Chapter 3 - THE ECHOES OF THE INFIRMARY
I did as he said.
I locked the door and sat on a wooden stool, pressing the warm towel to my face.
I could hear the distant sounds of the mansion waking up in the middle of the night.
The heavy thud of boots on the stairs.
The muffled shouting of men.
The DeLuca estate was no longer a quiet sanctuary; it was a hive that had been poked.
I thought about my mother.
I thought about the hospital room where the machines hummed a constant, expensive song.
I had spent every waking hour worrying about the next payment.
I had skipped meals.
I had walked miles in the rain to save bus fare.
And now, a man I barely knew—a man the world feared—had promised to erase it all.
I wondered why.
Why would a man like Carmine DeLuca care about a maid?
Rumor said his own father had been a man of iron and blood.
Rumor said Carmine had survived things that would have broken anyone else.
Maybe he saw a reflection of his own past in my bruised face.
Or maybe he just hated when his property was disrespected.
Either way, the invisible wall between us had shattered.
An hour passed.
Then two.
The sun began to peek over the Boise hills, casting long, orange shadows across the kitchen.
There was a light knock on the door.
“Ivy? It’s David, Mr. DeLuca’s personal assistant.”
I hesitated, remembering Carmine’s order.
“Mr. DeLuca sent me,” the voice continued. “He said to tell you the 'copper is clean.'”
That was the code.
I unlocked the door.
David was a young man in a sharp suit, looking remarkably composed for five in the morning.
He held a folder and a set of keys.
“Mr. DeLuca has arranged a car for you,” David said.
“You are going to the private wing of St. Jude’s.”
“Your mother is already being transferred there.”
I gasped. “Transferred? But the costs—”
“Are settled,” David interrupted with a polite smile.
“Mr. DeLuca doesn't do things halfway, Ivy.”
“There is a specialist waiting for her. And a room waiting for you.”
“I have a shift,” I protested, looking at the unfinished laundry in the corner.
David’s smile widened slightly.
“You don't have a shift anymore, Ivy.”
“You’ve been promoted.”
“Promoted to what?”
“To a guest of the house. Until you’re healed.”
I walked out of the kitchen, my legs feeling like jelly.
As we passed through the main hall, I saw the "evidence team."
They were scrubbing the gravel near the service entrance.
There was a dark stain on the stones that hadn't been there before.
I didn't ask what it was.
I didn't ask where Rocco was.
The silence of the mansion told me everything I needed to know.
Rocco had been erased.
May you like
And I was finally being seen.
***
