Chapter 10 - The hidden heir
The ultimate secret of the Castellano estate settled over the room like a heavy blanket.
Adeline was not just a maid’s daughter. She was the last surviving heir of the Rossi syndicate. Vincent had found Claire hiding with her newborn baby in a safehouse. Instead of following the brutal code of the underworld, Vincent had looked at the innocent child and made a choice that could have cost him his empire. He smuggled them into his own home, hiding them in plain sight as domestic staff to protect them from the remaining syndicates who wanted the Rossi bloodline extinguished.
"Julian found out," Vincent explained, his voice low. "He discovered the financial trusts I secretly set up for Adeline’s future. He thought I had gone soft. He thought I was betraying our family to protect the enemy."
Vincent looked at Adeline. The brave little girl who had saved his life was the very same girl whose life he had saved two years ago. The universe had a strange way of balancing its scales.
Adeline looked at the silver locket in Vincent's hand, then looked at his face. She stepped forward, letting go of her mother’s hand. She reached out and patted Vincent’s broad shoulder with her small hand.
"Uncle Vin better now," she stated firmly.
A rare, faint smile touched the corner of the legendary Mafia Boss's mouth. The cold, intimidating facade melted away entirely in the presence of this tiny, brave child.
"Yes, little one," Vincent whispered, his voice thick with a fiercely protective warmth. "Uncle Vin is much better now."
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He stood up, looking at Marcus and Claire. "The secret stays in this room. Adeline will continue to grow up safe within these walls. And if anyone ever tries to harm her, or this family again, they won't live long enough to regret it."
Adeline hugged her green alligator, perfectly calm, standing beside the most dangerous man in the city—the man who would burn the world down to keep her safe.
