Chapter 1 - The Interrogation
The silence in the grand foyer of Palazzo Rossi was suffocating, heavy with the unspoken promise of violence that hung in the air like thick smoke.
Every single weapon in the sprawling, marble-floored room was drawn and aimed directly at the center of the conflict.
The metallic clicks of safety catches being released echoed in the deadly quiet, a chilling soundtrack to my worst nightmare.
Lorenzo Rossi’s dark, fathomless eyes never left my face, piercing right through my thin facade of bravery and seeing the absolute terror hiding underneath.
He stood there like a god of war, dressed impeccably in a charcoal suit, yet emanating an aura so lethal it made the air hard to breathe.
“I will ask you one more time, Mrs. Hayes,” he said, his voice terrifyingly calm, completely devoid of the explosive rage I expected from a mafia kingpin.
“Who gave your daughter this toy?”
My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird desperately trying to escape its cage.
I looked down at the tiny crimson crest hidden beneath the gray yarn of Lily's knitted elephant, a symbol that meant absolutely nothing to me minutes ago but now threatened to end our lives.
“A man in the park,” I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper as I instinctively pulled Lily closer to my trembling legs.
“He said he was an old friend of my late husband, Arthur, and just wanted to give the little girl a gift.”
Lorenzo stood up to his full height, slowly and deliberately, towering over us with a deadly grace that commanded the immediate attention of every mob boss in the room.
“Your husband has been dead for exactly three years,” he stated coldly, the absolute certainty in his tone sending shivers down my spine.
“Yet this specific crest belongs to a traitor who infiltrated my innermost ranks only six months ago.”
Camilla Bianchi scoffed loudly from the sidelines, her emerald silk dress rustling as she crossed her arms in defiance.
“She is lying through her teeth, Lorenzo!” she shrieked, her face twisted into an ugly mask of jealousy and rage.
“She is probably the rat, using her dead husband as a convenient cover story to spy on our operations!”
Lorenzo didn't even bother to look at his fiancée, his attention remaining entirely fixed on me and my daughter.
“Lock the entire estate down immediately,” he ordered his enforcers, his booming voice leaving no room for hesitation or argument.
“No one leaves this property tonight, and Mrs. Hayes and her daughter are coming with me to the private wing.”
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The heavily armed sentries moved in unison, sealing the massive oak doors and cutting off any hope of escape.
I held Lily tight, realizing that my life as a simple housekeeper was over, and I was now a prisoner in the most dangerous house in all of Italy.
