Chapter 4 - THE GILDED CAGEI was brought to the Russo estate—a fortress surrounded by wrought-iron gates and stone walls overlooking the Hudson River. It felt less like a sanctuary and more like a high-security prison. Antonio led me directly into a grand study lined with leather-bound books and floor-to-ceiling windows.
"I demand an explanation!" I yelled, slamming my hands onto his massive mahogany desk. "Who was that man on the phone? Why did he call me his niece?"
Antonio poured himself two fingers of bourbon, his demeanor stoic. "Because you are Vito Russo's daughter, Sophie. Your mother wasn't just a nurse who disappeared twenty years ago. She was the secret love of my father's life. When war broke out between the Russos and the Morettis, my father faked her death to protect you both. He sent you into hiding under the name Miller."
My breath hitched. "No... that's impossible. My father was a mechanic who died when I was little!"
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"It was a cover story," Antonio said softly. He stepped around the desk, opened a wall safe, and pulled out an old parchment document tied with a red ribbon. He laid it flat between us. It was Vito Russo's original, notarized last will and testament.
"My father left forty percent of the syndicate's assets to me, thirty percent to my mother, and thirty percent—along with the ultimate voting control of the family estate—to his legitimate biological daughter," Antonio read, his dark eyes locking onto mine. "You don't just belong to this family, Sophie. You own it."
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