Chapter 3 - The Lies of the DeLuca Syndicate
The confession hung in the warm air of the nursery like a falling blade.
Sophie stared at Dominic in utter shock. "Your... your sister? But everyone at the restaurant... your guards... they said Matteo was your son."
Dominic walked over to the tall arched window, staring out into the dark storm raging over Lake Michigan. He took a long drag from his glass of whiskey.
"In the Chicago underworld, weakness is a death sentence," Dominic explained, his voice low and dangerous. "My sister, Elena, was hidden away in a private clinic in Geneva for two years. She was foolish enough to fall in love with a man from the DeLuca family—our blood rivals."
Sophie held Matteo a little tighter against her chest. "The DeLucas?"
"Six months ago, Elena came back to Chicago, pregnant and terrified," Dominic continued, his jaw locking tight. "The child’s father... Julian DeLuca... abandoned her the moment he found out she was pregnant. He didn't want a bastard child ruining his position in his family's empire."
Dominic turned around, looking at the sleeping infant in Sophie's arms.
"Elena died on the operating table three weeks ago from severe hemorrhaging," Dominic said softly, a rare flicker of pain crossing his hard face. "Before she took her last breath, she made me swear two things: first, that I would protect her boy with my life. And second, that Julian DeLuca would never, ever know this child exists."
Sophie listened, her heart aching for the innocent baby in her arms. Matteo was a pawn in a deadly game between two rival mob empires, stripped of his mother before he could even know her face.
"So you claimed him as your own," Sophie realized. "To give him your name and protection."
"If the DeLucas find out Matteo is Julian’s son, they will either kill him to erase the scandal, or kidnap him to use as leverage against me," Dominic said, taking a step toward her. "I declared him my son and heir. But I am a man who knows how to run a city, Sophie... I don't know how to raise an infant."
He knelt down beside her chair, putting him at eye level with her. For the first time, the feared boss of Chicago looked vulnerable, his dark eyes searching her face with desperate sincerity.
"Stay," Dominic whispered. "Live here at the estate. Be his nurse. Be his caregiver. I will pay you whatever you ask. I will protect you from whatever past you're running from."
Sophie looked down at Matteo, who made a tiny, contented sigh in his sleep, his little head resting over her pounding heart. She thought of her cold, empty apartment. She thought of her dead-end job at the restaurant. She thought of Leo.
"I don't want your money, Mr. Moretti," Sophie said softly. "But I will stay for Matteo."
Dominic let out a long breath, a faint, genuine smile touching his lips for the first time. "Thank you, Sophie."
Suddenly, the silence was shattered by the heavy thud of the nursery door bursting open.
Nico, the scarred bodyguard, rushed into the room, his face pale, holding a encrypted satellite phone.
"Boss," Nico gasped out, his hand resting on his sidearm. "We have a massive problem."
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Dominic stood up instantly, his dark aura returning in a flash. "What is it?"
"Julian DeLuca just landed at O'Hare airport," Nico reported urgently. "He’s brought twenty armed men with him. He’s claiming he has an anonymous tip that a child belonging to his family is being hidden inside your estate!"
