The first time the mafia king looked at me, there was a gun pointed at my head.
The second time, three silent children called me Mama.
And by the end of that night, someone was dead.
I just didn’t know yet that all four events were connected.
“Sofia, table twelve!”
I hurried across the crowded restaurant carrying a silver tray.
“Coming!”
Bellmont Grand was packed that evening.
Politicians occupied the private booths. Billionaires filled the dining hall. Security guards stood discreetly near every entrance.
I had worked there for almost eight months.
I knew which customers wanted silence, which wanted attention, and which left without tipping.
But there was one table everyone knew not to disturb.
Table twelve.
The Cross family.
My manager had warned me about them on my first day.
Never stare. Never ask questions. Never get involved.
Especially with Adrian Cross.
The Mafia King.
The most feared businessman in the city.
I had never seen him in person.
Until tonight.
I stopped beside table twelve.
Three little children sat there.
Two boys and a girl.
They looked almost identical, with dark hair, pale skin, and striking gray eyes.
Triplets.
Eli.
Noah.
Mia.
Five years old.
Everyone in the city knew about them.
Everyone also knew something strange.
They never spoke.
Not to their father.
Not to their nannies.
Not to anyone.
Doctors had examined them repeatedly, but no one had discovered why.
I placed the plates on the table.
“Your dinner.”
The three children stared at me.
I smiled awkwardly.
“Enjoy.”
Then I heard a deep voice.
“Leave.”
I looked up.
Adrian Cross was sitting at the head of the table.
He was younger than I expected.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Perfectly dressed in a black suit.
His face was cold enough to make the room feel colder.
His eyes met mine.
“Did you hear me?”
I swallowed.
“Yes, sir.”
I turned to leave.
Then something caught my wrist.
I froze.
Mia was holding me.
The little girl stared up at me.
Her fingers tightened around mine.
“Hey…”
I crouched beside her.
“It’s okay.”
Mia’s lips trembled.
Then she whispered something.
I leaned closer.
“What did you say?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Mama.”
My heart stopped.
I stared at her.
“What?”
The entire restaurant seemed to go silent.
Adrian stood.
“Mia.”
His voice was sharp.
The little girl didn’t look at him.
She continued staring at me.
“Mama.”
I felt every pair of eyes in the restaurant turn toward us.
Then Eli stood.
He walked toward me.
“Mama.”
My mouth fell open.
Noah followed.
“Mama.”
Three children.
Three voices.
The first words they had spoken in years.
And all three were looking at me.
Adrian’s face had gone completely still.
“Who are you?”
I stood slowly.
“Sofia Bennett.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Who sent you?”
“No one.”
“Why are you here?”
“I work here.”
He looked toward my manager.
My manager immediately hurried over.
“Mr. Cross, Sofia has been working with us for months. She’s just a waitress.”
Adrian didn’t take his eyes off me.
“Take the children upstairs.”
“But—”
“Now.”
The nanny rushed forward.
Mia suddenly screamed.
“No!”
Everyone froze.
She grabbed my dress.
“No, Mama!”
Adrian stared at her.
“Mia.”
She began crying.
Eli and Noah moved beside her.
For the first time, the three children were speaking.
And they weren’t saying random words.
They were repeating the same thing.
“Mama.”
“Mama.”
“Mama.”
A strange feeling crawled over my skin.
I had never met them before.
At least…
I thought I hadn’t.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Look at me.”
I raised my eyes.
His expression was unreadable.
“Have you ever seen my children before tonight?”
“No.”
“Have you ever met anyone from my family?”
“No.”
“Do you know their mother?”
I hesitated.
“I don’t even know who their mother is.”
Something flickered across his face.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
“What?”
A man’s voice came through.
I couldn’t hear everything.
But I heard one sentence.
“We found the woman from the photograph.”
Adrian’s eyes snapped toward me.
My stomach dropped.
“What photograph?”
He didn’t answer.
He ended the call.
Then he grabbed my wrist.
“Come with me.”
“Wait!”
I tried pulling away.
“I haven’t done anything.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you taking me?”
His gaze dropped to the silver crescent pendant around my neck.
His expression changed.
“Where did you get that?”
I touched the pendant instinctively.
“My mother gave it to me.”
“What’s her name?”
“Elena Bennett.”
Adrian went completely still.
For the first time, I saw something other than coldness in his eyes.
Shock.
“You said Elena Bennett?”
“Yes.”
He released my wrist.
“How long has she been dead?”
My heart tightened.
“Twenty-two years.”
Adrian stepped backward.
The color drained from his face.
Then one of his security men rushed into the restaurant.
“Boss.”
Adrian turned.
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
The guard looked toward me.
“The woman who attacked the east entrance is dead.”
Adrian’s eyes hardened.
“Who was she?”
“We don’t know.”
The guard hesitated.
“But she was carrying this.”
He handed Adrian a photograph.
Adrian looked at it.
Then he slowly turned it toward me.
My breath caught.
It was an old photograph.
My mother was standing beside a much younger Adrian.
And beside them stood a man I had never seen before.
But written across the bottom was my mother’s handwriting.
If Sofia ever meets Adrian Cross, tell him the truth before Victor finds her.
I stared at the photograph.
“What does this mean?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
Suddenly—
BANG!
A gunshot shattered the restaurant windows.
People screamed.
Security guards drew their weapons.
Adrian grabbed me and pulled me behind him.
Another bullet struck the wall.
The three children screamed.
Then, through the chaos, Noah suddenly stopped crying.
He pointed toward the shattered window.
His face had gone pale.
“Victor.”
Adrian froze.
“What did you say?”
Noah whispered again.
“Victor.”
Eli grabbed his brother’s hand.
Mia buried her face against my stomach.
And Adrian stared at his children as if he’d just heard the name of a dead man.
“Victor Cross,” he whispered.
His brother.
A man everyone believed had died twenty-two years ago.
Then the restaurant lights went out.
And someone whispered directly behind me—
“Elena’s daughter.”
I turned.
Nobody was there.
