Chapter 2 - The Maid Who Knew Too Much
Lily arrived at the Rossi estate before noon.
She was furious.
That was how she handled fear.
She turned it into anger.
“You live here?”
She stared at the mansion through the car window.
“For two years?”
“Yes.”
“And you never once told me it belonged to a mafia boss?”
“I wasn't exactly allowed to send you brochures.”
She glared.
“I thought you worked for some rich investor.”
“I do.”
“A rich investor who has armed guards?”
“A lot of investments need security.”
“Norah.”
I sighed.
“Lily.”
She folded her arms.
“You're terrible at lying.”
“I know.”
The car stopped.
Two guards opened the doors.
Lily stepped out.
She looked toward the mansion.
“I don't like this.”
“Neither do I.”
Lorenzo was waiting on the steps.
He wore no tie.
His sleeves were rolled up.
His expression was unreadable.
Lily looked at him.
Then at me.
Then back at him.
“You're him.”
Lorenzo raised an eyebrow.
“That depends.”
“The guy from the headlines.”
“Yes.”
“The one people say is dangerous.”
“Yes.”
“The one who owns the hospital wing where I get treatment?”
“Yes.”
She looked at me.
“You've been hiding an entire billionaire mafia boss from me?”
“Technically, I hid the mafia boss part.”
Lorenzo's mouth twitched.
It was almost a smile.
Lily noticed.
“So you do have a sense of humor.”
“Rarely.”
He gestured inside.
“Come in.”
Lily followed.
That afternoon, Lorenzo assigned two guards to her.
She hated them.
I hated them.
But neither of us argued.
Because after the photograph, we understood.
Someone was watching.
Someone had access to the hospital.
Someone knew about my sister.
And someone knew enough about the Rossi estate to predict Lorenzo's movements.
That narrowed the circle dramatically.
Lorenzo summoned every senior member of his organization.
They gathered in the library.
I wasn't supposed to be there.
But Lorenzo had ordered me to stay.
I stood near the wall.
Invisible.
Or at least, I used to be.
Now every man in that room knew my name.
They watched me.
Some with suspicion.
Some with contempt.
One man laughed.
“A maid?”
Lorenzo turned.
“What?”
“You're trusting a maid with security information?”
“She saved your life.”
The man's expression changed.
Lorenzo continued.
“Anyone who has a problem with that can leave.”
Nobody moved.
The meeting began.
Vincent was missing.
Thomas was missing.
Giovanni was missing.
The three men had one thing in common.
They had all served Lorenzo for years.
And one of them had betrayed him.
The question was which.
During the meeting, a guard entered.
“Boss. We found something.”
He placed a small black device on the table.
“A tracker.”
“Where?”
“Under the sedan.”
Lorenzo looked at me.
The sedan Vincent had planned to drive.
My stomach dropped.
He turned to the men.
“How long?”
“Installed yesterday.”
“By whom?”
“No fingerprints.”
Lorenzo looked at the tracker.
Then at me.
“Norah.”
“Yes?”
“When did Vincent last use that car?”
“Yesterday.”
“He didn't.”
Vincent's voice came from the doorway.
Everyone turned.
He stood there.
No weapon visible.
Lorenzo's hand moved toward his own.
“Where have you been?”
Vincent smiled.
“Outside.”
“Why?”
“Checking whether my phone was compromised.”
Lorenzo stared.
“And?”
Vincent held up his phone.
“Someone cloned it.”
The room went silent.
Vincent dropped a small device onto the table.
“This was inside my coat.”
Lorenzo looked at me.
I understood immediately.
Someone had wanted Vincent to receive false orders.
Someone wanted Vincent to drive Lorenzo somewhere.
And someone wanted the car tracked.
The entire assassination had been carefully constructed.
Then Lily screamed.
We heard it from the hallway.
Everyone ran.
I got there first.
Lily was standing beside a broken window.
She was holding a photograph.
Her hands were shaking.
It showed me.
Walking through the hospital.
Beside me was Lily.
On the back were four words.
SHE WAS NEVER THE TARGET.
I looked at Lorenzo.
He understood.
The assassination hadn't been about killing him.
It had been about drawing out someone else.
Me.
I whispered:
“Why?”
Lorenzo took the photograph.
His face darkened.
“That's what we're going to find out.”
He ordered the entire property searched.
I returned to my room.
For the first time in two years, I locked my door.
A knock came twenty minutes later.
“Norah.”
Lorenzo.
I opened it.
He stood alone.
“I need to ask you something.”
“What?”
“Why did you choose this job?”
“My sister.”
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
He waited.
“I had no money.”
I looked down.
“I applied everywhere.”
“Why here?”
“I was told the estate paid enough to cover medical expenses.”
“That wasn't all.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Then tell me.”
I closed my eyes.
“My father.”
Lorenzo went still.
I had never said that name inside the mansion.
“My father worked for the Rossi family.”
He stared at me.
“Who was he?”
“Patrick Sullivan.”
Silence.
Lorenzo's face changed.
He knew the name.
Everyone in that world did.
Patrick Sullivan had been one of Lorenzo's father's most trusted accountants.
He disappeared fifteen years earlier.
The official story was that he had stolen money and run.
Lorenzo whispered:
“Your father betrayed my family.”
I looked at him.
“That is what you were told.”
“What do you believe?”
“That he didn't.”
He studied me.
“Why?”
“Because my mother received a letter after he disappeared.”
“From him?”
“Yes.”
“What did it say?”
I hesitated.
“He said he had discovered something terrible.”
Lorenzo's voice lowered.
“What?”
“I don't know.”
“Where is the letter?”
“Dead.”
“What?”
“My mother destroyed it.”
“Why?”
“She was afraid.”
Lorenzo stared at me.
Then he asked:
“Why come to work here?”
I met his eyes.
“Because I wanted to find out what happened to him.”
Silence.
The room seemed smaller.
“You've been investigating me.”
“No.”
“The Rossi family.”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“My father.”
Lorenzo looked away.
Finally, he said:
“If Patrick Sullivan didn't betray my family, someone framed him.”
I nodded.
“I think so.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because until today, I thought you would kill me.”
He almost smiled.
“Fair.”
He turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
“Norah.”
“Yes?”
“Don't disappear on me.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because you're the first person in years who told me the truth before I had to threaten it out of them.”
He left.
I closed the door.
My hands were shaking.
Because I realized something terrifying.
I had spent two years trying to survive inside Lorenzo Rossi's mansion.
May you like
Now he was helping me uncover the truth about my father.
And the person who had murdered my past might still be living inside these walls.
