CHAPTER 2 The Bracelet That Shouldn't Exist
Marco stared at the tiny silver bracelet, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Hanging from the chain was a small star-shaped charm engraved with a single letter.
S.
His heart nearly stopped.
Five years earlier, he had stood beside Daniela in a jewelry store as she purchased that exact bracelet. She had smiled and told him they would save it for the daughter they dreamed of having one day.
But that future had never come.
Or so he believed.
Daniela had later tearfully told him their baby girl had been stillborn. Together they mourned the child they never had, burying dreams instead of memories.
Yet the bracelet was now wrapped around the wrist of the frightened little girl sitting before him.
Marco gently asked her name.
The child hesitated before whispering,
"Sofia."
His breathing became uneven.
"Who brought you here?"
She looked toward the hallway before quietly answering,
"The lady."
"What lady?"
"The pretty lady."
Marco's stomach tightened.
Only one woman in the mansion fit that description in a child's eyes.
May you like
Daniela.
As footsteps echoed somewhere down the hallway, Marco realized the family secret hidden inside the Montoya estate was far darker than anything he had imagined.
