Chapter 3
I called my mother from Dante’s office.
My hands shook so badly I nearly dropped the phone.
Dante stood outside the glass door with Nico in his arms.
The baby kept crying.
Every few seconds, his little face turned toward me.
Like even through glass, he knew I was there.
My mother answered on the fifth ring.
“Mara?”
She sounded awake.
Too awake.
“Mom,” I said, “was I born at Mercy General?”
Silence.
My stomach twisted.
“Mara, where are you?”
“Answer me.”
“Come home right now.”
“Did I have a sister?”
Her breath broke.
That was all the answer I needed.
I pressed my hand against the desk.
“Who is Sofia?”
My mother began to cry.
“Please leave that place.”
“How do you know where I am?”
“Mara, listen to me. If Dante Bellagio has seen you, you are in danger.”
The way she said his name made my blood go cold.
“You know him.”
“I know what his family does.”
“Did you know his wife looked like me?”
Another silence.
Longer.
Deeper.
“Mom.”
“I did what I had to do.”
“What did you do?”
“I saved you.”
The door opened.
Dante stepped in.
He must have heard my voice change.
I looked at him, then turned away.
“Did you steal me?”
My mother sobbed.
“I raised you.”
“That is not what I asked.”
Her voice went sharp.
“You were a baby. You would have died if I left you there.”
“Where?”
“With them.”
Dante’s face hardened.
I whispered, “Who am I?”
Before she answered, the line crackled.
A man’s voice spoke in the background.
“Tell her to stay where she is.”
My mother gasped.
The call ended.
I stared at the dead screen.
Dante stepped closer.
“Who was with her?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did he sound like?”
“Older. Calm. Like he expected obedience.”
Dante’s face changed.
“Silvio.”
“Who is Silvio?”
“My brother.”
My mother texted one second later.
Run from both dragons.
Dante looked at the message.
Then at me.
May you like
His voice was barely human.
“If Silvio has your mother, he has already started cleaning up the past.”
