Chapter 1 - The Ring in the Empty Crib
The air inside the master nursery of the Rossi estate was always kept at a precise seventy-one degrees, infused with the faint, soothing scent of lavender and baby powder. It was a room designed with absolute obsession, echoing the anticipation of an heir who would one day inherit the vast, blood-stained empire my father had built and I had inherited.
When I swung the heavy mahogany door open, expecting to hear Grace’s soft voice humming a lullaby or feel the comforting warmth of her presence, the silence that met me was heavy, suffocating, and entirely wrong.
The first thing I saw inside the nursery was my wife's wedding ring.
It rested in the exact center of the pristine white wooden crib—a delicate band of platinum and pavé-set diamonds gleaming under the soft amber glow of the nightlight.
The second thing I saw was a single, dark, dried drop of blood smeared across the polished white railing of the crib.
My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped beast. My fingers clenched into fists so tight my knuckles turned stark white.
Behind me, the soft, measured click of heels signaled my mother’s approach. Elena Rossi glided into the room, her posture impeccable, her expression a masterclass of aristocratic detachment. She didn't look at the crib. She didn't look at the blood. She looked only at me, her dark eyes entirely devoid of emotion.
“She left you, Dante,” my mother said, her voice dropping into a smooth, practiced cadence. “She packed a bag in the middle of the night, left her ring where you would find it, and ran off with someone else. A woman with no family, no history, and no loyalty always reverts to her true nature.”
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I closed my fist tightly around the ring, the sharp metal biting into my palm until I felt the sting of my own skin giving way.
“No,” I said, my voice vibrating with a low, dangerous growl that made even my mother flinch slightly. “No... she didn't.”
