Chapter 1 - THE SECOND MORETTI BABY
Twelve days after giving birth to my son, I discovered my mafia boss husband had another baby—a six-month-old boy. I found out when a nurse accidentally handed me Dominic Moretti's phone, and a message appeared: "Our son looks more like you every day." Attached was a picture of a baby wearing the Moretti family bracelet. The same gold bracelet my husband had given our newborn. But before I could even process what I was seeing, I looked toward my hospital room door. The woman holding that baby in the photograph was standing right outside.
For six years, I was Elena Moretti.
Wife of Chicago's most feared mafia boss.
Dominic controlled shipping companies, luxury clubs, private security businesses, and a criminal empire powerful enough to make dangerous men bow their heads.
Everyone called him Don Moretti.
I called him my husband.
And twelve days earlier, I'd given birth to our first child.
Luca.
Our beautiful baby boy.
I'd dreamed of becoming a mother for years.
But my pregnancy had been difficult.
There were terrifying appointments, sleepless nights, and weeks when doctors worried about complications.
Dominic promised he'd be beside me through everything.
"Nothing matters more than you and our son," he told me.
I believed him.
But after Luca was born, my husband became almost a stranger.
He barely held our baby.
Whenever I placed Luca in his arms, he looked at his watch.
"I have to go, Elena."
"Just five more minutes."
"There's a problem with the family."
Always the family.
Another emergency.
Another meeting.
Another shipment.
Another excuse.
Meanwhile, I was recovering from childbirth, feeding our newborn through the night, and wondering why my husband seemed so uncomfortable holding his own son.
I told myself he was overwhelmed.
That even powerful men could be frightened of fatherhood.
Then came the afternoon everything changed.
I was still in the hospital receiving treatment for postpartum complications when a nurse entered my room.
"Mrs. Moretti? Your husband left his phone at the nurses' station."
She handed me a black phone.
I recognized it immediately.
Dominic's private phone.
The one he never let anyone touch.
Before I could explain that he wasn't there, the screen lit up.
VALENTINA: "Our baby looks more like you every day."
My heart stopped.
Below the message was a photograph.
A little boy.
Maybe six months old.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A tiny white outfit.
And around his wrist was a gold bracelet.
I knew that bracelet.
Every male child born into the Moretti family received one.
It carried the family's engraved crest.
Dominic had placed an identical bracelet around Luca's wrist the day he was born.
I enlarged the photograph.
And there it was.
MORETTI.
My hands began shaking.
Six months old.
That baby had been born while I was pregnant.
While Dominic was promising we'd become a family.
While I was lying awake, terrified something would happen to our unborn child.
I looked at the name again.
Valentina.
I recognized it.
Valentina Russo.
A beautiful woman Dominic had introduced as a business associate.
She'd attended family dinners.
Smiled politely at me.
Even congratulated me on my pregnancy.
Once, she'd touched my arm and said,
"You're lucky, Elena. Dominic takes care of the people he loves."
I felt sick remembering those words.
Then I heard footsteps outside my room.
I looked up.
And nearly dropped the phone.
Valentina stood in the doorway.
Cream-colored coat.
Designer handbag.
Perfect makeup.
The same woman from the photograph.
When she saw the phone in my hand, her expression changed.
"Elena."
I pulled Luca's bassinet closer.
"What are you doing here?"
She glanced at the screen.
"Dominic told me you were still recovering."
I turned the photograph toward her.
"Is this your baby?"
She froze.
"Elena, please—"
"Is he Dominic's?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
And she looked away.
That was all the answer I needed.
I pressed one trembling hand against my stomach.
I'd just given birth to Dominic's son.
And another woman had already given him a child.
"How long?" I whispered.
She said nothing.
"How long have you been sleeping with my husband?"
Valentina finally raised her eyes.
"Longer than you think."
I felt something inside me break.
Before I could ask another question, the door opened.
Dominic entered with two bodyguards behind him.
He looked at Valentina.
Then at Luca.
Then at the phone in my hand.
His face went pale.
"Elena, put the phone down."
I stared at him.
"Tell me that baby isn't yours."
Silence.
"Dominic."
He looked toward Valentina.
Then back at me.
I felt tears running down my cheeks.
"I nearly lost our son during childbirth, and you couldn't even stay with us. Was it because you already had another family?"
His jaw tightened.
"Elena, you need to listen."
"No. You need to answer."
Valentina stepped forward.
"Dominic, she deserves the truth."
He turned toward her.
"Don't."
But she didn't stop.
"She needs to know why you gave my son the Moretti bracelet before hers."
Everything went silent.
I looked down at Luca.
Then at Dominic.
Because until that moment, I'd believed the bracelet meant our son was welcomed into his father's family.
Now I was beginning to wonder what it meant that another child had received it first.
May you like
"Dominic," I whispered, "what exactly have you promised her?"
And the expression on my husband's face told me I was about to hear something far worse than an admission of infidelity.
