03

Is it going to take long?" I muttered from the backseat of the car.

That road seemed endless. And I was getting more and more afraid of this whole situation, questions swirling in my mind. What could my biological father possibly want with me?

In the best-case scenario, he wanted to get to know me, make up for lost time. But why not come to me in person, instead of sending his bodyguard with a gun pointed at his daughter's head?

The vehicle stopped on a street I didn’t recognize until then. There were enormous houses, and one in particular caught my attention.

It had huge gates, a beautiful gate, the kind you only saw in movies. In front of it, a large fountain, and a garden.

"Get out of the car, miss," the man ordered, opening the door for me.

He walked toward the large house, a mansion, so I followed him. My legs weakened, and I didn’t know how to act. I had to be threatened to come here—what kind of man was he?

"Mr. Romano is waiting in the office," the woman in black uniform greeted me at the door.

I looked at the entrance hall. That house was majestic. I suppose he must be very rich to own such a property.

I entered the house. The room had large paintings. I glanced at a photo, what seemed to be my father, with a woman who, according to my research, seemed to be his deceased wife.

"What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Lily?" I whispered to myself as I followed the woman down the corridor, which, by the way, was huge.

We finally reached a room, where she opened the door, and the figure of the man was revealed. He wore a welcoming smile. His brown hair, a suit, and the eyes... the eyes identical to mine, green and expressive.

My hair was brown and long, I was about 1.68 meters tall, with large green eyes, full lips, and an average build. I was the spitting image of this man, and that was terrifying.

He stood up from the chair, approaching me, the scent of cigar wafting through the air.

"Mia figlia," he whispered.

I understood some Italian words, and from what I gathered, he said "my daughter."

"What do you want?" I went straight to the point. "Getting to know your daughter with a gun pointed at her head isn’t very conventional."

"You have a strong temper, just like your mother," he said, smiling.

"Where did you meet her?" I asked bluntly. "And what do you want with me?"

So much time.

For so long, I wanted to know my father. I wanted to know who he was, ask questions. But my mother, to spare me the pain, lied to me. Evidently, this man was not a good father.

"I only found out about your existence now, Lily. Your mother lied to me."

"That wasn't the question."

"I understand your aggressiveness." He circled around me in the office. "Your mother worked for my parents, as a cleaner. We got involved, I fell in love. But when my father found out, I couldn’t do anything."

"Didn’t you ever suspect you had a daughter?"

"No, dear."

I sighed. I wanted to leave, but the bodyguards around me made that impossible.

"Here’s the deal, Lilly. I just need your help. An agreement must be made so that my empire continues to reign, and it’s convenient that I have a daughter... and that daughter is you."

"What are you talking about?" My eyes widened.

"I need you to get married."

A laugh echoed in the room. I really thought that was funny. The man I had always dreamed of meeting, now trying to push me into a marriage.

"I’m not doing that."

"You don’t have much of a choice, dear." He said it as if it were serious.

"You’re crazy!!" I spat the words. "HELP!" I screamed, trying to leave the room.

"Dear. Understand, if you don’t get married, we won’t have protection. People who want my head already know you carry the Romano blood. The choice is yours now, Lily."

Before I could respond, he walked to his desk and opened a drawer. From there, he pulled out a tablet and swiped the screen until a video folder appeared. Silently, he turned the device toward me.

My heart stopped.

The video showed images of me, taken over the past few days. Me leaving the grocery store, coming back home, writing in my apartment. But the worst part was the presence of a hooded man in every scene, always watching me from a distance.

"Who… who is this?" My voice came out trembling.

"Someone who wants you dead," Luigi answered, coldly. "And he’s not the only one."

The scenes changed. Threatening messages written in red letters appeared spray-painted on my door. "We know who you are." "The Romano blood will die."

I shuddered, a wave of panic rising through my body.

"Is… is this real?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Very real." He closed the tablet and stared at me. "You are my daughter, Lily. And that makes you a target."

My mind was spinning. I wanted to deny it, say he was exaggerating. But the fear in my chest told me otherwise. I was being hunted.

"Marrying the man I chose for you is the only way to guarantee your protection," Luigi continued. "He has power, connections. No one will dare touch you under his protection."

My hands trembled. I looked at the bodyguards around me, the locked door, at this man who, whether I liked it or not, was my father.

And at that moment, I realized.

I had no choice.

And now it was clear why my mother never wanted to be near this man.