Dominic Vale had hired eighteen nannies to control his traumatized son, but when Noah attacked me, I noticed something in his eyes that made me question everything. The eighteenth nanny fled the mansion with blood running down her forehead, screaming that four-year-old Noah Vale was “not right”—and by that afternoon, I was kneeling in front of the same little boy while one of Chicago’s most feared mafia bosses watched from the staircase.

I completely froze, the heavy leather journal slipping slightly in my sweaty, trembling palms.

Silas, the man who was supposed to protect this family, was the very monster planning to destroy it.

"Turn around slowly, and do not make a single sound," Silas commanded, his voice dripping with lethal intent.

I turned to face him, instinctively pushing Noah behind my legs to shield his tiny body from the massive weapon.

Silas looked down at the terrified boy with a cruel, mocking smile that made my stomach churn with sheer disgust.

"It is a genuine shame the boy survived the crash two years ago," Silas sneered, casually adjusting the silencer on his pistol.

"Elena figured out I was stealing from the organization, so I had to cut her brakes, but her annoying child has been a loose end ever since."

He reached out to grab Noah, but my survival instincts completely overrode my paralyzing fear.

I hurled the heavy leather journal directly into Silas's face with every ounce of strength I possessed in my arms.

The thick book struck his nose with a sickening crunch, causing the gun to fire a suppressed shot wildly into the ceiling.

I grabbed Noah into my arms and bolted through the connecting library doors, sprinting wildly into the maze of abandoned bedrooms.

"You cannot hide in here forever, you stupid girl!" Silas roared angrily, his heavy footsteps thundering down the corridor behind us.

I ducked into a dark, velvet-draped master bathroom and locked the heavy brass bolt securely into place.

Noah buried his face into my neck, completely silent but shaking violently with the trauma of his worst nightmare returning.

I pulled my cell phone from my pocket to call the police, only to find the screen completely black and devoid of any cellular signal.

Silas had activated a professional electronic jammer before entering the wing, ensuring nobody could call for outside help.

Heavy fists began pounding aggressively against the locked bathroom door, splintering the expensive wood with each massive strike.

"I will make this quick if you open the door, Clara!" Silas shouted over the sound of breaking wood.

The Clumsy Maid Bathed His Dog—Then The Mafia Boss Said She Wasn’t Leavi...

She found her husband with another woman and walked away so quietly that...

The Mafia Boss Asked a Disabled Widow If She Was Okay

I backed into the marble shower, desperately searching for any possible weapon, when a hidden panel on the wall suddenly clicked open.

Dominic Vale stepped out of the secret passageway holding a tactical shotgun, his white dress shirt completely soaked in fresh blood.

Chapter 4 - The Betrayal