CHAPTER 1 (CONTINUED) – The Name That Should Not Exist
CHAPTER 1 (CONTINUED) – The Name That Should Not Exist
The girl’s face hardened with suspicion.
“Why?” she asked.
Dante did not answer immediately.
Because if he spoke too fast, the world would collapse again.
Because Elena Ward was dead.
Because he had watched her die.
But none of that explained what was standing in front of him.
Three identical children.
Same eyes.
Same fear masked as courage.
Same woman’s face reflected back at him like a cruel mirror.
“I just want to help,” Dante said finally.
The bold girl narrowed her eyes. “Adults always say that.”
That sentence hit harder than it should have.
Dante Russo—who had ordered men buried without names—found himself at a loss for words in front of a six-year-old.
Behind him, Nico leaned closer. “Boss, this is dangerous. It might be a setup.”
Dante didn’t look away from the girls.
“If it’s a setup,” he said quietly, “then it’s the first one I actually care about.”
He stood slowly.
“Where is your mother?”
The quietest girl finally spoke again.
“She’s at the apartment. She can’t walk much. She gets sick when she doesn’t take medicine.”
“What kind of sickness?” Dante asked.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “She just says she’s tired all the time.”
The wind picked up.
Dante made a decision he would regret if it was wrong.
“Take me to her.”
The bold girl hesitated.
Then she nodded once.
“Okay,” she said. “But if you hurt her, I’ll bite you.”
Something almost human flickered in Dante’s chest.
May you like
“I believe you,” he said.
And that was how a billionaire mafia king followed three starving little girls through the back alleys of Boston.
