Chapter 10 - The Shadow Over the Tablecloth
The child’s paternity was not confirmed.
Elena’s reason for being inside the sealed restaurant was not revealed.
The person behind Dominic was not identified.
The final outcome did not arrive.
Only the moment remained inside the exclusive Manhattan restaurant at night, with rain streaking the floor-to-ceiling windows, chandeliers glowing gold above dark marble, silent staff pressed near the walls, and table nine marked by a child’s purple crayon.
Dominic Valenti stood beside the table, black suit sharp beneath the candlelight, face twisted between rage and dread. His luxury watch gleamed near the crayon marks, but his hand had gone still.
Elena stood across from him in her champagne satin dress, one arm wrapped firmly around the little girl, the other guarding the marked tablecloth. Her eyes were cold, unblinking, and fiercely protective.
The little girl clung to Elena’s side, cream lace dress bright against the dark restaurant, purple crayon trapped in her small fist. Her black eyes with tiny gold flecks moved between Dominic and the long shadow covering her drawing.
Marco stood several steps behind Dominic, huge body rigid, face drained of color. Whatever he understood, he did not say it.
The shadow stretched farther across the table.
It covered the drawn Valenti-like eyes.
It reached the wineglass.
It stopped beside Dominic’s hand.
Only polished shoes, the lower edge of a coat, and a blurred shoulder appeared at the edge of the light.
No face.
No name.
No answer.
Dominic turned halfway, and the rage in his expression began to collapse into sudden dread.
Elena’s voice remained barely above a whisper.
“Before you accuse me again… turn around.”
The little girl tightened her grip on the crayon.
Elena pulled her closer.
The unidentified person did not step fully into view.
The restaurant stayed sealed.
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The rain kept falling.
And in the golden candlelight, Dominic realized the child’s eyes were not the only impossible thing waiting for him at table nine.
