Chapter 2 - THREE MONTHS OF SECRETS
Elena froze in her tracks two paces from the marble desk, her hands clutching her white apron as her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird.
On the laptop screen, the syndicate bosses paused, hearing the tension in Alessandro’s voice, but Alessandro didn't even look back at the monitor. His focus was entirely pinned on the terrified maid standing before him.
Elena swallowed hard, her throat bone-dry. She stepped forward, carefully dropping to her knees on the cold white marble, and reached out to pull Mia away from Alessandro’s lap. She gathered the ten-month-old girl tightly against her chest, wrapping her arms around her tiny pink dress as if shielding her from an impending storm.
"My daughter," Elena whispered, her voice trembling violently as tears welled in her soft brown eyes. "She’s my daughter..."
Alessandro’s dark brows pulled together into a deep, sharp frown. He adjusted his silk collar, leaning back slightly in his high-backed leather chair, his broad chest rising and falling in slow, deliberate breaths.
"How long has she been here?" Alessandro asked, every syllable laced with a cold, terrifying authority that made the air in the penthouse drop several degrees.
Elena lowered her eyes, unable to meet his piercing gaze. A single tear escaped her lash and splashed onto Mia’s light brown hair.
"Three months," Elena confessed softly, her shoulders shaking. "I... I couldn't afford childcare, Mr. Duca. My mother passed away in June, and every day-care center in the city wanted half my salary. I had nowhere else to put her. I kept her in the break room behind the kitchen... she was always so quiet... I swear she never made a sound until today..."
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Alessandro went completely, utterly still.
For ninety days, a child had been living, crawling, and breathing inside his private, secure residence without his knowledge. In his world, an unknown variable inside one's home was a fatal security breach. Yet as he stared at the terrified young mother holding her child on his office floor, the calculated rage he usually summoned failed to ignite.
