Chapter 2 - The Waitress Who Knew Too Much
Hannah turned ghostly pale. The silver tray slipped completely from her fingers, crashing onto the marble floor with a deafening clatter of shattered glass and rolling cups. She didn't even look down. As the little girl barreled toward her, Hannah dropped straight to her knees just as Sophia threw herself into her arms.
Hannah clutched the three-year-old tightly against her chest, burying her face in the child's golden-brown curls. Both of them began sobbing uncontrollably right in the middle of the crowded ballroom.
“You kept your promise!” Sophia cried with pure joy, hugging Hannah’s neck with all her might. “You kept your promise, Hannah!”
Luca stormed toward them, his two lead bodyguards flanking him with hands resting on their concealed weapons. His face darkened into a terrifying mask of confusion, dread, and blinding protectiveness. How did a random waitress know his daughter? Why was Sophia walking?
Luca stopped inches away, towering over them like a storm cloud. He stared down at Hannah as she shielded Sophia protectively, her soft blonde-brown hair slipping out of its neat bun. Then, Luca noticed the look in Hannah’s eyes—it wasn't the terrified gaze of a common civilian looking at a mafia boss. It was a look of deep recognition, immense guilt, and a buried secret that chilled Luca’s blood instantly.
“Who are you?” Luca demanded, his voice cold, commanding, and vibrating with a low, controlled fury.
Still kneeling on the floor, Hannah looked up at Luca through blinding tears, while Sophia continued to cling tightly to her neck. The entire ballroom was suffocatingly silent. You could hear a pin drop across the massive room. Hannah’s lips trembled violently as she gathered the courage to speak, her expressive eyes overflowing with terror.
“I was there the night they tried to kill her…” Hannah whispered, shattered.
Luca felt the world stop spinning. The room tilted. Three years ago, his fortress home had been breached by masked mercenaries. His wife had been killed, and Sophia had been thrown down a flight of stairs, leaving her broken and paralyzed. Luca had hunted down every single man who set foot in that house—or so he thought.
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“What did you say?” Luca breathed, dropping to one knee, grabbing Hannah’s arm with a grip that could crush stone. “Who sent you?”
👉 Hannah is about to expose a betrayal from inside Luca’s own inner circle, but what horrific truth about the attack is he completely unprepared to hear?
