Chapter 6 - THE ENGRAVING
Elena opened her mouth to answer his question, her lips parting as she prepared to speak the name she had kept buried for over a year.
"His name was—" Elena began.
Before the sound could fully form in her throat, Alessandro’s thumb brushed across a second, minuscule detail etched into the upper lip of the silver pendant—a tiny, specific mark that had escaped his initial glance.
His entire face went completely, terrifyingly still.
The word died in Elena’s throat as she watched the syndicate leader go pale. The color didn't just leave his face; he looked as though he were staring at a ghost that had stepped directly out from his worst nightmare.
He stopped looking at the pendant. He stopped looking at the baby. He raised his head and looked at Elena as if the answer she was about to give had suddenly become something he was utterly terrified to hear.
"No..." Alessandro whispered, his voice trembling—a sound Elena had never heard from him before.
"Mr. Duca...?" Elena breathed, taking a timid step toward her daughter.
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Alessandro didn't step back, but his posture shifted into a rigid, defensive stance. He held little Mia tighter against his chest, shielding the baby with his massive frame while his mind raced through years of hidden family history, blood feuds, and buried secrets.
"Elena," Alessandro said, his tone dropping into a deadly, trembling register that shook her to her core. "Tell me you didn't get this from him."
