Chapter 1 - The Girl Who Sat in the Boss’s Chair
A three-year-old girl climbed into a black leather chair and whispered: "I’m the boss now."
When Mafia boss Luca Moretti entered his office, he found his missing silver fountain pen beside a tiny yellow dress.
But a small name was engraved on the pen:
"Elena."
Luca suddenly realized this was not a child's mistake.
The first thing Luca Moretti noticed was not the little girl sitting in his chair.
It was the silence.
The kind of silence that only existed when powerful men were afraid to breathe.
For years, Luca’s private office had been the place where decisions were made, deals were signed, and secrets disappeared. Men twice his size had walked through those doors with confidence and left with lowered eyes.
Nobody touched his desk.
Nobody sat in his chair.
Nobody even leaned against the edge of it.
Until that afternoon.
A tiny girl in a yellow dress had broken every rule without even knowing there were rules.
She sat comfortably in Luca’s oversized leather chair, her little feet barely reaching the edge of the seat. Her blonde curls fell around her face, and she looked completely satisfied with herself.
The room was frozen.
Two of Luca’s most trusted men stood near the window, staring as if they had just witnessed someone point a gun at their boss.
The little girl crossed her arms.
Then she looked directly at Luca.
"I told everyone I was in charge."
Luca stopped walking.
The woman behind him almost dropped the tray she was holding.
"Mr. Moretti, I am so sorry," she whispered.
Her voice trembled.
Luca didn’t answer.
His eyes remained on the child.
The girl didn’t look scared.
That was what surprised him.
Everyone feared Luca Moretti.
Everyone except this little girl.
"Who are you?" Luca finally asked.
The little girl tilted her head.
"I’m Sofia."
She said it like he should already know.
"And this is my chair now."
One of the men near the window immediately looked away.
Nobody dared laugh.
Nobody dared smile.
But Luca almost did.
Almost.
Because something about her confidence reminded him of someone he had spent years trying not to remember.
The woman stepped forward.
"Sofia, get down right now."
The little girl looked at her mother.
"Mama, you said I should be brave."
The woman closed her eyes.
That sentence hurt more than Luca expected.
Because he knew that voice.
Not the child’s.
The mother’s.
The exhaustion.
The fear hidden underneath every word.
Her name was Maria.
She had worked in the Moretti estate for almost two years as a housekeeper. She was quiet, respectful, and never caused problems.
She was exactly the kind of person Luca usually trusted.
But today, she had brought a child into the one room where nobody was allowed to enter.
Luca looked at her.
"Explain."
Maria lowered her head.
"I tried to stop her."
"Clearly, you failed."
A small nervous breath escaped from one of the men.
Maria looked embarrassed.
"I’m sorry, Mr. Moretti."
Sofia suddenly climbed down from the chair and walked toward Luca.
Every person in the room became tense.
A child was walking toward the most dangerous man in the building.
And she didn’t even realize it.
She stopped directly in front of him.
Then she looked up.
"You look sad."
The room went silent again.
Luca’s expression changed slightly.
Most people saw his money.
His power.
His reputation.
Nobody saw sadness.
Nobody dared mention it.
"What makes you think that?" Luca asked.
Sofia pointed at his chest.
"Because your eyes are sad."
Maria immediately stepped forward.
"Sofia, that's enough."
But Luca raised his hand.
He stopped her.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, he wanted to hear more.
"When did you learn to talk like that?"
Sofia shrugged.
"My mama talks like that."
Luca looked at Maria.
The woman suddenly looked uncomfortable.
"What does your mother tell you?"
Sofia looked back at him.
"She says some people look scary because they forgot how to be happy."
The words landed harder than Luca expected.
Nobody in that room would have dared say something like that.
But this little girl had done it without hesitation.
Luca slowly walked toward his desk.
Then he noticed something.
A small object sitting beside his documents.
His fountain pen.
A silver pen that had belonged to his father.
He had searched for it for three days.
He picked it up.
Maria immediately became pale.
"Mr. Moretti..."
Luca looked at the pen.
There was something different.
A scratch on the bottom.
A small mark he had never noticed before.
He turned it around.
And beneath the scratch were three tiny letters.
E.L.A.
His fingers stopped moving.
For a moment, the entire room disappeared.
Because those letters belonged to someone he had not heard from in years.
Someone everyone told him was gone.
Someone whose name had been buried with the past.
"Where did you find this?" Luca asked.
Maria looked confused.
"I... I don't know what you mean."
Luca looked at Sofia.
The little girl was holding something in her tiny hand.
A necklace.
A small silver necklace hidden beneath her yellow dress.
Luca stared at it.
The same symbol.
The same engraving.
The same symbol he had seen only once before.
Twenty years ago.
His expression changed.
The men in the room noticed immediately.
Something had happened.
Something they had never seen before.
Luca Moretti was afraid.
Not of the child.
Not of the situation.
Of the memory.
"Who gave you that necklace?" Luca asked quietly.
Sofia touched it.
"My mommy gave it to me."
"Your mother?"
The little girl nodded.
"No."
She looked toward Maria.
"My other mommy."
Maria’s face turned white.
Luca stared at her.
The room became colder.
Because there was only one person who had ever owned a necklace with that symbol.
And Luca Moretti had watched that person disappear.
"You need to leave," Maria whispered.
Luca looked at her.
"Why?"
Her eyes filled with fear.
"Because if they know she is here..."
She stopped.
Luca stepped closer.
"Who?"
Maria said nothing.
The little girl suddenly grabbed Luca’s hand.
"Don't be mad at Mama."
Luca looked down.
"Why would I be mad?"
Sofia lowered her voice.
"Because she said you would remember me."
Luca froze.
"Remember you?"
The child nodded.
"She said you would know my name."
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then Sofia whispered the name she had been told never to say.
"Elena."
The name hit Luca like a bullet.
Because Elena was not just a name.
It was the name of the woman who had vanished from his life years ago.
The woman everyone told him was gone forever.
Maria immediately grabbed Sofia’s hand.
"We have to go."
But Luca blocked the door.
"No."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Maria looked at him.
"Mr. Moretti..."
Luca stared at the little girl.
Then at the necklace.
Then back at Maria.
"Tell me why my past is standing in my office."
Maria’s lips trembled.
Before she could answer, the lights suddenly flickered.
Everyone turned.
The office security screen on Luca’s desk turned on by itself.
A message appeared.
One sentence.
One name.
Luca slowly walked toward the screen.
May you like
Because the message was from someone who was supposed to be dead.
Elena was waiting for him.
