Chapter 1 - The Christmas Eve Encounter
The grand luxury ballroom of the Moretti estate gleamed with warm candlelight, crystal chandeliers, and opulent Christmas Eve decor. Wealthy guests in black ties and evening gowns mingled over champagne, celebrating the high-society engagement of Dominic Moretti, the feared late-30s head of the Moretti syndicate.
Dominic, tall and imposing in a black suit over an unbuttoned black shirt with dark tattoos tracing his neck and hands, suddenly stopped mid-conversation. His sharp eyes caught a tiny, solitary figure sitting beneath the grand ballroom archway on an ornate gold chair.
It was three-year-old Lily. She had long wavy brown hair with a white bow, wearing an ornate white lace party dress with flower appliques and white Mary Jane shoes. She sat pouty, her arms crossed tight over her chest, clutching a faded photograph in her small hands.
"Who left a child alone in my house on Christmas Eve?" Dominic whispered to himself, abruptly breaking away from his engagement party guests.
He walked over and crouched down beside her chair, his dark eyes searching her delicate face as she crossed her arms even tighter, pouting defensively.
"Hey little one... where is your mother?" Dominic asked in a gentle, low voice.
Lily turned the faded photograph toward him, her small voice echoing clearly in the quiet corner. "I’m waiting for my mommy, Sophia... she said you’d be here."
Dominic's heart stopped. He stared down at the portrait of his long-lost love, Sophia Carter, who had vanished without a trace four years ago.
"Sophia... where did you get this photo?" Dominic gasped in a breathless, shocked whisper.
Behind them, his mother, Victoria Moretti—an aristocratic 60-year-old woman in a dark velvet gown—stepped forward, her face turning pale as she panicked. "Dominic... leave the girl alone, she's just a maid's child!"
Dominic slowly looked up, his eyes locking onto his mother with deadly, realization-filled rage. "You knew she was pregnant when you forced her away four years ago."
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Standing up to his full height, Dominic took Lily’s small hand into his with absolute protection. "Cancel the engagement party, Enzo. My daughter and I are leaving."
👉 Read Part 2 to discover how Victoria exiled Sophia four years ago and kept the pregnancy a secret.
