Silence detonated between them, thick and suffocating, like the entire world had stopped breathing.

The birth certificate sat on the table like a bomb no one dared to touch.

Noa’s pulse rattled through his skull. His mouth was dry, his throat burning, his ribs still ached like hell but none of it hurt like this.

She was his mother.

She was his mother.

And now

She was Alessio’s too.

His handler. His enemy. His brother.

His lover.

“No,” Alessio’s voice finally cracked out, low and sharp ...