Siena POV

Dante did not flinch.

He looked at the small, squirming bundle on his desk, then slowly dragged his dark gaze up to my face.

"Who are you?" he demanded. His voice was low and quiet, yet it set the water in a glass on his desk trembling.

"I am Serena's sister," I said, keeping my chin high. "My name is Siena."

Dante's jaw tightened imperceptibly at the mention of her name. A muscle flickered beneath his cheekbone—the only sign that the name had landed like a blade.

Without breaking eye contact, I reached into my bag, pulled out a thick manila envelope, and slid the dossier across the smooth wood until it stopped directly in front of his hands.

"She fled the country last night," I told him, my voice remarkably steady. "She abandoned him at the hospital and vanished."

Dante did not touch the envelope. He kept his eyes fixed on mine, as if trying to strip the truth from my very bones.

"Run a DNA test," I said. "Verify your own bloodline. You strike me as a man who trusts evidence over tears."

I pulled a heavy gold pen from his desk set and grabbed a blank piece of expensive, monogrammed stationery. I scribbled my burner number on the thick paper and tossed it beside the envelope.

"Call me when you realize I am telling the truth."

With that, I turned my back on the most dangerous man in the city. I willed my trembling legs to move toward the heavy oak doors.

Just as my hand grasped the brass handle, I heard something that stopped my heart: the rustle of fabric, the soft exhale—Dante had reached out and touched the baby.

The infant let out a loud, piercing wail.

The sound hit me like a physical blow. My empty arms ached with a sudden, violent need to turn around, to scoop him up and run.

No. I forced myself to keep walking. I stepped into the hallway, and the heavy doors clicked shut behind me with dreadful finality.

The Don's secretary was waiting by the elevator, his normally composed features tight with poorly concealed panic.

He stepped directly in front of me, holding up his hands as if to physically block my escape.

"You cannot just leave a baby with the Don," he hissed, his eyes darting toward the closed office doors. "Take him back before you get yourself killed."

I stood my ground, squaring my shoulders.

"That boy carries Dante's blood," I said sharply. "This syndicate has more than enough resources to raise an heir. I do not."

I stepped around him and pressed the call button. The steel doors opened instantly. I stepped inside, watching the secretary's pale, horrified face disappear as the doors slid shut.

As the elevator descended, I pressed my palm flat against the cold steel wall to stop my legs from giving out. I had just left an innocent child with a man whose name was spoken only in whispers.

If I was wrong about him, that baby's blood would be on my hands. If I was right, I had just changed everything—and I would know soon enough which it was.

By the time I reached the bustling street below, my phone was already ringing. The caller ID flashed Rosa's name.

I answered, immediately holding the device away from my ear as her frantic voice poured out.

"Are you insane?" she shrieked. "I told you to hide him! You just handed Serena's death warrant to a man of his consequence!"

"Serena signed her own death warrant when she decided to play games with the Mafia," I fired back, dodging a pedestrian on the sidewalk.

"You have ruined your sister's life!" Rosa cried, her voice cracking with hysterical tears.

"I am done being a pawn in her cowardly lies," I said, my tone hardening. "Do not call me again."

I hung up and immediately blocked her number.

I walked to the nearest subway station and took the long, rattling train ride back to my neighborhood. The crisp autumn air rising from the subway grates did nothing to soothe the hollow ache expanding in my chest.

When I finally turned the corner into the dim hallway of my floor, I stopped cold. My feet felt bolted to the worn linoleum.

A shadow stood by my door. It was Rosa—she must have driven straight there the moment our call ended.

She rushed toward me, grabbing my arm with bruising fingers. "You have to go back and get him, Siena. You have to fix this!"

I ripped my arm from her grip, disgusted by her blind devotion. I shoved my key into the lock, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

I turned to face her one last time.

"You chose her over me my entire life," I said softly, the bitter truth finally spoken aloud. "Now you can deal with the consequences together."

I slammed the door in her face and slid the flimsy chain lock into place, the cheap metal rattling against the wood.

The false strength that had carried me through the day evaporated. I slid down the back of the door until I hit the floor, burying my head in my shaking hands.

A sharp buzz against my thigh startled me.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and stared at the screen.

It was a text message from an unknown number.

"I am keeping the boy in my custody for now. Do not leave the city."

I stared at the words, my breath catching. Dante had claimed him.

The game had only just begun—and the Don had just made his first move. But his message said nothing about the DNA test. Nothing about Serena. Just a command to stay.

Was he protecting me, or detaining me? I couldn't tell yet. But either way, I wasn't leaving until I had answers.