Chapter 4 The DNA Test and the Cage of Gold

The morning sun did little to ease the suffocating weight pressing down on Aria's chest. The penthouse loomed over Manhattan like a glass fortress, luxurious yet cold, much like the man who owned it.

She stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, arms crossed, watching the city she had tried so hard to escape. Behind her, the faint sound of Leo's laughter echoed from the living room as he explored his new surroundings.

It felt like a trap disguised in silk.

"How long do you intend to sulk by the window?" Lorenzo's deep voice sliced through her thoughts.

Aria didn't turn. "I'm not sulking. I'm thinking."

"About how to run again?" he taunted, leaning casually against the marble kitchen counter, dressed in black slacks and a crisp white shirt, sleeves rolled up. Infuriatingly relaxed. "You're not going anywhere this time, Aria."

Her jaw clenched. "You can't keep us here."

"Watch me." He took a slow sip of his espresso, eyes never leaving hers. "Until the DNA test results come back, you're under my roof. For Leo's safety, of course."

She spun around, fury flashing in her eyes. "You know damn well he's yours."

"Then the test is just a formality, isn't it?" he said smoothly. But the undercurrent of possessiveness in his tone didn't go unnoticed.

Aria hated how her heart still reacted to him-how even his arrogance made her pulse race. But this wasn't about them. It was about Leo.

"I don't want him involved in your world, Lorenzo. He's a child. He deserves a normal life."

Lorenzo's expression darkened as he crossed the room in three long strides, stopping mere inches from her. "Do you think you get to decide what's normal for my son?" His voice was soft, but the danger in it was palpable. "He has my blood. Sooner or later, the world will come for him. At least with me, he'll be protected."

"You call this protection? Keeping him in a gilded cage while men with guns circle outside?" she snapped, her temper breaking through.

His hand shot out, cupping her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "You should know better, Aria. Running only makes you a better target. I'm the only one standing between you two and the wolves."

For a moment, the air between them crackled with old memories. The magnetic pull they had fought against that night, five years ago, was still there, alive and dangerous.

Then a small voice broke the tension.

"Mommy, look! Mr. Giovanni gave me this cool car!" Leo ran up, proudly holding a sleek, miniature black sports car, completely unaware of the storm brewing above him.

Aria smiled, forcing the tension out of her body. "That's great, honey."

Lorenzo knelt down, eyeing Leo with a complex expression that mingled curiosity, pride, and something far deeper-vulnerability.

"You like cars, huh?" he asked.

Leo nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Mommy says I'm a little racer."

Lorenzo's lips curved into an uncharacteristically genuine smile. "You'll have a real one when you're older. A Valentini always rides in style."

Aria's heart twisted. As much as she wanted to hate him, seeing them together-seeing how easily Leo responded to him-was unraveling the walls she had built.

But danger was always a shadow away.

Later That Night

Aria couldn't sleep. The penthouse felt too large, too sterile, suffocating in its luxury. She slipped out of bed, padding barefoot to the living room where the city lights bled into the darkness.

"You never could sleep in unfamiliar places."

She startled, spinning to see Lorenzo lounging on the couch, shirt unbuttoned, whiskey glass in hand, watching her with a knowing smirk.

"Old habits die hard," she muttered.

He patted the space beside him. "Sit."

She hesitated, but curiosity won.

For a while, they sat in silence, the weight of unsaid words pressing between them.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lorenzo finally asked, his voice raw.

Aria's throat tightened. "Because I knew what would happen. The moment you knew about Leo, he'd be dragged into this life. The Mafia doesn't care about children, Lorenzo. They use them."

His jaw clenched. "I would never let anyone use my son."

"That's not a promise you can keep. Not in your world."

He turned to her, eyes blazing. "You don't get to play saint, Aria. You made a choice for both of us."

"And I'd make it again," she whispered, though her heart was breaking.

For a moment, she saw a flicker of the boy Lorenzo once was-the heir born into a legacy of blood, never given a choice.

"I don't know how to be a father," he admitted quietly. "But I'll learn. You can hate me, but you're not taking him away from me again."

Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away. "I never wanted to hate you, Lorenzo. I was just... scared."

He reached out, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You should be. But not of me. Of what's coming."