CHAPTER 2 The Son He Never Knew #3
His father had been dead for four years.
Dante had already inherited everything before the wedding.
Which meant whoever had spoken either misunderstood the Moretti structure or had been referring to something much larger.
“Why didn’t you tell me later?”
“I was watched.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
“You disappeared successfully.”
“Barely.”
She looked down.
“When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I couldn’t risk contacting anyone.”
Dante stared at Matteo.
His son had been part of this from before birth.
Whether anyone had known or not.
“You should have trusted me.”
Sofia’s eyes filled with anger again.
“With what? Your life? His?”
“Yes.”
She stared.
Dante did not look away.
“I would have protected you.”
“You can’t protect everyone.”
“I can try.”
“That’s not the same.”
“No.”
His voice hardened.
“But running didn’t end the threat, did it?”
She looked away.
No.
Clearly not.
The city skyline appeared in the distance.
Home.
Dante should have felt relief.
Instead, his instincts told him they were moving toward something worse.
His phone vibrated again.
A message from Luca.
**WE CONFIRMED IT. THE SHELL COMPANY WAS OPENED BY CARLO BELLINI’S ATTORNEY THREE YEARS AGO.**
Below it came another message.
**AND DANTE—CARLO DISAPPEARED THIS MORNING.**
Dante stared at the screen.
Sofia saw his face.
“What?”
He looked up.
“Your father is gone.”
Her expression collapsed.
“What do you mean gone?”
“His house is empty.”
“No.”
“Phone off.”
“No.”
“Security missing.”
“Dante—”
“The moment you were found, Carlo disappeared.”
Sofia shook her head.
“He wouldn’t.”
“You already told me he betrayed me.”
“I said he made a deal. I didn’t say he wanted me dead.”
“Those may be the same thing.”
“They’re not.”
Matteo woke at the tension in her voice.
“Mama?”
Sofia immediately softened.
“I’m okay.”
She was not.
Dante could see it.
The convoy turned through the gates of the Moretti estate.
Matteo pressed his face to the window.
“Big house.”
Dante looked outside.
The estate had never seemed large to him.
Now he saw it through his son’s eyes.
Stone walls.
Fountains.
Gardens.
Security.
A fortress disguised as wealth.
Matteo stared.
“Castle?”
Dante almost smiled.
“Something like that.”
Sofia gave him a look.
“Do not tell him you live in a castle.”
“I didn’t.”
“You were going to.”
“I might.”
Despite everything, her lips twitched.
Dante noticed.
He noticed too much.
The SUV stopped.
Security surrounded the vehicle.
Dante opened his door.
Then paused.
Matteo was watching him.
Dante looked at Sofia.
“Can I?”
She understood immediately.
Her expression became guarded.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she slowly shifted Matteo toward him.
Dante froze.
The boy reached uncertainly.
Dante had held guns before he was old enough to drink.
He had carried wounded men out of burning buildings.
He had buried his brother.
Nothing had ever made his hands feel as unsteady as taking his son into his arms.
Matteo was warm.
Small.
Real.
He placed one arm around Dante’s neck automatically.
Dante stopped breathing.
The world narrowed.
His son.
His blood.
His family.
Something ancient and absolute awakened inside him.
Protection.
Possession.
Love, perhaps.
The word came too quickly.
He rejected it.
Then Matteo rested his head against Dante’s shoulder.
The argument ended.
Whatever this feeling was, it had already taken root.
Sofia watched them.
Her eyes glistened.
Dante stepped from the vehicle.
Matteo looked at the mansion.
“Castle.”
Dante lowered his voice.
“Castle.”
Sofia sighed behind him.
Dante almost smiled.
Then Luca approached.
One look at his face erased the moment.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We found something in the Bellini house.”
Sofia stepped closer.
“What?”
Luca looked at her.
Then Dante.
“A room behind Carlo’s office.”
Dante’s instincts sharpened.
“What was inside?”
“Photographs.”
“Of what?”
Luca hesitated.
“Of Sofia.”
Dante’s body went cold.
“How many?”
“Hundreds.”
Sofia stopped breathing.
Luca continued.
“Some are recent.”
Dante’s eyes narrowed.
“How recent?”
“This week.”
Sofia went pale.
“That’s impossible.”
Luca shook his head.
“There are photographs of Matteo too.”
Dante tightened his hold on the boy without thinking.
Matteo looked at him, confused.
Sofia’s fear became visible.
“My father wouldn’t—”
“There’s more,” Luca said.
Dante looked at him.
“What?”
“A file.”
“What file?”
Luca’s expression darkened.
“On the child.”
Everything inside Dante became still.
Sofia stepped forward.
“What about my son?”
Luca looked at Dante before answering.
“The file was created before Matteo was born.”
Silence.
Sofia stared at him.
Dante felt her words from earlier return.
*I didn’t know I was pregnant.*
Someone had.
Someone had known.
Months before Matteo entered the world, someone had already been watching.
Dante looked down at the sleeping boy in his arms.
Then at Sofia.
The runaway bride had not merely been hiding a secret baby.
She had been running from a secret that had started before any of them understood what was at stake.
And someone had just announced that the hunt was beginning again.