Chapter 2 - Shadows in the Estate
"Eat," Alessandro said softly, placing the silver tray on the nightstand beside Emma’s bed.
The young girl looked at the spread of fresh fruit, warm croissants, and hot chocolate as if it were a trap. She pulled the heavy velvet duvet up to her chin, her wide brown eyes darting toward the open door.
"Is Lily okay?" she asked, her voice raspy from crying the night before.
"She is asleep in my room," Alessandro replied, sitting on the edge of a mahogany armchair. "She was fed an hour ago, and the doctor checked her again. She is fine, Emma. And your mother is still breathing."
Emma's shoulders dropped slightly, though the tension in her frame did not fully melt away. She reached out with a trembling hand, taking a small piece of bread. "Are you going to send us away?"
Alessandro stared at her, taking in her small, frail frame. If this child had carried Lily through a torrential downpour across the estate gardens, she possessed a courage that defied her size. "No one is sending you anywhere. But I need you to answer my questions. Can you do that?"
Emma nodded, chewing slowly.
"Where did your mother get that baby?" Alessandro asked, keeping his tone calm and unhurried.
"She... she brought her home four months ago," Emma whispered. "Mommy said a lady gave Lily to her. The lady was very sick, and she told Mommy to hide Lily and keep her safe from the bad men."
Alessandro felt a surge of cold adrenaline hit his chest. "What lady? Did she have a name?"
"Mommy called her Signora Isabella," Emma said.
The name hung in the air like a physical strike. Alessandro kept his face entirely still, refusing to let the storm inside his mind show on his features. "Did you ever see this lady?"
"Only once," Emma said softly, looking down at her hot chocolate. "We were in a small house near the coast, before we came here to work in the kitchen. The lady was lying in bed. She was crying, and she had blood on her clothes. She gave Mommy a lot of money and the necklace, and she told Mommy to come work at the Moretti estate."
"Why this estate?" Alessandro asked.
"Because the lady said... she said the only place the shadows couldn't reach was right under your feet," Emma said, reciting the words as if she had memorized them long ago. "She said you were scary, but you wouldn't let anyone hurt a baby."
Alessandro stood up, walking toward the window that overlooked the inner courtyard. Isabella had been alive four months ago. She had given her newborn child to a servant woman, sent her directly into the heart of his fortress, and then disappeared again. Why didn't she come to him directly? Why hide behind a housemaid?
The answer was painfully obvious: she believed the threat came from inside his own house.
A sharp knock sounded at the door. Antonio, his chief of security, stepped into the room. He held a sealed black envelope in his hand, his expression deadpan and serious.
"The lab results from Rome, boss," Antonio said quietly. "Brought by private courier."
Alessandro took the envelope, breaking the wax seal with his thumb. He slid out the single sheet of paper, his eyes scanning down past the technical jargon to the bottom line:
Probability of Paternity: 99.99%
Lily was his daughter.
Alessandro closed his eyes for a single second, feeling a wave of fierce, protective ownership take root in his soul. He tucked the paper into his inner suit pocket and turned back to Antonio.
"Who handles the food and tea deliveries for the staff quarters?" Alessandro demanded.
"It’s managed by the central kitchen, sir," Antonio replied. "Master Chef Bernardo oversees the dry goods, but the daily tea and bread for the staff rooms are packed by the junior pantry maids—specifically Nina and Teresa."
"Have both of them brought to the wine cellar immediately," Alessandro said, his voice dropping an octave into an icy threat. "And tell my uncle Roberto I want to see him in my study in twenty minutes."
Antonio hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Your uncle? He just arrived from the Palermo branch this morning, boss. He brought his advisors with him."
"I know," Alessandro said coldly. "He arrived four months ago for the quarterly council, right around the time Emma's mother was hired in the kitchens. I don't believe in coincidences."
Alessandro turned back to Emma, who was watching him with wide, intelligent eyes. He knelt beside her bed, reaching out to gently touch her messy brown hair. "You did a brave thing coming to me last night, Emma. You saved your mother, and you saved Lily. From this moment on, you are under my protection. No one in this house will ever touch a hair on your head."
"Are you Lily's daddy?" Emma asked suddenly.
May you like
Alessandro paused, looking at the small girl's resolute face. "Yes," he said honestly. "I am."
"Good," Emma said softly, pulling the blanket around her again. "Because she really looks like you when she gets angry."
