Chapter 11 - Elena’s Hidden Past: The Daughter of the Man Who Built Moretti’s Empire
Two days after the battle at the port of Nice, Elena sat in the library of Enzo’s ancestral villa in Lake Como, sipping warm tea.
A thick manila folder lay open on the antique mahogany table between them.
"You knew my father," Elena said softly, looking at the yellowed photographs inside the file.
Enzo sat opposite her, wearing a soft grey sweater, looking more vulnerable than she had ever seen him.
"Your father, Dr. Antonio Russo, wasn't just a country doctor," Enzo explained gently. "Thirty years ago, he was the chief physician for my grandfather. When the old syndicate fractured in blood, your father saved my father's life and took a bullet to his spine. My family gave him a new identity and a quiet life in upstate New York to protect him."
Elena’s eyes filled with tears. "He never told me."
"Because he wanted you to grow up free from the shadow of our world," Enzo said. "When you applied for an internship at Moretti Global two years ago, I recognized your name instantly. I hired you to keep an eye on you, to ensure you were safe and prosperous as a debt of honor to your father."
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"And then?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
Enzo reached across the table, taking her hand and tangling his fingers with hers. "And then I fell in love with you. And the debt of honor became the only thing worth living for."
