The Don's Stolen Heir

Chapter 2

Vivian Moretti

When Adrian broke the kiss,my mind briefly drifted away from the men in the adjoining room , but the sound of gunfire was still too fresh for me to forget them

“I told you before that I am a very wealthy man,” he said. “Do you know why I paid a million dollars for you last night?”

I shook my head.

“Rich men do strange things.”

A faint smile touched his lips.

“My last relationship ended badly. After that, I wanted someone outside my world. Someone who knew nothing about my enemies, my business, or the people around me.”

His fingers brushed lightly against my cheek.

“I did not expect to enjoy last night as much as I did.”

My stomach tightened when I heard those words.

“I want you to stay.”

I stared at him, unsure of what to say.

“If you can sit here quietly until my men finish their discussion, we can continue where we stopped. I would like to see you again.”

“You paid me a million dollars for one night, Adrian. I did not think there would be anything beyond that.”

“I want more than one night.”

His voice remained calm as he looked at me.

“I want you to become my mistress. Long term.”

The fear I had been trying to hide returned in full force.

“I will take care of you,” he continued. “You will have everything you need. If you want to continue your education, you will, and your family will not have to worry about money either.”

He studied me for a moment before asking, “Where do you go to school?”

“NYU.”

“What are you studying?”

“Computer Science.”

The answers came easily. I had prepared this identity long before I stepped into the hotel.

“Why did you sell your virginity?”

I lowered my eyes.

“I needed the money for school.”

“For yourself?”

“Yes. My parents cannot afford everything, and I wanted enough money to finish my education without depending on them.”

He watched me for several seconds before nodding.

“I will pay for your education.”

I forced a small smile.

“Thank you.”

I glanced toward the glass door.

For a moment, I wondered how Adrian could stand there and have an ordinary conversation while a dead man was being dealt with in the next room.

Then I understood what he was doing. He was keeping me occupied while his men dealt with the situation in the next room.

I kept my face calm and waited.

Adrian leaned back in his chair.

“You come from a large family?”

“Yes.”

I had prepared enough details to make my fake identity believable, but I had no intention of giving him more information than necessary.

“I understand,” he said.

Before I could respond, the glass door opened.

One of his men stepped onto the balcony.

“Adrian, sir. We have relocated our guests. If you and your companion are ready, breakfast has been prepared in the suite across the hall.”

“Thank you.”

The man disappeared inside.

I looked at Adrian and realized that whatever had happened in the adjoining room was finally over.

Adrian rose and picked up my trench coat from the patio table before draping it over my shoulders. He then held out his hand.

“Come,” he said. “We will have breakfast together and discuss our future.”

I forced myself to take his hand.

Adrian slipped an arm around my shoulders and guided me through the suite.

We had to pass the room where the shooting had happened.

I kept my eyes fixed ahead because I refused to look at the floor or toward the men who had been inside. After twenty-one years of living as the daughter of the Moretti family, I knew when to keep my eyes down and my mouth shut.

Adrian led me through the doorway and into the suite across the hall.

A man wearing a shoulder holster stepped into the hallway, and I flinched before I could stop myself.

Adrian noticed.

“He is my head of security,” he said. “As I told you, I have many enemies.”

The man looked at Adrian.

“Sir, may I have a word with you?”

He motioned toward the suite we had just left.

Adrian nodded.

“Wait here.”

The moment the two men disappeared inside and the door closed behind them, I knew I had one chance.

I pulled open the door and ran.

I reached the end of the hallway, pushed through the emergency exit, and hurried down the stairs as fast as my legs could carry me. By the time I reached the lower floors, my lungs were burning, so I grabbed the railing and stopped for a moment to catch my breath.

“Holy s**t, Vivian,” I whispered. “You really need to exercise more.”

I forced myself to keep moving.

When I finally reached the bottom, I slipped through another exit and found myself in the hotel's parking garage. I kept my head down as I crossed toward the street because I was terrified that someone would come after me.

Early morning traffic had already started.

I flagged down the first yellow taxi I saw and climbed into the back seat.

“My parents' estate,” I told the driver as I gave him the address.

Throughout the ride, I kept checking through the window, but no one followed us or called my phone. For the first time since waking up, I allowed myself to breathe.

The taxi eventually stopped outside the gates of my family's estate.

I paid the driver and stepped onto the driveway.

The walk to the house felt longer than usual.

Before I reached the entrance, the front door opened, and our butler stepped outside with my mother right behind him.

The moment she saw me, her hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes moved over my disheveled clothes and the trench coat hanging from my shoulders.

“Vivian,” she said, her voice filled with shock. “What have you done?”

I stopped in front of her.

For twenty-one years, I had allowed my family to make decisions about my life as though I had no say in any of them, but I was not going to let that happen anymore.

I took a breath and met her eyes.

“If anyone was going to sell my virginity, it was going to be me.”

My mother's expression hardened.

“Do you have any idea what you have done?”

“Yes.”

I held her gaze.

“You can tell Papa that unless Don Santiago De Luca is still interested in marrying a woman who is no longer considered pure, I am of no use to either family.”

Silence filled the entrance.

My mother stared at me as though she had never seen me before.

For a brief moment, my mind returned to Adrian. I remembered his calm voice, his confidence, and the smell of gunpowder on his fingers.

I had escaped a murderer, yet despite everything that had happened, I could not stop thinking about him.