Chapter 11
The doors opened three minutes later.
Dante came in carrying Nico.
The baby was crying, but unharmed.
Marco followed with the man who had tried to enter the nursery.
His hands were zip-tied.
Agent Voss recognized him immediately.
“Leo Grimaldi,” she said. “Silvio’s courier.”
The council shifted.
Fear moved again.
But this time, it moved away from Silvio.
Dante placed Nico in my arms.
The baby stopped crying.
The whole room watched.
I was tired of being stared at like a ghost.
So I stared back.
Ms. Rossi stood.
“Under Sofia Bellagio’s emergency clause, Mara Bellagio may accept temporary voting control to protect Nico Bellagio’s inheritance and safety.”
Silvio laughed.
“She doesn’t even know who she is.”
I looked down at Nico.
His tiny hand gripped my necklace, cheap silver from a thrift store.
I thought of my rent.
My empty fridge.
My mother’s lies.
Sofia’s voice saying my name.
Then I looked at Silvio.
“I know enough.”
Ms. Rossi asked, “Do you accept?”
My mouth went dry.
Dante watched me.
Not commanding.
Waiting.
That mattered.
“Yes,” I said.
The attorney opened a folder.
“Then sign here.”
Silvio lunged across the table.
Agent Voss caught him first.
Dante was right behind her.
The room exploded.
Silvio fought like a cornered man, all elegance gone.
He shouted that Sofia was dead, that I was nothing, that the Bellagio name belonged to those strong enough to keep it.
I held Nico tighter and did not move.
Agent Voss handcuffed Silvio in front of the council.
This time, no one stopped her.
As she led him out, he looked at me.
“You think this makes you family?”
I looked at Sofia’s photograph on the evidence board.
May you like
Then at Nico.
“No,” I said. “Protecting him does.”
