Chapter 1 - The Mafia Boss Who Recognized My Name
Antonio Russo looked at me as though he'd just seen someone return from the dead.
The expression lasted barely a second.
Then his face became unreadable again.
"What's your last name?" he asked.
I swallowed.
"Bennett."
His fingers tightened around the small leather wallet he'd taken from his jacket.
"Sophie Bennett?"
"Yes, sir."
Maria looked between us.
"Antonio, sweetheart, you're frightening the girl."
He blinked.
Then something unexpected happened.
The most feared man in Brooklyn apologized.
"I'm sorry, Sophie. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
I stared at him.
People said Antonio Russo could make powerful businessmen tremble with a single phone call.
Yet he was apologizing to a waitress.
"It's okay," I whispered.
He placed a folded twenty-dollar bill on the table.
"For your kindness."
I shook my head immediately.
"Thank you, but I was just helping."
His eyebrows lifted.
"You don't accept tips?"
"I accept tips for service. But helping your mother with her medicine wasn't something I did for money."
Maria smiled proudly.
"See, Antonio? I told you she was special."
Something moved behind his dark eyes.
He returned the money to his wallet.
"Fair enough."
Then he asked a question that made my heart skip.
"Was your father's name Daniel Bennett?"
I froze.
My father had died when I was fifteen.
He'd been an accountant.
A quiet man who wore cheap suits and always smelled faintly of coffee.
"How do you know my father?"
Antonio's expression darkened.
Before he could answer, Marco appeared again.
"Sophie, Mr. Bellini is asking for you in the kitchen."
I sighed.
"Excuse me."
But Maria caught my hand.
"Don't let anyone make you feel small, dear."
I smiled.
"Thank you."
I hurried toward the kitchen, unaware that Antonio's eyes followed me until I disappeared.
Behind me, Maria leaned toward her son.
"What's wrong?"
Antonio stared at the doorway.
"Her father was Daniel Bennett."
Maria's smile vanished.
"No."
Antonio nodded slowly.
"The same Daniel Bennett who disappeared after testifying against the Moretti organization."
Maria covered her mouth.
"But Daniel died years ago."
Antonio's jaw tightened.
"That's what everyone believes."
Then one of his bodyguards approached.
"Boss, we checked the restaurant's employee records."
Antonio looked up.
"And?"
The guard lowered his voice.
"Sophie Bennett isn't using her original surname."
Antonio went still.
"What surname?"
The bodyguard hesitated.
Then whispered:
"Moretti."
May you like
Antonio stared toward the kitchen.
Because the girl who had just helped his mother might be the missing daughter of the family that had spent fifteen years trying to destroy him.
