Chapter 3 - THE GOLDEN CAGE
The East Wing of Villa Moretti was a gilded cage. The master guest suite was larger than any apartment I had ever lived in, adorned with Renaissance paintings, silk draperies, and a marble bathroom that felt absurdly luxurious given the circumstances. But the heavy oak door was locked from the outside, and the shadows of two armed guards were visible beneath the gap. Emma, exhausted by the drama, had fallen asleep on the king-sized bed, curled into a tiny ball, missing her blue rabbit.
I paced the floor, my mind racing. Thomas had been a traitor? A mafia associate? The thought made my blood run cold. If Alessandro Moretti believed my husband had betrayed him, our lives were forfeit. In this world, blood paid for blood.
Hours passed. The sun dipped below the Milanese skyline, casting long, menacing shadows across the manicured gardens outside my window. Just as I was considering trying to break the reinforced glass to escape, the lock clicked. The door swung open, and Alessandro stepped inside. He had discarded his suit jacket, his white dress shirt unbuttoned at the collar, revealing a glimpse of a dark tattoo on his chest. He held a tray of food—warm pasta, fresh bread, and milk.
He set the tray on a small glass table and gestured for me to sit. "Eat. You need your strength."
I crossed my arms, refusing to move. "I don't want your food. I want my daughter and I to leave. We know nothing about whatever Thomas did."
Alessandro sighed, running a hand through his dark hair, looking suddenly weary. "If I let you walk out that door, Clara—may I call you Clara?—you will be dead before you reach the front gates. The families saw the toy. They know your husband was the leak. Don Ricci and the others will not rest until every loose end is tied up. Right now, my protection is the only thing keeping you breathing."
I swallowed hard, the reality of his words sinking in. "Why are you protecting us? Vivian wanted you to kill me."
"Vivian is a fool," he said, his voice hardening. "Our engagement is a strategic alliance, nothing more. As for why I am protecting you... your daughter has a brave heart. She stood up to a room full of monsters to defend her mother. I respect loyalty above all else." He paused, pulling a small velvet pouch from his pocket. He tossed it onto the table. It landed with a heavy, metallic clink. "I cut open the rabbit. Do you want to know what your husband hid inside?"
My breath hitched. I stepped forward and opened the pouch. Inside was a small, encrypted flash drive, wrapped in a blood-stained piece of fabric.
"That drive contains the offshore account numbers and shipping manifests from the Russian syndicate," Alessandro explained, his eyes never leaving mine. "But it also contains something else. Audio recordings. Thomas wasn't a traitor, Clara. He was a pawn. He found out who the real traitor inside my organization was, and he hid the evidence in the safest place he could think of: his daughter's favorite toy, knowing no mafia enforcer would ever look twice at a child's stuffed animal."
May you like
"Who?" I whispered, my hands trembling. "Who killed him?"
"I don't know yet," Alessandro admitted, his jaw clenching. "The files are heavily encrypted. My tech team is working on them now. Until we crack it, you are the most dangerous woman in Italy. And I will not let anything happen to you."
