Chapter 3
The silence in the grand foyer became suffocating. Adrian stared at the engraved silver, his piercing blue eyes widening in absolute shock. The watch was unmistakable. It was a custom piece crafted in Geneva, a gift Adrian had personally handed to his younger brother, James, five years ago. James had carried it every single day until the night he was ambushed and killed. The watch had supposedly been lost in the fire.
"Oh, merciful God," a trembling voice whispered.
Mrs. Holloway, the estate’s sixty-one-year-old senior housekeeper, had just stepped out of the dining room. She stood frozen in her traditional burgundy housekeeping dress, her dark stockings and practical black shoes rooted to the floor. She pressed a wrinkled hand hard over her mouth, her eyes wide with horrified recognition. She had worked for the Cole family for three decades. She knew exactly what Adrian was holding.
Adrian’s face drained entirely of color. The trimmed stubble along his jaw bristled as he clenched his teeth, a volatile mix of grief, suspicion, and rising fury churning behind his eyes.
"Where..." Adrian began, his voice low, unsteady, and vibrating with a dangerous intensity. He slowly lifted his gaze to the little girl in the pale-blue velvet dress. "Where did she get this?"
Nora blinked her bright blue eyes, entirely unfazed by the sudden shift in the giant man’s demeanor. She pointed a tiny finger directly at the silver watch in his tattooed hand.
"It's mine," Nora stated simply, her soft voice calm and completely matter-of-fact.
Adrian’s breathing slowed. He looked at the girl's face—really looked at it. He saw the shape of her jaw, the specific, familiar curl of her light-brown hair, the exact shade of her piercing blue eyes. The resemblance struck him with the force of a physical blow. He slowly turned his head toward the arched corridor, locking his intense gaze onto Claire.
Claire was trembling violently, her fitted navy housekeeping dress offering no protection from the terrifying scrutiny of the mafia boss. She fought back a sob, tears pooling rapidly in her eyes as her darkest, most desperately guarded secret unraveled in seconds.
"Nora," Adrian whispered, never breaking eye contact with the terrified maid. He spoke slowly, carefully. "Who gave this to you?"
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Nora looked innocently up at Adrian, her wide eyes completely certain. She tilted her head, confused as to why the big man didn't understand something so simple.
"Mommy said it's mine," Nora replied, her tiny voice cutting through the heavy silence of the foyer. "Daddy James wore it every day."
