Chapter 12 - The bloodline secret
Damian gripped the edge of the mahogany desk so hard his knuckles turned white. The handwriting was unmistakable. It was the sharp, jagged slant of Cassian Vance—the older brother Damian had buried with his own two hands eight years ago after a fiery car crash in Palermo.
"He's dead," Damian rasped, his voice raw with disbelief and suppressed fury. "I identified the body. I saw the dental records myself."
Mara’s knees gave out. She sank onto the leather sofa, clutching Lila so tightly the little girl squirmed. Lila patted her mother’s pale cheek, her small brows furrowing in concern. The little girl raised her hands and signed quickly: *Why are you crying, Mama? The Big Man is here.*
Mara couldn't look Damian in the eye. The silence stretched until it felt like a drawn bowstring ready to snap.
"Mara," Damian said, each syllable heavy with absolute authority. He knelt down before her, his massive frame casting a protective yet demanding shadow. "Look at me."
She raised her eyes, tears spilling silently down her cheeks. "I didn't want to bring this darkness to your doorstep, Damian. I swear on my life, I only took this maid job to hide in plain sight."
"The silver rattle," Damian pressed, pointing a rigid finger at the box. "That belonged to my brother's private collection. Only three were ever forged by our grandfather. Why is it addressed to you and your child?"
Mara took a shuddering breath, her fingers trembling as she smoothed Lila’s hair. "Four years ago, before Cassian vanished into the shadows, he forced my family into his debt. When I discovered what he truly was, I tried to run. But he locked me in his country estate. When I finally escaped with the help of a loyal guard, I was already pregnant."
Damian stared at her, the realization striking him like a physical blow. The air in the study turned suffocatingly thin.
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"Lila..." Damian whispered, his gaze shifting to the four-year-old girl who looked back at him with pure, innocent hazel eyes—the exact shade of the Vance family lineage. "Lila isn't just an innocent witness."
"She is Cassian’s daughter," Mara sobbed softly. "And your niece."
