Chapter 4 - A DANGEROUS VISITOR
Three days passed. The estate remained under high-alert lockdown.
Despite the tension, an unlikely bond was forming in the main house. Ethan, recovered and restless from being kept indoors, spent his afternoons in the sunroom playing building blocks and board games with Lily.
Lily’s presence seemed to break the gloomy atmosphere that had hung over the mansion since Dominic's wife had passed away four years ago. For the first time, laughter echoed through the high-ceilinged halls.
I stood by the window of the grand parlor, polishing a glass display case, watching Dominic sit on the patio outside. He was watching Ethan and Lily build a toy fortress on the lawn.
"He smiles more when she's around," a voice said behind me.
I turned to see Dr. Harris walking in, carrying his leather medical briefcase.
"He's protective of his family," I said quietly.
"Dominic hasn't trusted anyone with his son since his wife died," Dr. Harris said softly, setting his case down. "He hired dozens of high-end nannies and guards, but Ethan remained distant. Lily changed that in three days."
Before I could reply, the heavy front doors swung open. Frankie walked into the hallway, his face tight with concern. Behind him was a tall man in an expensive navy suit, accompanied by two bodyguards carrying leather briefcases.
It was Lorenzo Valenti—the head of the rival family himself.
My heart dropped into my stomach.
"Frankie!" I whispered sharply, stepping back behind the display case. "Why is he here?"
"He requested a sit-down under old territory treaty rules," Frankie growled softly, stepping past me toward the parlor. "He claims he came to clear his name."
Dominic entered the room from the patio doors. His eyes narrowed the instant he saw Lorenzo standing in his foyer. The air in the room instantly turned frigid.
"You have five minutes, Lorenzo," Dominic said, his voice dropping into a deadly calm. "And you better use them to explain why I shouldn't end this feud on my front rug."
Lorenzo raised his hands in a fake gesture of peace, a slimy, confident smile playing on his lips. "Dominic, please. I'm a businessman. I came here to tell you that the man who poisoned your boy wasn't working under my orders."
"He used your shell company in Newark to pay off my assistant coordinator," Dominic countered coldly.
"He used my company name to frame me," Lorenzo shot back, his smile disappearing. "Someone wants us to go to war, Dominic. Someone who profits if the Morettis and Valentis wipe each other out."
From the doorway of the sunroom, a small footstep sounded.
Lily had wandered out, holding a stuffed rabbit, looking for Ethan's missing blue block.
Lorenzo’s eyes darted down to her. His smile returned, cold and calculating. "Ah. This must be the famous little girl who ruined the plan. The housekeeper's daughter."
He took a step toward Lily. "Quite a perceptive little thing, isn't she?"
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In a flash that moved faster than the eye could follow, Dominic stepped directly between Lorenzo and my daughter, his hand vanishing inside his jacket.
"Take one more step toward her," Dominic whispered, his eyes blazing with murderous fury, "and you won't leave this county alive."
