Chapter 1 - The Viper in the Nest
The heavy silence in the penthouse felt like a physical weight pressing against my chest.
Gabriel did not yell, nor did he pull his weapon.
He simply stood up slowly, his eyes entirely devoid of light.
The terrified four-year-old girl shrank back against the pillows.
Lily had just shattered the foundation of her father's empire with a single, devastating sentence.
Gabriel crouched back down and softly promised his daughter that no one would ever hurt her again.
He turned his intense gaze to me and ordered me to lock the bedroom door from the inside.
He explicitly warned me not to open it for anyone except him.
I nodded quickly, my hands trembling as I rushed to the heavy mahogany door.
Gabriel stepped out into the hallway, and the door clicked shut behind him.
I was left completely alone with a traumatized child and a deadly mafia secret.
I sat on the edge of the bed and offered Lily a small cup of water.
This time, she did not flinch away or hide under her pink duvet.
She took a tiny sip, her large, fearful eyes constantly watching the locked door.
I started humming that old lullaby again to keep her fragile nerves calm.
It was the only weapon I had in a terrifying world of billionaires and bullets.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed from the cold marble hallway outside.
I heard Gabriel's deep voice commanding someone to back away immediately.
A woman's sharp, elegant voice cut fiercely through the rising tension.
She loudly proclaimed that she had every right to see her poor, grieving niece.
My blood ran completely cold as I realized who was standing on the other side of the wood.
It was Aunt Celeste, the woman who had orchestrated the murder of Lily's mother.
I backed away from the door, pulling Lily securely into my arms to shield her.
The digital keypad on the bedroom door suddenly beeped loudly.
Someone had actively overridden Gabriel's ultimate security protocols.
The red security light instantly flashed to a bright green.
The heavy door swung open to reveal a stunningly beautiful woman wearing a black designer coat.
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She looked at me with a terrifying, hollow smile that did not reach her eyes.
In her perfectly manicured hand, she held a photograph of my mother lying helplessly in her hospital bed.
