Chapter 1 - The Hidden Truth
I stepped out from the shadows of the marble hallway.
The heavy silence of my unexpected return shattered the peaceful atmosphere of the kitchen.
Clara gasped loudly, her hand trembling as she accidentally dropped the silver cake knife onto the counter.
Avery and Sophie turned their heads in surprise before their faces lit up with pure joy.
They abandoned their plates of frosted cake and sprinted across the room to throw their arms around my legs.
I dropped my leather briefcase and knelt down to hug my daughters tighter than I ever had before.
In that brief moment, holding their tiny bodies, I realized exactly how much of their lives I had been missing.
I looked up over their heads and locked eyes with Clara.
She stood frozen in her gray housekeeping uniform, clearly expecting me to fire her on the spot for undermining my authority.
Instead, I softly thanked her for knowing exactly how to care for the most precious things in my world.
Relief washed over her pale face, but a shadow of deep anxiety remained in her eyes.
I asked the girls to take their desserts into the living room because I needed to speak with Clara alone.
Once the kitchen doors swung shut, the air between us grew incredibly tense.
I demanded to know if Patricia had ever threatened her or done anything unusual around the children.
Clara hesitated for a long time, nervously twisting the fabric of her apron between her fingers.
She finally admitted in a hushed whisper that she had caught Patricia sneaking into my private study late at night.
My blood instantly ran cold because that room contained the financial ledgers for my entire criminal empire.
I left Clara in the kitchen and sprinted down the hallway to my locked office.
I bypassed the biometric scanner, pushed open the heavy oak doors, and frantically searched the room.
When I ran my hand along the underside of my mahogany desk, my fingers brushed against a small, magnetic square.
I pulled it free and stared in absolute horror at a military-grade audio transmitter.
The tiny red light on the device was blinking steadily.
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Patricia had not just been trying to fire a maid.
She had been broadcasting every single one of my syndicate's secrets directly to the Navarro cartel.
