Chapter 2 - Lorenzo Hired Me to Calm His Daughter—But on My First Night I Found a Warning Hidden Inside Mia’s Favorite DollThe Rossi estate was enormous.
Stone walls.
Iron gates.
Security cameras.
Guards stationed at every entrance.
It didn't look like a home.
It looked like a fortress.
Lorenzo's assistant met me at the gate.
“Miss Seymour.”
“Karen.”
He nodded.
“I'm Thomas.”
He escorted me inside.
Mia was waiting in the library.
The moment she saw me, she smiled.
That surprised me.
“Karen.”
I crouched.
“Hi, Mia.”
“Did you come back?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Lorenzo stood near the window.
He was wearing a dark suit.
He watched us silently.
Mia grabbed my hand.
“Come see.”
She pulled me toward a shelf.
There were dozens of dolls.
One doll stood apart from the others.
A porcelain girl with blue eyes and a white dress.
“This is Bella.”
“She’s beautiful.”
Mia nodded.
“My mommy gave her to me.”
I looked at Lorenzo.
He turned away.
Something about that sentence hurt him.
I didn't ask.
The first week passed surprisingly well.
Mia liked routines.
She hated loud noises.
She hated unexpected touch.
She hated adults who talked around her instead of to her.
I understood.
We created a schedule.
Breakfast.
Schoolwork.
Walks.
Drawing.
Quiet time.
Dinner.
Story.
Sleep.
Her behavior improved.
She started eating more.
She laughed.
She spoke.
And Lorenzo noticed.
One evening, he found us in the garden.
Mia was lying on the grass, looking at clouds.
“Papa.”
He smiled.
“What?”
“Karen says clouds don't have rules.”
Lorenzo looked at me.
I shrugged.
“They don't.”
Mia smiled.
He sat beside her.
She leaned against him.
I watched.
The feared Lorenzo Rossi looked like an ordinary father.
For a few minutes.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
He stood.
“I need to take this.”
He walked away.
Mia whispered,
“Daddy is sad.”
“Why?”
“People keep trying to hurt him.”
I stared.
“Who?”
She shook her head.
“He says I'm too young.”
That night, Mia couldn't sleep.
I found her holding Bella.
“What's wrong?”
“She's broken.”
“Who?”
She showed me the doll.
The seam along its back was slightly open.
“I think someone opened her.”
I examined it.
There was something hard inside.
I carefully unstitched the seam.
A small folded paper fell out.
I unfolded it.
Three words.
STOP ASKING QUESTIONS.
My blood went cold.
Mia looked at me.
“What does it say?”
“Nothing.”
She frowned.
“That's a lie.”
I looked toward the door.
“Go get your father.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“He gets angry.”
“Not at you.”
“Sometimes at everyone.”
I understood.
“Okay.”
I hid the note.
Then I heard footsteps.
Lorenzo entered.
“What happened?”
I handed him the paper.
His face changed.
“Where did you find this?”
“Inside Bella.”
“Who knew you had this doll?”
“Mia.”
He looked at her.
She lowered her head.
Lorenzo crouched.
“Did someone touch your doll?”
She shook her head.
“Did anyone come into your room?”
“No.”
He stood.
“Security.”
Three men entered.
“Lock down this wing.”
Mia grabbed my hand.
“What does it mean?”
Lorenzo looked at me.
“It means someone made a mistake.”
He picked up the note.
“And I intend to find out who.”
That night, security reviewed every camera.
Nobody entered Mia's room.
Nobody touched the doll.
Except—
the housekeeper.
She claimed she was cleaning.
Lorenzo dismissed her.
But I wasn't convinced.
The next morning, the housekeeper was found dead.
My stomach turned.
Lorenzo didn't let me see.
But I heard enough.
He told everyone the woman had died in an accident.
Yet his security chief looked at me.
His expression said otherwise.
I asked Lorenzo.
“Was she killed?”
He stared at me.
“You don't want to know.”
“I already know.”
He sighed.
“Yes.”
I swallowed.
“Because of the note?”
“Maybe.”
“What are you protecting Mia from?”
“Everything.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“It is the only one I have.”
He walked away.
I followed.
“She deserves the truth.”
“So do you.”
He stopped.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“You've been targeted too.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
“Because you work for me.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
He handed me a folder.
Inside were photographs.
Me leaving my apartment.
Emily entering the hospital.
My mother.
My family.
I looked up.
“Who took these?”
“People watching me.”
“Then they've been watching me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Lorenzo's voice became low.
“Because they believe you are my weakness.”
I stared.
“I barely know you.”
“I know.”
“That doesn't stop them.”
“No.”
He looked away.
Then Mia screamed upstairs.
We ran.
Her bedroom window was open.
The curtains moved in the wind.
Bella was on the floor.
And across the mirror, written in red:
ONE GIRL WILL DIE.
Mia clung to me.
Lorenzo's face became terrifyingly calm.
“Get her out.”
Security moved.
I held Mia.
She cried into my shoulder.
“Don't let them take me.”
“I won't.”
Lorenzo looked at me.
For the first time, his eyes showed something beyond anger.
Fear.
He knew whoever was after his daughter had reached inside his home.
And now I understood.
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I wasn't just a nanny.
I was standing between Mia and someone who wanted her dead.
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