I lifted the lid of the metal box.

Inside, there was a thick manila envelope sealed with red wax.

The wax was stamped with a crest I had seen on Dominic’s signet ring.

The Romano family crest.

Underneath the envelope lay a small, tarnished silver rattle and a folded piece of linen.

I broke the wax seal on the envelope and pulled out the documents inside.

The first page was an official birth certificate from a hospital in Boston, dated twenty-four years ago.

The mother’s name was listed as Maria Miller—my mother.

The father’s name was blank.

But the child’s name was listed as Clara.

I turned to the next page.

It was a legal adoption agreement, signed by my mother and Vincenzo Romano.

Vincenzo Romano, the late patriarch of the syndicate.

My eyes scanned the lines of dense legal text.

My breath caught in my throat.

The agreement stated that I was the biological child of Vincenzo Romano and Maria Miller.

I was not just the daughter of a nurse who worked for the family.

I was Vincenzo’s firstborn child.