Chapter 1 - The Poisoned Bloodline
The silence in the nursery was no longer a relief.
It was a loaded gun.
Elena did not blink as she stared down the matriarch of the Rossi empire.
Signora Beatrice clutched the Swiss glass bottle so tightly that her knuckles turned stark white against her flawless diamonds.
Dante Rossi did not move a single muscle.
He was a man who commanded legions in the criminal underworld, yet in this pristine room, the true monster was standing right next to the changing table.
"I asked you a question," Elena said, her voice steady and echoing off the frescoed ceiling.
"Who has been spraying his clothes?"
Beatrice let out a forced, brittle laugh.
"You are hysterical, little nurse."
She took a step toward the door, trying to dismiss the tension with a wave of her manicured hand.
"This is an imported luxury fabric softener."
"It is an industrial-grade chemical irritant," Elena countered instantly.
"And someone has been dousing his garments in it every single time his skin begins to heal."
Camila let out a choked gasp from her place on the floor.
She looked from the bottle in her mother-in-law's hand to the furious red welts fading on her baby's arms.
"Beatrice?" Camila whispered, her voice trembling with an agonizing realization.
"You oversaw the nursery staff."
"You insisted on handling all of his laundry personally because you said the maids were incompetent."
Beatrice’s aristocratic face flushed with indignance.
"How dare you accuse me of harming my own flesh and blood!"
She turned to her son, expecting the unwavering loyalty that had always defined their syndicate family.
"Dante, remove these women from my presence immediately."
Dante did not look at his mother.
His dark, lethal eyes were fixed dead on the glass bottle.
Slowly, the mafia boss reached into his tailored suit jacket and pulled out his phone.
He did not dial a pediatrician.
He dialed his head of security.
"Lock down the estate," Dante’s voice was a low, terrifying rumble that shook the velvet drapes.
"No one enters."
"No one leaves."
"Bring the head housekeeper to my study in five minutes."
Beatrice’s facade finally cracked, genuine fear bleeding into her arrogant posture.
"Dante, you cannot possibly believe this nobody over your own mother!"
"My son has been screaming in agony for six weeks," Dante replied, taking a slow, menacing step toward her.
"And the moment this nurse removes the clothes you personally provided, he falls asleep."
He reached out and snatched the bottle from Beatrice’s trembling grip.
"If I find out you did this, the title of Mother will not save you."
Beatrice backed away, her chest heaving as she realized her absolute power was crumbling.
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Elena held the sleeping baby closer to her chest, shielding him from the venom filling the room.
The Rossi family was completely fractured, and the true war was only just beginning.
