He entered the office smiling.
"Alessandro. You asked for me?"
Alessandro sat behind his desk.
Marco stood near the window.
A folder rested between them.
"Sit down."
Daniel noticed the folder.
His smile weakened.
"Is there a problem?"
Alessandro opened it.
"Do you know Isabella Romano?"
Daniel did not answer immediately.
Then he smiled.
"Of course. It's been years."
"Did you know she was alive?"
"No."
"Did you know she had a child?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Alessandro..."
"Answer the question."
Daniel adjusted his cuff.
"I heard rumors."
"From whom?"
"People talk."
Alessandro pushed a bank statement across the desk.
"These transfers came from a company owned by my uncle."
Daniel glanced at the paper.
His expression changed.
"Those are business expenses."
"Then explain them."
"I don't know what you're suggesting."
"You're being paid to monitor Isabella."
Daniel leaned back.
"That's an extraordinary accusation."
Alessandro placed another document on the desk.
"Hospital records. Private security reports. Payments to investigators. All connected to your accounts."
Daniel looked at Marco.
Then at Alessandro.
His expression became colder.
"Your uncle asked me to handle a sensitive matter."
"What matter?"
"Your future."
Alessandro stared at him.
Daniel continued.
"Isabella was becoming a liability. She knew too much about the family. You were becoming distracted."
"She knew nothing."
"She knew enough."
"She was pregnant."
Daniel looked down.
And in that instant, Alessandro understood.
"You knew."
Daniel said nothing.
"You knew about Emma."
"I learned afterward."
"And you told Vittorio."
"Yes."
Alessandro stood.
"Why?"
Daniel's face hardened.
"Because somebody had to protect the family."
"From a child?"
"From what she represented."
Alessandro walked around the desk.
"She represented my daughter."
Daniel rose.
"Your father would never have allowed this."
Alessandro stopped.
"Do not speak about my father."
"He built an empire. He understood that sentiment could destroy it."
"And what did you understand?"
Daniel looked toward the door.
"That you were making a mistake."
Alessandro studied him.
Then he asked the question that mattered.
"Did you know Vittorio intended to take Emma?"
Daniel hesitated.
"I knew he wanted her brought to the estate."
"Why?"
"To keep her away from you."
Alessandro's voice dropped.
"And Isabella?"
Daniel looked at the floor.
"She was supposed to leave again."
"Alive?"
Daniel said nothing.
Alessandro stepped back.
For a moment, he looked almost disappointed.
"Eleven years."
Daniel raised his eyes.
"What?"
"Eleven years you worked beside me. You sat at my table. You knew where I kept my father's letters. You watched me search for Isabella."
He paused.
"And all that time, you knew the truth."
Daniel's face changed.
"Alessandro, I did what I believed was necessary."
"No."
Alessandro looked at Marco.
"Take him out of my office. Keep him away from Isabella and Emma. Give everything to our attorneys."
Daniel's mouth opened.
"You're making a terrible mistake."
Alessandro did not look at him again.
"Get him out."
Marco escorted Daniel through the door.
When it closed, Alessandro remained standing.
He looked at the photograph on his desk.
His father.
His uncle.
The old family.
Everything he had spent his life protecting.
And for the first time, he wondered whether the empire had ever deserved his loyalty.
***
That evening, Vittorio called.
Alessandro answered.
"Uncle."
"You're making a mess."
"Then perhaps you should stop cleaning it with lies."
Vittorio sighed.
"I hear you've found Isabella."
"Yes."
"And the child."
"Her name is Emma."
"I know her name."
Alessandro's expression hardened.
"Don't say it again."
"You're being sentimental."
"I'm being a father."
"You're being weak."
Alessandro walked toward the windows.
"Why did you do it?"
Vittorio laughed quietly.
"You still don't understand."
"Then explain."
"Your father built this family. He understood that the next generation had to be protected from outside influences."
"Isabella was not an influence. She was the woman I loved."
"Exactly."
Alessandro closed his eyes.
Vittorio continued.
"You were going to abandon everything for her."
"No."
"You would have."
"You never gave me the chance."
"Because I knew what would happen."
Alessandro turned away from the window.
"What did you think would happen?"
"She would become your weakness. Your enemies would use her. Your enemies would use the child."
"And your solution was to frighten her into disappearing?"
"My solution was to preserve the family."
"By threatening a pregnant woman?"
"She was supposed to understand."
Alessandro's voice became almost a whisper.
"She understood perfectly."
Vittorio said nothing.
"She understood that the people who called themselves family were more dangerous than strangers."
"You're exaggerating."
"No."
Alessandro looked at the city.
"You're finished."
Vittorio laughed.
"You think you can remove me?"
"I don't have to think about it."
"You need me."
"I needed you once."
"Your father needed me."
"My father is dead."
The silence that followed was long.
Then Vittorio spoke.
"Be careful, Alessandro. You have a daughter now. You cannot afford enemies."
Alessandro looked toward the hallway.
Emma was walking toward the kitchen with Sofia.
She was carrying Mr. Buttons.
He watched her disappear through the doorway.
Then he answered.
"I already have one."
He ended the call.
***