Chapter 4 The Strange Man

Nearly Four Years Later...

"Mammy, can I have a piece of candy?"

I looked through the reviewmirror at the grinning angel that was sitting in the backseat.

"Nope, sweetheart, not yet." I grinning back at him.

He pouted and stuck out his lower lip, making my grin grow wider.

This stubborn child came into this world despite all the challenges he faced inside my womb.

My heart clenched, and my grin faded when I remembered how many times I tried to get rid of him during the first months of pregnancy.

When I received the test result, the shock I felt was greater than the pain of being abandoned by the family who raised me.

My heart wounds were still fresh back then, and I didn't want a responsibility heavier than I could carry.

After five months, I stopped trying to abort. I packed up all my necessary things and moved to another city. I knew for sure the Hayden would force me into a medical abortion the moment they found out about the pregnancy.

Killing coldly was their thrill, and blood smell was the air they breathed.

But that wasn't going to happen. Not after I had felt my baby's heartbeat and his little kicks. Not after I began to feel that I belonged. That I had blood ties. A real family.

I decided to protect him, even from the cruelest Mafia family in America and Italy. Even the fact that this child was the flesh and the blood of my rapist

I glanced at the mirror again, letting my eyes fill with my little angel features, he inherited nothing from me except my light brown hair color.

Today was his birthday, and I prepared everything to celebrate with his friends at the kindergarten.

"Mammy," Angelo said, his voice slightly tense as he walked beside me, his tiny hand tucked warmly in mine.

I looked at him with my usual smile while holding the cake and the candy boxes in my other hand. "Huh?"

"Will Daddy come to my birthday party?"

My smile vanished involuntarily. It wasn't the first time Angelo had asked about his father. Ever since he started kindergarten, his questions about his dad peaked up.

I regained my composure quickly and said as I stopped walking, "I've told you before, darling. Your father has his own life. He doesn't live in Italy."

Furrowing his eyebrows in a funny way he said thoughtfully, "But I think you're wrong, Mammy. There's a man ..." He paused, then looked up at my face and continued, "There's a man coming every day to the kindergarten, Mammy. He smiles at me... He looks like me."

My heart raced. Even if his words were illogical and impossible, as he still stumbled over some words, but for some reason, I felt a tightness in my chest.

I always had a feeling that we were being watched, all the time. But I thought that was due to me being raised surrounded by guards and grew up watched.

Angelo let go of my hand and ran away when he saw the decorations on his classroom door, while I stood frozen.

"Wait for me..." I whispered and rushed after him.

His teacher already set up all the decorations, and the children were gathering in a circle around Angelo.

I placed the cake and the candy boxes on the table, and my eyes were drawn to a large, elegantly wrapped gift box near the others. 'I hope his teacher didn't splurge on such an expensive gift,' I thought to myself.

My phone vibrated with a text notification. I quickly picked it up, fearing it might be from the photographer Giovanni-I had told him it wouldn't be more than two hours, since I had a shoot scheduled.

But the moment I opened the message, the blood froze in my veins.

[I want to meet at Dolce Café. Marco]

The words danced before my eyes, as if I had forgotten how to read.

I couldn't process them.

Marco?

Dolce Café was just two blocks from where I lived, and I had changed my number since my last contact with the Haydens, which was more than three years ago.

I read the message again and again. I didn't know why I felt this irrational fear. The Haydens no longer had any power over me, and I had no ties to them.

"Miss Rossetti, do you hear me?"

"Mila? Are you okay?" Teresa's voice-Angelo's teacher-snapped me back.

I shook my head slightly to chase away the unexplainable emotions flooding me.

"Sorry. I'm.. I zoned out a bit," I stammered.

"Is everything alright? You look pale," she asked with a worried expression.

I waved it off with a smile. "Let's get started before work calls me. I told them I wouldn't be more than two hours late."

I had a product photoshoot scheduled for my Instagram page, which now had 100 million followers. Yes-after the family who raised me threw me away and disowned me, I created a page under the alias "Serafina." And here I was now, one of the world's most famous influencers-yet behind a secret identity. The black cat mask is a constant in all my videos, along with a voice filter.

Amidst the singing and candle blowing, flashes of past birthdays filled my mind-back when I was surrounded by the Haydens and their supposed love for me.

All that fake love.

The very first and the only mistake I made, they cast me out like a plague.

I couldn't shake off the shadow of sadness all day-even during the photo shoot.

That message from Marco kept ringing in my ears like an alarm bell.

It was already dark when I parked the car outside the house. I decided to ignore Marco's text.

Angelo rushed to the trunk, eager to open the presents he'd received today.

As soon as I opened the trunk, my eyes landed on the large, professionally wrapped box-its luxurious look and size made it stand out among the smaller ones.