# HE PAID ME TO DISAPPEAR WHILE I HID HIS BABY — SIX YEARS LATER, OUR SON ROLLED A TOY CAR TO THE MAFIA KING WHO NEVER KNEW HE EXISTED

The safe house was a fortress disguised as an ultra-modern cliffside estate in Maine. Storm had driven us himself, a convoy of heavily armed SUVs trailing behind us. Leo had sat in the backseat, clutching his silver car, his eyes darting between me and the silent, terrifying man driving the bulletproof Mercedes.

When we arrived, the ocean was crashing violently against the rocks below.

"Pick a room," Storm told me as we entered the massive foyer. "Don't go near the windows. Don't use your cell phone. We have a secure landline if you need to call your studio to cancel your appointments."

"Cancel them?" I laughed bitterly. "I'm just supposed to vanish again? Let my business die?"

"I'll buy you ten businesses when this is over!" Storm roared, the stress finally cracking his icy exterior. "Right now, my priority is keeping you and my son breathing!"

Leo walked into the foyer, his small footsteps echoing. He looked up at Storm, utterly unfazed by the shouting.

"You yell too much," Leo stated.

Storm froze. The brutal mafia boss blinked, staring down at the miniature version of himself. "Excuse me?"

"You're loud," Leo clarified. "Mom says people who yell a lot usually don't know how to fix the problem."

I held my breath. Men had been buried for speaking to Storm Moretti with less disrespect.

Storm stared at Leo for a long, agonizing moment. Then, slowly, the tension bled out of his shoulders. He let out a breath that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. He crouched down so he was eye-level with Leo.

"Your mom is right," Storm said quietly. "I'm angry because I can't fix the problem instantly. I'm sorry if I scared you."

"I'm not scared of you," Leo said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, blue toy car. "I have two. You can hold this one. It helps when you're mad."

Storm took the tiny plastic car with massive, trembling hands. "Thank you, Leo."

I watched them, a profound ache blooming in my chest. I had spent six years trying to keep Leo away from this world, away from this man. But seeing them together, the undeniable bond of blood knitting them instantly, I realized the hardest truth of all.

I couldn't protect Leo from his father, because part of Leo was his father.

Later that night, after Leo was asleep, I found Storm on the balcony, looking out at the black ocean.

"He's incredible," Storm whispered without looking at me. "You raised a king, Juliet."

"I raised a good boy," I corrected softly. "I don't want him to be a king. Crowns are too heavy."

Storm turned to me. "I never stopped looking for you. Not really. I just... I had to make the world safe first. I thought I had." He stepped closer, his hand reaching out to gently brush a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm so sorry, Juliet. For the office. For the papers. For breaking your heart to save your life."