Page 169 of Hidden Echoes

The men leave the room, bewildered, and I stand there, staring at my father, waiting for what comes next.

“You know, Mia, I’ve wronged you,” he says finally, his voice softer than I expect. “I didn’t give you the credit you deserved. But you’ve proven to be very useful to me.”

“I don’t know how I could’ve done that.”

“My daughter,” he says, a strange pride in his voice. “You have Riviera blood in you. I hate to admit it, but I’m beginning to see that in you.”

It’s a corrupt blood, and I want nothing to do with it.

"A man came to me today. A man with power, with money. He spoke of alliances—promises of influence, of control. He offered me everything, and in return, he asked for you. You, hija, are now his. You will belong to him, and your duty will be to solidify this. With a marriage."

His words drip with cold indifference, each one carefully measured, as if the concept of my existence is no more than a pawn in his game.

"You will not question it. You will not fight it. You will do what is expected. Be a good daughter. Be a good wife. That’s all that matters."

He leans forward, his gaze heavy, as if testing the weight of his words on my soul.

"Siempre estuviste destinada a ser una pieza en mi tablero, hija. Y ahora, esta es tu oportunidad de ser útil. Si no lo eres, haré que te arrepientas de haberte cruzado en mi camino. Así que olvídate de bromas y juegos, quiero que seas la esposa perfecta. ¿Lo entiendes?"

You were always meant to be a piece on my board, daughter. And now, this is your chance to be useful. If you're not, I'll make you regret ever crossing my path. So, no jokes, no games. I expect you to be the perfect wife. Understand?

My mind races. What?

“Yes,” I managed.

“Well, I have a surprise for you,” he says, gesturing to one of the guards, his words laced with ominous promise.

The man who steps into the room hits me like a thunderclap, each beat of my heart so forceful I’m certain it might tear through my chest. I don’t let my gaze waver from my father, keeping my mask firmly in place even as my insides scream, chaotic and raw.

Zane.

But notmyZane. This one is different.

He’s dressed in a tailored suit, the kind that screams power, like it’s been stitched from the threads of a man who controls everything around him.

He walks with an unsettling confidence, each step purposeful, like he’s right at home in a world where I no longer recognize him.

He looks like he belongs to the Mafia—or better yet, like he is the damn leader of it.

The suit clings to his body in all the wrong ways, reminding me of someone who doesn’t need to prove strength, but wields it effortlessly.

His smile is all wrong. It’s polished, calculated, with an edge to it that cuts through the air between us. It’s not the smile I used to trust. The one that made me feel like I was the only thing that mattered.

No, this smile is nothing but a mask, a carefully constructed façade that hides the storm of emotions I can barely comprehend.

And when his eyes lock onto mine, there’s nothing warm or familiar in them—nothing that suggests he remembers the love we once shared. No. What I see in those eyes now is colder than ice, something darker than I can grasp, and it makes my insides twist with a feeling I can't name.

I want to scream, to rage at him, but instead, I stand there, frozen, my mind a chaotic mess of confusion, anger, and pain.

He’s real. This is the real Zane.

My pulse stutters, and a sickening doubt gnaws at me—did I let myself be manipulated by Paulina again?

But if he is really him... If this is the Zane I’ve spent so long chasing in my mind, then why does everything feel wrong? The warmth, the tenderness, the connection we once shared—all of it seems like a distant memory now, slipping through my fingers like sand.

If he's real, then why does he feel so far away?

What happened to the man who once loved me? What happened to the Zane I swore would never betray me?

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