Chapter 9 - The Debt of the Duca Family
I walked into the living room, stepping softly so as not to startle them.
The moment Mia saw me, she set her mug down on the mahogany coffee table and stood up, her small body protective and alert.
"Is the bad man gone, Mr. Duca?" she asked in her soft, high-pitched voice.
I dropped to one knee on the Persian rug in front of her, just as I had done upstairs three hours ago. I reached into my coat pocket, pulled out a handkerchief, and gently wiped a spot of wet dust from her small cheek.
"The bad man is gone, Mia," I said, my voice dropping into a warmth I hadn't used in twenty years. "And he will never, ever come back to this house."
Grace looked at me with tears pooling in her dark eyes. "Mr. Duca... I am so sorry. I didn't know who was behind the wall... I only heard her crying three nights ago when I was working late... I brought her food because she was starving..."
"You don't apologize to me, Grace," I said firmly, standing up and looking at my head housekeeper. "You saved my sister-in-law's life. And your daughter saved mine."
I walked over to Clara, kneeling beside her armchair.
"Clara," I said softly, taking her thin, trembling hand in mine. "Julian will never touch you again. Tomorrow, my legal team will clear your name, restore your legal identity, and transfer forty percent of the Duca family real estate holdings into a private trust under your name."
Clara looked into my eyes, fresh tears spilling over her pale cheeks. "I thought... I thought I was going to die in that wall, Roman."
"Not while I breathe," I promised her.
I turned back to Grace and little Mia.
"Grace," I announced, my voice carrying the absolute, unshakeable authority of the head of the Duca family. "Effective starting today, you are no longer the housekeeper of this estate."
Grace went pale, her hands tightening around her blanket. "Mr. Duca... please..."
"You are the estate manager," I corrected her with a small, rare smile. "You will have a salary of two hundred thousand dollars a year, full medical benefits, and the entire west carriage house will be renovated for you and your daughters. Mia will attend the Winsor Academy in South Boston on a full trust scholarship paid by the family."
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Mia blinked her large, dark eyes, looking up at her mother in confusion. "Does that mean we don't have to clean the big desk before sunrise, Mama?"
Grace covered her mouth with both hands, sobbing openly as she pulled Mia and the baby into her arms. "No, sweetie... no more cleaning after midnight."
