Chapter 10


Chapter 10: The Daughter

Nico stood alone on the safe house rooftop with the night air cool against his skin. Clouds hid the stars leaving only a faint glow from the distant city lights. The rain had eased to a light mist that clung to his hair and shirt. He stared at the photo on his phone again. Isabella smiled back at him from that café table in Milan. She looked so much like her mother. The same bright eyes. The same gentle curve of her smile. He had never held her. Never heard her voice. And now Marcus threatened even that small connection.

Sleep had been impossible. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Chiara’s body on the apartment floor. She had been holding the only photo they had of their daughter. Marcus had done that to punish him for walking away from the old life. For choosing something better. Or so he had thought at the time. Now the guilt felt heavier than ever. He had brought danger to everyone he cared about. Serena. His brothers. And now the child he had never known.

He heard soft footsteps behind him. Serena stepped onto the rooftop without a word. She wore one of his shirts again. The fabric hung loose over her curves and brushed her thighs in the breeze. She did not ask questions. She simply sat beside him on the wide ledge and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her head rested against his shoulder. Her warmth chased away some of the chill.

Nico let out a shaky breath. The walls he had kept up for years cracked wide open in that quiet moment. “I never met her Serena. Isabella. Her mother Chiara was killed because of me. Marcus wanted to punish me for leaving his crew. I found her in our apartment. She was holding the photo of our daughter like she tried to protect it even in death.”

Serena’s arms tightened around him. She stroked his back slowly. Her fingers moved through his hair with gentle care. She kissed the side of his neck where a tear had slipped free. She did not speak. She simply held him and let him break.

“I thought staying away would keep Isabella safe,” he continued. His voice cracked. “If I go to her I bring the danger with me. Marcus. The mole. All of it. If I stay away I am a coward who abandoned his own blood. I do not know which is worse. I have carried this guilt for so long. It eats at me every single day. I smile and tease because if I stop moving the weight will crush me.”

Serena cupped his face with both hands. Her thumbs brushed away the tears that fell freely now. Her eyes were steady and warm in the dim light. “You go to her Nico. We go with you. All of us. You show her that her father is a man who fights for what he loves. You are not a coward. You are here protecting us every day. That strength is what she needs too.”

Her words broke something deep inside him. Nico pulled her closer and buried his face in her neck. The sobs came then raw and unfiltered. He had never let anyone see this side of him. Not his brothers. Not anyone. It terrified him how much he needed her in this moment. But it also freed him. For the first time in years the guilt felt a little lighter. Shared.

“I love you Serena,” he whispered against her skin. The words slipped out before he could stop them. “Not just wanting you. Not just the way your body feels in my hands. I love you. You make me believe I can be more than this guilt.”

She held him tighter. Her fingers continued stroking through his hair. Soft kisses pressed against his temple and his wet cheeks. The intimacy of it went deeper than any physical touch they had shared before. She was his anchor in the storm. The one person who saw the broken parts and did not turn away.

They stayed like that for a long time. The mist settled on their skin. The city hummed quietly below. Nico felt the shift inside him. He was no longer alone with this pain. Serena had stepped into it with him. And for the first time he believed they could face whatever came next.

The rooftop door creaked open. Dante stepped out. His expression was serious but there was no judgment in his eyes. He had clearly overheard everything. “We will find your daughter Nico. We go together. But first we have a mole to kill. And I think I know who it is.”

The words hung in the night air. Nico straightened but kept one arm around Serena. The relief from his confession mixed with new tension. The fight was far from over. Marcus still held threats over them. The mole was still hiding inside their circle. But with Serena beside him and his brothers at his back Nico felt ready to face it all.

The clouds above began to part slightly. A single star peeked through for the first time that night. It was small but it was there. A faint promise in the darkness. Nico held onto that as tightly as he held onto Serena. They would find Isabella. They would end this war. And he would finally become the father his daughter deserved.