Chapter 3 - The Bath at Dawn
Two hours earlier, long before the security alarms had sounded, the villa had been locked in its usual heavy silence. Luca De Santis ruled his estate with absolute discipline, and his hound, Nero, was a reflection of that cold authority. Trained for tactical protection, Nero was kept in a private reinforced enclosure on the eastern lawn, accessible only to specialized handlers.
Yet at six-fifteen that morning, three-year-old Lily had wandered out through the lower terrace doors while Elena was preparing the breakfast trays. Wandering toward the sunny patch near the kennel, she had found the terrifying beast lying near his water trough, caked in wet garden clay from an early morning patrol.
Where hardened enforcers saw a deadly weapon, Lily had simply seen a very dirty puppy who needed help.
Armed with a plastic bucket, a bottle of lavender dish soap, and her pink baby sponge, Lily had unlatched the heavy gate that had taken two locksmiths to install. Nero had risen to his full height, his dark eyes locked onto the tiny human entering his territory. But instead of fear, Lily had offered a stern, childish scolding.
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"You are very dirty, big puppy," she had announced, splashing soapy water directly onto his paws. "Sit down so I can wash your ears."
In the security footage that Marco was now reviewing back in the villa's control room, the impossible had occurred. The feared predator, who had once put three rival enforcers in the hospital, slowly lowered himself onto the concrete, tilting his massive head as the little girl scrubbed behind his ears, humming a nursery rhyme while bubbles covered his wet snout.
