Chapter 2 - The Midnight Interrogation
Lorenzo pulled the loaded pistol from his shoulder holster and sprinted out of the dressing room.
He took the marble staircase two steps at a time, bypassing the bewildered guards in the main hallway.
He reached the third floor, where the domestic staff slept in small, modest rooms.
The door to Clara's room was slightly ajar, the lock violently splintered.
Lorenzo kicked the door fully open and leveled his weapon at the dark shadows inside.
Clara was huddled on the floor behind a flipped mattress, shielding Rosie with her own body.
The window across the room had a perfectly round bullet hole shattered through the thick glass.
Lorenzo holstered his weapon and quickly pulled Clara to her feet.
He dragged both the mother and the crying toddler into the windowless hallway.
Clara was trembling violently, her face pale as she clutched the child to her chest.
"You are Elena," Lorenzo said, offering no room for debate or denial.
Clara froze, her breath catching in her throat as she looked up at the mafia boss.
She slowly nodded, terrified that her ultimate secret had been discovered.
"Sofia begged me to take the baby and run before the bomb went off," Clara whispered.
Lorenzo felt his entire world violently shift off its axis.
"Sofia survived long enough to give birth?" Lorenzo demanded, his voice cracking with raw emotion.
Clara shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
"She went into premature labor the night before the explosion," Clara confessed.
"She knew someone in your inner circle was planning a coup, and they wanted your heir dead."
Lorenzo realized that Rosie was not just a maid's daughter.
She was his own flesh and blood.
Before he could pull his daughter into his arms, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket.
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It was a text message from an unknown, encrypted number.
The message read, "The maid and the brat are still breathing, finish the job before Lorenzo finds out."
