The Mafia Boss’s Dog

PART 2 – The Secret My Mother Kept

I didn’t want to get into the black SUV.

Every instinct told me that getting into a vehicle with two strangers connected to a Mafia boss was a terrible idea.

But then the bodyguard said something that made me stop.

“Mr. Moretti also found an old photograph of your mother.”

I turned around.

“What photograph?”

He opened the car door.

“One taken inside the Moretti estate. You were in her arms.”

My heart began pounding.

I climbed into the SUV.

Twenty minutes later, we arrived at an enormous mansion surrounded by iron gates, cameras, and armed guards.

The moment the front doors opened, a familiar black dog came running toward me.

“Orion!”

The enormous animal nearly knocked me backward with excitement. He pushed his head against my chest, wagging his tail so hard that his entire body moved.

I laughed despite my nervousness.

“Someone missed me, didn’t they?”

“Apparently, more than he misses me.”

I looked up.

Dante Moretti stood at the bottom of the staircase, holding a cup of coffee.

He wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. Without his coat, he somehow looked even more intimidating.

“Good morning,” I said cautiously.

“Did you eat breakfast?”

I blinked.

“Excuse me?”

“Breakfast, Olivia.”

“No. I came straight from work.”

He turned toward a housekeeper.

“Prepare something for her.”

“Mr. Moretti, I don’t need—”

“Orion hasn’t eaten properly in twenty-four hours. I assume you don’t want him worrying about you while you’re hungry.”

I looked down at the dog.

He was sitting on my shoes, looking extremely pleased with himself.

“You’re using your dog to make me eat?”

Dante’s mouth twitched.

“It’s working, isn’t it?”

For some reason, I couldn’t help smiling.

A few minutes later, I sat at a long dining table while Orion rested his enormous head on my knee.

Dante placed an old photograph in front of me.

My smile disappeared.

It was my mother.

She looked younger than I had ever seen her, wearing a pale blue dress and holding a baby wrapped in a white blanket.

Standing beside her was an older man I didn’t recognize.

And behind them was a younger version of Dante’s father.

I touched the photograph with trembling fingers.

“Where did you find this?”

“In my father’s private study.”

“Why was my mother here?”

Dante pulled out the chair opposite me.

“Her name was Elizabeth Marshall. Twenty-seven years ago, she worked as a personal nurse for my younger sister, Isabella.”

I looked up.

“You have a sister?”

“Had.”

His voice became colder.

“She died when she was three years old.”

“I’m sorry.”

Dante looked at the photograph again.

“My father believed she died from a sudden illness. But shortly before her death, your mother disappeared from the estate.”

I swallowed.

“My mother never told me about any of this.”

“She left something behind.”

He placed a small silver key on the table.

My breath caught.

I recognized it immediately.

It had belonged to my mother. I’d kept it inside a jewelry box since childhood, never knowing what it opened.

“Where did you get that?”

“It was found inside the photograph album.”

I reached for it.

Dante stopped me.

“Olivia, before you open whatever that key belongs to, there’s something you need to understand.”

His gray eyes met mine.

“My father spent twenty-seven years searching for the truth about my sister’s death. And your mother may have been the last person who knew what happened.”

I stared at him.

“Are you accusing my mother?”

“No.”

His answer came immediately.

“I’m telling you that I think she was protecting someone.”

Before I could respond, Orion suddenly lifted his head and growled toward the hallway.

Dante stood.

“What is it, boy?”

A housekeeper appeared at the doorway, looking frightened.

“Sir, there’s someone at the front gate.”

“Who?”

She hesitated.

“Your uncle. Mr. Richard Moretti.”

Dante’s expression changed.

For the first time since I had met him, he looked genuinely angry.

“Tell him I’m not receiving visitors.”

“Sir, he says he knows Miss Marshall is here.”

My stomach tightened.

Dante looked at me.

Then he said something that made my blood run cold.

“How does he know her name?”