Chapter 2 - The Billionaire’s Suspicion
By lunchtime, Alessandro had received Elena's personnel file.
It contained almost nothing.
That bothered him more than a detailed file would have.
Elena Torres.
Age twenty-nine.
Born in Montana.
Temporary domestic placement.
No criminal record.
No outstanding debts listed.
No meaningful employment history for the previous two years.
No emergency contact.
No spouse.
No listed partner.
Pregnancy: not disclosed during placement.
Alessandro read the file twice.
"She's missing two years."
Owen stood across from his desk.
"We're checking."
"Where was she?"
"We don't know."
"Find out."
Owen nodded.
Alessandro turned toward the windows.
Below them, vineyards rolled across the valley.
Normally the sight calmed him.
That day it didn't.
Something about Elena bothered him.
She had looked at Midnight without fear.
She had spoken to Alessandro without flinching.
And she'd walked into a paddock filled with twelve armed men as though she belonged there.
No frightened employee behaved that way.
No desperate woman with nothing to lose should have that much calm.
Alessandro suspected everyone.
It was how he survived.
His phone rang.
His sister, Lucia.
"Did you hear what happened?"
"Yes."
"You almost lost three guards."
"They're alive."
"That's not the point."
"I know."
Lucia paused.
"Who was that woman?"
Alessandro looked at the security monitor on his desk.
Elena was pushing a cart through a hallway.
"An employee."
"She's pregnant."
"I noticed."
"And she walked into Midnight's paddock."
"Yes."
Lucia laughed softly.
"You sound impressed."
"I'm not."
"You are."
Alessandro ended the call.
He hated when Lucia could read him.
That afternoon, he found Elena in the laundry room.
She was folding towels.
He stood in the doorway.
She noticed him and straightened.
"Mr. Salvatore."
"How are you feeling?"
She blinked.
"Fine."
"You were standing in a paddock this morning."
"Yes."
"You're eight months pregnant."
"I know."
"You should be resting."
A faint smile touched her lips.
"That's what everyone keeps telling me."
Alessandro stepped inside.
"Why aren't you?"
"Because babies don't care about schedules."
"Neither do horses."
She looked at him.
For the first time, something almost like amusement appeared in her eyes.
"You came to thank me?"
"No."
"Then why?"
"I have questions."
"I figured."
"Who is the baby's father?"
Elena froze.
The change was instant.
Her expression closed.
"That's personal."
Alessandro's voice softened.
"I employ you."
"You employ my labor."
He stared at her.
She lowered her eyes.
"I don't discuss my private life."
"Why?"
"Because nobody who pays my bills needs to know."
That answer surprised him.
Not because it was rude.
Because it was reasonable.
He had expected fear.
Instead, he found boundaries.
"Do you need medical attention?"
"No."
"Money?"
She hesitated.
"I need my paycheck."
"I can arrange additional compensation."
"No."
"Why?"
"I don't want charity."
"You think I'm offering charity?"
"I think you're trying to understand why I don't fit into your world."
Alessandro stared at her.
She had read him.
Again.
"You don't know my world."
"No."
"But I know rich men ask questions when they already think they know the answers."
Something inside Alessandro shifted.
She wasn't trying to impress him.
She wasn't flirting.
She wasn't seeking protection.
She simply didn't care what he thought.
That was new.
"You're dismissed."
Her eyes widened.
"Am I fired?"
"No."
He turned.
"You don't have to be afraid of me."
Elena looked down at the towel in her hands.
"I'm not."
Alessandro stopped.
Those three words followed him into the hallway.
That evening, his investigation team returned.
Owen entered his study.
"We found her."
"Where?"
"Montana."
"I know that."
"No. I mean we found the missing two years."
Alessandro looked up.
Owen placed a folder on the desk.
Elena had spent several months working at a ranch in Idaho.
Then she moved to Nevada.
Then California.
No criminal activity.
No hidden money.
No suspicious contacts.
But there was something else.
She had been married.
Alessandro stared at the page.
Marriage certificate.
Elena Torres.
Spouse: Gabriel Mercer.
Date: three years earlier.
Alessandro scanned the following documents.
Divorce finalized eleven months ago.
He looked at Owen.
"Where is Mercer?"
"Dead."
Silence.
"When?"
"Eight months ago."
"Cause?"
"Work accident."
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
"What kind of accident?"
"Construction site collapse."
That was interesting.
Gabriel Mercer had worked as a site foreman for a company indirectly connected to one of Alessandro's competitors.
Not unusual.
Until Owen placed another document in front of him.
A lawsuit.
Gabriel had been preparing to expose safety violations at the company before his death.
Alessandro looked up.
"Who was the company owner?"
Owen answered:
"Victor Dane."
Alessandro knew the name.
Victor Dane had spent years trying to destroy the Salvatore shipping network.
Not through open competition.
Through sabotage.
Bribery.
Rumors.
Alessandro had always considered him a dangerous man.
Now Elena's dead husband was connected to him.
The billionaire leaned back.
"Did Elena know?"
"We don't know."
"Find out."
The next day, Alessandro saw Elena carrying a box of books toward the library.
One fell.
He picked it up.
She stared at him.
"Thank you."
He looked at the cover.
A book about horse behavior.
"You've been reading about them."
"Midnight."
"Why?"
"Because I want to understand him."
Alessandro handed the book back.
"You've known him one day."
"That's long enough to hurt him if I make assumptions."
He studied her.
"Are you always this careful?"
"Only with living things."
He almost smiled.
Then he noticed something.
Elena suddenly pressed a hand against her belly.
She closed her eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"The baby moved."
Alessandro looked uncomfortable.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the baby moved."
"No, I mean—is something wrong?"
She smiled.
"No."
Then a small motion pushed against the fabric of her uniform.
Alessandro saw it.
For one brief moment, the intimidating billionaire looked almost startled.
Elena laughed softly.
"She's active."
"You know it's a girl?"
"Yes."
"You chose a name?"
Elena looked down.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"I wanted to wait until she arrived."
He nodded.
Something about that answer affected him unexpectedly.
"Why isn't the father around?"
The smile disappeared.
"He isn't part of our lives."
"Dead?"
"No."
"Then why?"
Elena's voice lowered.
"Because some people are better left behind."
Alessandro understood the feeling.
He said nothing.
That afternoon, he gave orders that no one was to discuss Elena's pregnancy.
But he had one more order for Owen.
"Put cameras near the west wing."
Owen hesitated.
"Do you think she's a threat?"
"No."
"Then why?"
"Because I don't know who she is."
What Alessandro didn't know was that Elena was standing around the corner listening.
She had heard every word.
And for the first time since arriving at the estate, she wondered whether she had made a terrible mistake.
Because she had not come to Salvatore property because of the money alone.
She had come because she needed to disappear.
And someone had found her anyway.
That night, Elena lay awake in her small staff apartment.
Her hand rested on her belly.
She felt the baby move.
"It's okay, little one."
She whispered into the darkness.
"He doesn't know."
A sound came from outside.
Footsteps.
Elena sat up.
Someone was standing near her door.
She held her breath.
The footsteps stopped.
Then came a soft knock.
Elena didn't answer.
The knock came again.
Three slow taps.
Then a man's voice whispered through the door.
"Elena."
Her blood turned cold.
She knew that voice.
May you like
It belonged to Gabriel's older brother.
And he had found her.
