Chapter 5 - The Unspoken Lineage
Lorenzo didn't wait for the elevator. He sprinted down the grand marble staircase, pushing past two security guards in the foyer, his polished shoes thundering across the hardwood until he burst through the patio doors into the afternoon air.
He crossed the lawn in long, frantic strides, dropping to his knees beside Emma on the damp grass.
With shaking fingers, Lorenzo carefully took the silver charm from Emma’s tiny hand. He held it up to the autumn light, his eyes tracing the familiar dragon-scale engraving on its back. It was real. It was Julianna’s charm.
Lorenzo looked up at the three-year-old, his voice choked with raw emotion. "Where did you get this?"
Emma raised her small hand and pointed her finger directly toward Sophia, who had stopped dead in her tracks five feet away.
"Your wife told Grandma where to find it," Emma said quietly.
Sophia stood frozen on the garden path, the color completely draining from her face as her posture shifted from cautious housekeeper to a woman holding a monumental secret.
May you like
Lorenzo slowly stood up, turning his broad frame toward Sophia. His dark eyes burned with an intense, searching light as he stared at the woman who had worked in his house for three quiet months.
"Sophia," Lorenzo said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous rumble that made the surrounding security guards stiffen. "What did my wife tell your grandmother?"
