Chapter 6 - The Mask Slips
My entire world tilted on its axis as the false name I had protected for three years shattered into a million pieces. I stared up at Alessandro, my lips parting in silent horror as the realization hit me with blinding speed.
“How... how do you know that name?” I choked out, stumbling backward until the edge of a mahogany desk pressed against my lower back.
Alessandro didn't smile now; his expression turned dark, hard, and calculating. He set his crystal glass down on the table with a sharp click that echoed in the quiet penthouse.
“Did you really think a man like me brings a stranger to a private penthouse suite without running a background check first?” Alessandro asked quietly, stepping closer to trap me between his arms. “It took my security team a little longer because your uncle went to great lengths to bury your trail, but Elizabeth Vance is not someone who can hide from the Vitali family forever.”
Tears of anger and sheer terror welled up in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall in front of him. “So what? Are you going to hand me over to my uncle? Are you going to destroy what’s left of my life just to settle some corporate score?”
“Your uncle is a criminal who stole your family trust and tried to frame you for embezzlement,” Alessandro stated flatly, his amber eyes searching my face for any sign of deception. “I don't care about his corporate games. But I care very much about why you lied to me.”
“I lied because people like you destroy people like me!” I shouted, the tension of the past six weeks finally breaking through my defenses. “I’m trying to finish nursing school, pay off debts, and live a normal life while you live in a glass castle playing god with everyone around you!”
Alessandro reached out, his strong hands gripping my shoulders not with violence, but with an intense, grounding firmness. “Look at me, Elizabeth.”
I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut to block out his piercing gaze, but his thumb gently brushed a tear from my cheek.
“I didn't bring you here to destroy you,” Alessandro murmured, his voice softening just enough to make my heart ache. “I brought you here because ever since that night at the Obsidian Hotel, I haven't been able to get you out of my head. And now, there is something else.”
My breath hitched instantly. My mind flashed back to the bathroom floor in Liam’s apartment, the two pink lines, and the growing terror that had consumed me all morning.
“What... what are you talking about?” I whispered, my voice trembling.
May you like
Before Alessandro could answer, his office doors flew open, and one of his senior security guards rushed inside, looking pale and frantic.
“Mr. Vitali, we have a major problem,” the guard announced, casting a wary glance in my direction. “Your uncle’s associates have just tracked Miss Vance’s location to her apartment. They’re moving in right now.”
