"Can I Borrow You as My Daddy... Just for One Day?" the Maid's Toddler Asked the Mafia Boss.

Damiano knew immediately.

He was a predator, attuned to every subtle shift in his environment. When he returned home that evening, he noticed the way Elena flinched when a door slammed. He saw how she pushed her dinner around her plate without eating. He watched how tightly she held Mia before putting the little girl to bed.

After midnight, Damiano poured two glasses of red wine and walked into their bedroom. Elena was sitting by the window, staring out into the dark estate grounds.

"Drink," Damiano commanded softly, handing her a glass.

Elena took it, avoiding his gaze. "Thank you."

Damiano did not sit. He stood in front of her, a looming tower of authority. "Who did you meet at the cathedral today, Elena?"

The wine glass nearly slipped from her fingers. "What? No one. I was praying."

"Do not lie to me," Damiano’s voice dropped dangerously low, cold and absolute. "Rafael checked the security footage from the street cameras. A man entered the side door two minutes before you went inside. He left four minutes later. Who was it?"

Elena squeezed her eyes shut, a tear escaping down her cheek. She was trapped. Taking a shaky breath, she opened her eyes and looked at him. "His name is Marcus. He is Mia’s biological father."

The silence that followed was suffocating. Damiano didn't move. He didn't blink. But the temperature in the room plummeted, and the terrifying, murderous aura of the Capo dei Capi flared to life.

"He is dead," Damiano stated, factually.

"He faked it to escape his debts," Elena cried, standing up and grabbing his arm. "Damiano, please. He wants money. A hundred thousand dollars. He threatened to go to the press. I was going to figure out a way to pay him. I didn't want you involved."

Damiano looked down at her hand on his arm, and then up into her eyes. The betrayal in his gaze cut deeper than any knife.

"You didn't want me involved?" Damiano asked, his voice eerily calm. "You thought you could handle a blackmailer? You thought I would allow a rat to threaten my wife and daughter?"

"He is still her father, Damiano!" Elena pleaded. "I don't want you to kill him. I don't want that darkness on us."

Damiano stepped back, pulling away from her touch. "He lost the right to be her father the day he abandoned you to starve. I am her father now. I provide. I protect. And you, Elena, undermined my authority and my protection because you still think I am nothing but a butcher."

He turned on his heel and walked toward the door.