Chapter 3 - The Threat from the Shadows
"Leave us, Leo," Storm said, gesturing to one of his trusted associates, a towering, gray-haired man named Viktor. "Viktor will show you the balcony. You can see the entire city from there."
Leo looked at me for permission. I gave him a tight, reassuring nod, watching as Viktor gently guided him toward the glass doors.
The moment the balcony doors slid shut, Storm turned on me, his composure completely shattering.
"Why didn't you tell me, Juliet?!" he roared, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. "You knew what my family’s enemies would do if they found out I had an heir! You knew the vulnerability it placed on my entire operation!"
"That is exactly why I didn't tell you!" I screamed back, tears of anger finally spilling over my lashes. "You think of him as an heir! A vulnerability! A piece on your corporate chess board! I think of him as my son! I wanted him to grow up hearing the birds chirp, Storm, not the sound of bulletproof glass being shattered!"
Storm walked up to me, his chest rising and falling heavily. He grabbed my wrists, his grip tight but not painful, his eyes searching mine with a desperation that made my heart ache.
"Six years ago, my father’s rivals were poisoning my associates," Storm whispered, his voice cracking with a vulnerability he had never allowed me to see. "I forced you to leave because they had found out about us. I made you sign that contract to make them believe you meant nothing to me. It was the only way to keep you alive."
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I froze, the anger in my chest suddenly turning to ice. "What?"
"I had to make them think I had discarded you," Storm said, a tear finally escaping his eye. "If they knew I loved you... if they knew you were carrying my child... they would have taken you both to break me. I spent six years tearing the Lucchesi family apart root by branch so I could finally bring you home. And when I finally buy this penthouse to locate you... I find my son rolling a toy car to my feet."
