Chapter 4 - The Whispers in the Nursery
The sun rose over the sprawling DeLuca estate like an ominous splash of red and gold across the autumn skyline. I had not slept a single second. The news of Marco’s murder echoed in my head, a horrific, bloody toll for my mere existence. A simple, hard-working restaurant manager was dead because a baby reached for my apron.
Teresa arrived at seven sharp, accompanied by Dr. Jonathan Hayes, a distinguished, silver-haired physician carrying a heavy leather medical bag. Unlike the rest of the staff, Dr. Hayes didn't flinch when he saw my face, though his eyes widened in unmistakable shock before he cleared his throat and maintained his professional veneer.
""Remarkable,"" the doctor whispered under his breath as he gently listened to Leo's heartbeat through his stethoscope. ""Vitals are completely stable. No signs of the elevated cortisol that has plagued him for six months. He's gaining color.""
""Because he finally slept through the night,"" I said, holding the boy on my lap while he happily gnawed on a silicone teething ring.
""A miracle, frankly,"" Dr. Hayes remarked, packing his tools. He turned to look at me, his gaze laced with profound pity. ""Young lady, take my advice. Keep your head down in this house. The ghosts here don't like to stay buried.""
Before I could ask what he meant, the nursery doors swung open with violent force.
A tall woman in an impeccably tailored emerald pantsuit stormed in, her golden-blonde hair pinned into a severe, elegant chignon. Behind her strode two armed guards who looked markedly different from Lorenzo’s men—sharper, younger, with silver signet rings glinting on their pinkies.
""What is the meaning of this circus, Lorenzo?!"" the woman snapped, ignoring me completely as Lorenzo appeared behind her in the doorway, dressed in a charcoal three-piece suit.
""Keep your voice down in my son's room, Bianca,"" Lorenzo warned, his voice a low, lethal rumble that made the hair on the back of my arms stand up.
Bianca whipped around to face him, her manicured hands trembling with rage. ""You bring a stray off the street into the inner sanctum? Have you completely lost your mind? The syndicate council is meeting tomorrow! The Capos are already whispering that the grief has broken your brain!""
""The Capos answer to me,"" Lorenzo replied without blinking. ""And they will continue to do so.""
That was when Bianca’s gaze finally shifted to me.
She stopped dead. The color drained from her high cheekbones so fast she looked like she might faint. Her painted red lips parted in utter, unadulterated horror.
""Clara...?"" she gasped, her hand flying to her throat. ""No. No, that's impossible. Clara was buried in the family crypt!""
""Her name is Elina,"" Lorenzo said coldly, stepping between Bianca and where I sat on the bed. ""She is Leo's new governess. And you will treat her with the respect due to a member of my household.""
""Household?!"" Bianca hissed, her eyes narrowing as fear rapidly transformed into bitter hatred. ""Look at her, Lorenzo! It's a plant! The Morettis are playing you like a fiddle! They found a girl who matches Clara's likeness to infiltrate your defenses, and you're welcoming her with open arms because you're too weak to accept your wife was a traitor!""
Slap.
The sound cracked like a gunshot through the room.
Lorenzo hadn't struck her, but his hand had clamped around Bianca's throat with terrifying, instantaneous speed, shoving her back against the doorframe. The two guards behind Bianca drew their firearms in panic, only for four of Lorenzo's men to step forward, their barrels aimed directly at the guards' foreheads.
The nursery had transformed into an execution chamber in a fraction of a second.
""Do not ever speak of Clara's betrayal or my weakness in front of my heir,"" Lorenzo whispered, his voice dangerously soft, his eyes burning with an unholy fire. ""You are my cousin, Bianca. That is the only reason your heart is still beating right now. Disrespect my authority again, and I will hang you from the gates as a warning to every traitor on the council.""
Bianca clawed weakly at his iron grip, nodding frantically in terror. Lorenzo released her, letting her slump to the floor, gasping for breath.
""Get out,"" he commanded.
Bianca scrambled to her feet, her guards backing away with their hands raised. But before she disappeared down the hall, she cast one final, venomous glare directly at me. It was a promise of death.
Leo let out a tiny whimper, trembling against my chest.
""You shouldn't have done that,"" I breathed, my voice shaking as Lorenzo stood over us, his chest heaving with contained fury. ""You just made an enemy out of your own blood for me.""
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Lorenzo turned, kneeling beside the bed so his eyes were level with mine. He reached out, his thumb gently smoothing over the terrified furrow in my brow.
""Bianca was an enemy long before you arrived, Elina,"" he said quietly, his gaze fierce and protective. ""In this house, loyalty is earned, and blood means nothing. You gave my son peace. For that, I will burn down the world before I let anyone touch a hair on your head.""
