Chapter 1 - The Cold Truth in November
The ambient chatter of Bellini’s restaurant seemed to freeze into a solid, suffocating wall of silence. Dominic Moretti stood before the woman who had haunted his every waking thought for half a decade. His pale blue eyes, mirrored perfectly in the faces of the two boys sitting at the table, locked onto Elena’s terrified gaze.
"How old are they, Elena?" Dominic asked again, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous growl that sent a shiver down her spine.
Elena’s hand trembled against the wooden back of the chair. She looked at Gabriel Russo, who stood a few paces behind Dominic, his face unreadable but his posture alert. She knew there was no escaping this room. Not tonight.
"They're four, Dominic," she whispered, her voice cracking. "They'll be five in March."
March. Five years ago, Elena had vanished in late August. She had been pregnant when she left him. She had known, and she had run anyway.
"Five years," Dominic breathed, the realization hitting him like a physical blow. "You were carrying my heirs, and you fled into the dark. You let me believe you walked away because you didn't love me."
"I left to keep them alive!" Elena hissed, stepping closer to him, her eyes flashing with a sudden, fierce defiance. "Look around you, Dominic! Your world is blood and concrete. If your father or your cousins had known I was pregnant with triplets, those children wouldn't be sitting here eating dinner today. They would have been chips in a poker game for the Moretti throne!"
Dominic’s jaw clenched. Before he could speak, the serious boy, Caleb, stood up on his chair. He didn't look afraid; he looked fiercely protective of his mother. "Don't yell at my mommy," the boy said, his little voice filled with an authority that was terrifyingly familiar to Dominic.
Dominic looked at Caleb, and the ice around his heart cracked completely. This was his blood. His son.
"Gabriel," Dominic ordered, never breaking eye contact with Elena. "Cancel the meeting with Senator Mercer. Clear out the rest of this restaurant. I don't want anyone else in this room."
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"Dominic, we can't just—" Elena started.
"We are going to talk, Elena," Dominic interrupted, his voice absolute. "And you are going to tell me every single lie that stole five years from my family."
