Chapter 3: The Secret Behind the Dragon
I didn’t sleep that night.
I sat on the edge of my tiny apartment bed, staring at the photograph Dante Rosselli had given me.
My mother.
A younger version of herself.
Standing beside a man whose name terrified half the city.
And in her arms…
A baby.
Not me.
Not someone I recognized.
A baby wearing a small bracelet with a dragon symbol.
The same dragon tattoo Dante carried.
I had spent years believing my mother had lived a simple life.
Quiet.
Ordinary.
But the photograph proved I knew almost nothing.
The next morning, I returned to L’Orso D’Oro because pretending my life was normal felt easier than admitting it had completely changed.
My manager noticed immediately.
“You look exhausted,” Sofia said.
“I didn’t sleep much.””
“Family problems?””
I forced a smile.
“Something like that.””
But before she could ask more, the restaurant doors opened.
Dante Rosselli walked in.
Everyone noticed.
Of course they did.
A man like him didn’t enter a room quietly.
But this time, he wasn’t surrounded by business partners.
He carried Leo.
And the baby immediately looked around.
Searching.
Then he saw me.
His entire face lit up.
Sofia looked between us.
“Alina…”
I lowered my voice.
“Don’t.””
She nodded slowly.
Because even she understood something strange was happening.
Dante approached my station.
“Can we talk?””
I looked at Leo.
The baby reached toward me again.
I sighed.
“Five minutes.””
We sat in a quiet corner near the back of the restaurant.
Dante placed a folder on the table.
“I found something.””
I didn’t touch it.
“What?””
“Records.””
I frowned.
“About my mother?””
“Yes.””
My fingers tightened.
“What records?””
Dante opened the folder.
Inside were old documents.
Letters.
Photographs.
Things that looked like they had been hidden for decades.
“Your mother worked for my family before you were born.””
I stared.
“My mother was a housekeeper?””
“No.””
His answer was immediate.
“She was someone I trusted.””
I looked at him.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“No.””
That surprised me.
Dante closed the folder.
“I expect you to question everything.””
The honesty caught me off guard.
“You’re not what I expected.””
A faint smile appeared.
“Most people expect a monster.””
I didn’t respond.
Because I didn’t know what to think.
Then Leo grabbed Dante’s sleeve.
The dragon tattoo became visible again.
And suddenly, I remembered something.
A memory.
A night when I was six years old.
My mother crying.
A man standing at our door.
A dragon tattoo on his hand.
I had forgotten his face.
But not the mark.
I stood so quickly my chair moved backward.
Dante noticed.
“What happened?””
I stared at his tattoo.
“That symbol…”
His expression changed.
“You remember.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
But my voice broke.
“I remember someone with that symbol coming to our house.””
Dante became completely still.
“What did he look like?””
“I was a child.””
“Alina.””
His voice became serious.
“Think.””
I closed my eyes.
The memory came back in pieces.
A dark coat.
A deep voice.
My mother saying:
“Please, you promised.””
My eyes opened.
“He wasn’t you.””
Dante’s face hardened.
“What did you say?””
“The man at my house.””
I swallowed.
“He had the dragon.””
A silence filled the room.
Then Dante slowly stood.
Not angry.
Not confused.
Afraid.
And that scared me.
Because a man like Dante Rosselli wasn’t supposed to look afraid.
“Alina,” he said quietly.
“Your mother didn’t just know my family.””
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?””
He looked toward the window.
Then back at me.
“It means someone else has been using my symbol for years.””
My heart raced.
“Who?””
Dante didn’t answer.
Instead, he took out his phone.
A message had just arrived.
He read it once.
And his entire expression changed.
“What?””
He looked at me.
“Alina, you need to leave the city.””
I stood frozen.
“Why?””
Dante turned the phone around.
There was only one line.
One name.
May you like
My name.
*ALINA VALDEZ HAS BEEN FOUND.*
