Chapter 1 - The Traitor
The lock clicked with a heavy, metallic finality that echoed through the silent nursery.
Lorenzo spun around, his expensive pistol now aimed squarely at the heavy oak door.
I pulled little Leo closer to my chest, shielding his fragile body as he finally drifted into a peaceful, nourished sleep.
His tiny heart was beating steadily against mine, temporarily filling the agonizing void left by my lost daughter, Lily.
The sleeping night nurse, Greta, suddenly stirred in her velvet armchair, her eyes snapping open completely alert.
She had never been asleep at all, and the half-empty wineglass was nothing but a calculated prop.
Greta slowly reached into the deep pocket of her pristine white uniform.
"I told them you were too soft to ignore a dying baby, Elena," the sinister voice behind the door whispered again.
My blood ran completely cold as I recognized that raspy, cruel tone.
It was Marcus, my violent ex-boyfriend, the exact man whose brutality had caused the death of my unborn baby.
Lorenzo looked at me with lethal fury, his jaw clenched tight as he demanded to know how a filthy street thug knew his maid's name.
I desperately wanted to explain that I was just a victim running from my past, but I simply did not have the time.
Before I could speak a single word, Greta pulled a suppressed pistol from her pocket and aimed it directly at Lorenzo's back.
"Drop the gun, Mr. Rossi, or I will kill your precious heir right now," Greta ordered with a sickening, victorious smile.
Lorenzo froze like a statue, his dark eyes darting between the traitorous nurse and the locked mahogany door.
I realized in absolute horror that Greta had been deliberately starving Leo for weeks to slowly destroy Lorenzo's bloodline.
She was the true, silent poison living inside this impenetrable mansion.
"You will never make it out of this estate alive, Greta," Lorenzo warned, his voice a low, incredibly dangerous growl.
Greta just laughed, stepping closer to the crib while keeping her lethal weapon perfectly steady.
"I don't need to leave the estate, sir, because your greatest rivals are already inside the front gates," she replied.
As if on cue, the deafening sound of heavy automatic gunfire erupted from the courtyard below, shattering the quiet night.
Lorenzo's elite security team was actively being slaughtered by a massive, highly coordinated invading force.
I held my breath in sheer terror, knowing that Marcus was standing just inches away, ready to kick down the nursery door.
Lorenzo slowly lowered his weapon to his side, pretending to completely surrender to the treacherous nurse.
But as Greta’s arrogant eyes flicked toward the window to watch the courtyard battle, Lorenzo violently lunged forward with terrifying speed.
May you like
A suppressed gunshot pierced the tense air, and Lorenzo staggered backward with a sharp, agonizing grunt of pain.
Before Greta could adjust her aim to fire a second, fatal shot, thick black smoke began pouring violently through the overhead ventilation grates.
