Chapter 10 - THE VALENTI BLOOD
Dominic looked down at Sophie, who was standing on the marble floor holding her rabbit, looking back and forth between her mother and the tall man in the tailored suit.
The realization settled deep into Dominic’s chest. The three-year-old girl who had walked fearlessly up to him, demanded a five-minute hug, and told him he looked like he needed one, carried his own brother's blood in her veins.
She was a Valenti.
Dominic turned back to Claire, his razor-sharp features hardening into a shield of absolute, unyielding protection.
"Who else knows you're here?" Dominic asked, his voice dropping into a lethal, authoritative register. "Does the agency know? Does anyone on the street know you brought Julian's child into this house?"
"No," Claire whispered, shaking her head. "I used a false name for the housekeeping application. Nobody knows."
Dominic took a deep breath, adjusting the cuffs of his black three-piece suit. The cold, distant mob boss who had walked into the mansion twenty minutes ago was gone; in his place stood a guardian who now had a war to fight and a bloodline to protect.
He walked over to the grand mahogany doors, pulled them open, and looked out into the courtyard where Marco and the guards were standing watch.
"Marco!" Dominic called out, his voice cutting through the afternoon air like steel.
"Yes, Boss?" Marco trotted up the stone steps.
Dominic looked his lead enforcer straight in the eye.
"Cancel all my meetings for the rest of the week," Dominic commanded. "And tell the legal team to prepare adoption and guardianship papers under the highest security classification."
Marco blinked, stunned. "Guardianship, sir? For who?"
May you like
Dominic looked back over his shoulder into the grand marble hallway, where Sophie was giggling as Claire adjusted her red winter dress.
"For my niece," Dominic said coldly. "And tell the security detail that if a single hair on either of their heads is harmed, I will personally burn this city to the ground."
