Chapter 7 - The Blue Eyes
"Lucia! Oh my god, sweetie, come here," Elena gasped, entirely breathless and frantic. She dropped to her knees on the marble step right behind her daughter, wrapping her arms fiercely and protectively around the little girl's shoulders, shielding the child with her black-and-white maid uniform.
James Castalano completely froze.
The sound of that specific, breathless voice hit the terrifying mafia boss with the sheer, unadulterated force of a tactical explosive.
He slowly lifted his intense gaze from the little girl's face and looked directly at the maid kneeling behind her.
It was Elena.
Eight long years ago, before the darkness entirely consumed him, James had been deeply, profoundly, and passionately in love with Elena Rossi. She had been the only pure, innocent light in his incredibly violent world. They had planned to run away together, to leave the syndicate behind. But then, a massive, devastating betrayal had torn them apart. James had been handed undeniable, forged evidence proving that Elena had sold him out to a rival family.
Heartbroken and consumed by dark rage, James had ordered her banished from the city forever. He had spent eight years burying his shattered heart beneath an impenetrable fortress of cold, ruthless power, eventually getting engaged to Camille simply as a strategic, emotionless corporate alliance.
He thought Elena was a traitor.
But as James crouched on the marble floor, staring at the thirty-two-year-old woman in the maid uniform, his razor-sharp, analytical mind began to race with terrifying speed.
He looked closely at Elena's terrified face. Then, he looked back down at the seven-year-old girl in the patched yellow dress.
For the very first time, James truly looked at Lucia's face. He saw the exact shape of her jawline. He saw the specific curve of her nose. And then, he stared directly into the little girl's wide, tear-filled blue eyes.
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They weren't just blue. They were the exact, specific, and incredibly piercing shade of ice-blue as his own eyes.
👉 Read Part 8 to witness the arrogant fiancée make a catastrophic, fatal mistake.
