checked the security feed from the perimeter of your mansion."
"What is it, Marco?!"
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"Ten minutes ago... someone used your personal clearance code to enter the private wing. They disabled the cameras. Annie was brought there... and then vanished through the north gate."
Alessandro stood up, his jaw clenched, eyes burning with a demonic fury. "Someone in my house ordered this. Search every inch of the estate. If my daughter isn't found in one hour... I will burn New York to the ground."
