Chapter 18
"Vincent, please!" Dante screamed as the guards dragged him backward toward the iron exit doors. "I'm your brother! You can't leave me in the dark!"
"You left a four-year-old child in the dark for seven years," Vincent replied without turning around. "You are fortunate I am granting you breath."
When the council chamber cleared, Vincent returned to the quiet sanctuary of his private living quarters. The grand estate was quiet now, the marks of the morning battle being swiftly repaired by Marco’s men.
He found Clara sitting on the window bench in the library, watching the snow begin to fall gently over the winter gardens outside. Ellie was sound asleep on the plush velvet sofa nearby, her small chest rising and falling in a peaceful rhythm, her arms still wrapped tightly around her one-eyed teddy bear.
Vincent walked over and sat down beside Clara on the bench. For a long moment, neither of them spoke, listening to the soft patter of snow against the glass.
"Is it true?" Clara asked softly, turning her gentle face toward him. "Did he tell you where your daughter is?"
"He gave me a location," Vincent answered, his gaze fixed on the falling snow. "A facility near the Swiss border. Marco is already assembling an elite team to cross the border tonight."
Clara reached out, hesitantly laying her soft hand over Vincent’s closed fist on his knee. "You look afraid, Mr. Moretti."
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Vincent let out a long, quiet breath, opening his hand to reveal the third gold coin lying in his palm. "I have spent seven years accepting that my heart was buried in a cold grave, Clara. To hope again... is far more terrifying than facing any enemy bullet."
Clara squeezed his hand gently, her eyes shining with warmth. "Ellie believed in you from the moment she walked into this house. She knew you were a man who protects those who cannot protect themselves. Trust her wish, Vincent."
