Chapter 2 - THE NAME ON THE SILVER COLLAR
I stared at the photograph.
“Where did you get this?”
Dante watched my face.
“From my father's private collection.”
I swallowed.
The woman in the photograph was younger than my mother had been when she died.
But the resemblance was unmistakable.
The same dark hair.
The same smile.
The same small scar above her eyebrow.
I looked up.
“That's my mother.”
Dante went still.
“What?”
“Her name was Isabella Bennett.”
His expression changed.
For the first time, the powerful man seemed genuinely shaken.
“Isabella?”
I nodded.
“She died when I was twelve.”
Dante stared.
Then looked toward Orion.
The dog was sitting beside me.
His head rested against my knee.
Dante swallowed.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-six.”
His jaw tightened.
“And your birthday?”
“October seventeenth.”
Something flashed across his face.
He turned toward his security chief.
“Marco.”
“Yes, boss?”
“Get the car.”
I stepped back.
“Wait.”
Dante looked at me.
“I'm not going anywhere until you explain.”
He studied me.
Then nodded.
“Fair.”
He glanced toward the photograph.
“The woman in that picture was named Isabella Romano.”
I frowned.
“Romano?”
“She worked for my father twenty-seven years ago.”
I stared.
“What kind of work?”
Dante hesitated.
“Accounting.”
I looked down.
My mother had worked as a bookkeeper.
She'd always told me she hated numbers.
But she'd been exceptionally good at them.
Dante continued.
“She disappeared after my father's death.”
My stomach tightened.
“What happened to him?”
Dante's expression darkened.
“He was murdered.”
I stared.
Then looked at Orion.
The dog lifted his head.
His gray eyes met mine.
May you like
And suddenly, the photograph felt less like a coincidence.
More like a warning.
