Chapter 3 - THE HOUSEKEEPER'S SECRET
Grace Carter was scrubbing a stain from the laundry-room floor when the mansion's head housekeeper found her.
“Mr. Romano wants to see you.”
Grace's stomach dropped.
She had known bringing Lily into the mansion was against the rules. She had also known she had no choice. The babysitter had canceled at the last minute, her neighbor was working a night shift, and the money in her purse would not cover another emergency childcare payment.
She had hidden Lily in the laundry room with a blanket, a coloring book, and strict instructions not to leave.
Then the little girl had heard a man collapse.
Grace wiped her hands on her apron.
“Is Lily all right?”
“She's with security.”
Grace hurried down the corridor.
Victor stood in the small sitting room. Lily sat on a sofa with her knees together, holding a paper cup of water. Her face brightened when she saw her mother.
“Mommy!”
Grace pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Are you hurt?”
“No. I helped the man breathe.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
Victor watched them with a patient smile.
“Your daughter showed remarkable initiative,” he said. “But you understand that bringing a child into the residence violated your employment agreement.”
Grace's arms tightened around Lily.
“I am sorry. My sitter canceled. I should have called.”
“You should have.”
“I'll accept the consequences. Please don't blame her.”
Victor's smile remained.
“Mr. Moretti wants to see you both tomorrow. He has questions.”
“Is he all right?”
“He will recover.”
Grace closed her eyes in relief.
Victor stepped closer. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
Lily answered before her mother could.
“He fell down. He couldn't breathe. I used my inhaler.”
“Did you touch anything else?”
“No.”
“Did you see anyone in the hallway?”
Lily frowned, thinking.
“A man.”
Victor's expression did not change. “What man?”
“I don't know. He was wearing a black jacket. He went past the big mirror.”
“There are many men in this house.”
“He had a shiny thing on his hand.”
Grace brushed Lily's curls back. “Sweetheart, you were frightened. You don't have to remember everything.”
“But I do remember.”
Victor's eyes sharpened.
“What did the shiny thing look like?”
Lily lifted her little hand and touched her ring finger.
“Like a silver snake.”
Victor wore a silver ring shaped like a coiled serpent.
He tucked that hand behind his back.
“Children imagine things,” he said.
Grace looked at him. “Can we go home now?”
“Of course.”
He gave them permission to leave, then waited until the door closed before his smile disappeared.
Across the city, Lucas woke from a restless sleep.
A nurse had placed his original inhaler and personal belongings in a clear hospital bag. He asked for the inhaler.
The nurse handed it over.
Lucas examined the mouthpiece. Something about it seemed wrong. The cap was not seated properly, and a faint chemical smell lingered around the opening.
He called for the physician.
After a brief examination, the doctor asked him not to use it until it could be tested.
“Could it have been contaminated?” Lucas asked.
“Possibly. We need to analyze it.”
Lucas stared at the device.
He had survived gunfire, ambushes, and two attempts on his life. He had never imagined that someone might use his own medical equipment against him.
He called Daniel.
Daniel Moretti was Lucas's cousin and the one person in the family who had never been afraid to disagree with him.
“Find out who handled my medication,” Lucas said.
“Are you sure it wasn't a medical reaction?”
“No.”
A pause.
“What happened?”
“A little girl saved me. I want her name, her mother's name, and every detail of how she got into the house.”
Daniel exhaled. “I'll handle it.”
“And Daniel?”
“Yeah?”
“Keep Victor out of it.”
The silence on the line lasted a second too long.
“Understood,” Daniel said.
Lucas ended the call and looked toward the window.
For three years, he had lived with the memory of the rainy night that took Isabella and Daniel from him. He had believed grief was the worst thing a man could carry.
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Now someone had tried to kill him in his own home.
And a six-year-old child had seen something.
