Chapter 1 - I’ll Take Care of You“I’ll take care of you.”
The words were so small that, for a moment, they barely seemed to belong in the enormous room.
Then Alessandro Moretti stopped breathing.
Not literally. But close enough.
His fingers froze around the broken piece of butter cookie Emma had just handed him. His gray eyes locked onto my three-year-old daughter, and every trace of amusement disappeared.
I tightened my grip on Emma’s hand.
“Enough,” I whispered. “We’re leaving.”
She looked up at me, confused.
“But Mama…”
“Now.”
I pulled gently.
Alessandro’s voice stopped me.
“Wait.”
I froze.
One word.
That was all it took.
I turned slowly.
He was still staring at Emma.
“What did you say?” he asked her.
Emma hugged Mr. Rabbit against her chest.
“I’ll take care of you.”
Alessandro swallowed.
“Why?”
Emma shrugged.
“Because nobody does.”
The room changed.
I felt it before I understood it.
A strange pressure settled between the walls, as if someone had opened a door into a much colder place.
Alessandro looked toward the untouched lunch tray.
Then the silver medication case.
His jaw tightened.
“Who told you that?”
Emma pointed at the wheelchair.
“The chair.”
I stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
“She said you live there.”
Alessandro’s face hardened.
“Who?”
Emma looked offended.
“The chair.”
For the first time, something resembling a smile touched Alessandro’s mouth.
It vanished almost immediately.
He pressed a button on the armrest. The wheelchair moved backward several inches.
Emma gasped.
“You can drive it!”
“Yes.”
“Then why don’t you stand?”
My heart stopped.
“Emma!”
Alessandro didn’t move.
He just looked at her.
Three seconds.
Four.
Five.
Finally, he answered.
“I can’t.”
Emma studied him.
“You tried?”
His eyes darkened.
“Yes.”
“Then try again.”
I covered my face.
“Please stop interrogating the billionaire.”
Alessandro actually laughed.
It was a quiet, rusty sound, as if his throat had forgotten how.
Then he looked at me.
“What is her name?”
“Emma.”
“And yours?”
“Nora.”
“I know.”
That made my stomach tighten.
“You know my name?”
His gaze shifted toward the desk.
There was a file there.
My employee file.
It should have been inside the staff office.
I felt suddenly cold.
“How?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, he picked up the cookie Emma had given him.
He took a bite.
Emma smiled.
“Good.”
Alessandro chewed slowly.
Then Emma pointed toward the desk.
“Your medicine.”
His hand stopped.
I stared at the silver case.
“What about it?”
“You didn't take it.”
“I know.”
“You should.”
Alessandro looked at me.
“Does she always behave like this?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Emma and I answered together.
For one strange second, the room almost felt normal.
Then there was a knock.
Three sharp taps.
Alessandro’s expression changed instantly.
All warmth disappeared.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
A tall man in a black suit entered.
I recognized him from downstairs.
Victor.
Head of security.
His eyes landed on Emma.
Then on me.
Then on the cookie in Alessandro’s hand.
“What happened?”
Alessandro’s voice became ice.
“My guest brought me lunch.”
Victor stared.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Alessandro slowly turned his wheelchair toward him.
“Then ask better questions.”
Victor lowered his gaze.
“Yes, sir.”
I pulled Emma closer.
“We’re sorry. I’ll take her back downstairs.”
Victor stepped forward.
“No.”
Alessandro looked at him.
“No?”
Victor hesitated.
“The order came from the family.”
“Which family?”
Victor’s face went pale.
“The old family.”
Alessandro’s hand tightened around the cookie.
I noticed it.
Emma noticed it too.
She climbed onto the leather chair again and looked at him.
“Bad people?”
Victor inhaled sharply.
Alessandro stared at my daughter.
Then he said something that made the entire room go silent.
“Sometimes the people who look dangerous are the ones being hunted.”
My blood ran cold.
Victor glanced at him.
“Sir…”
Alessandro ignored him.
He looked at me.
“Nora, take your daughter downstairs.”
I nodded.
But as I turned, Emma suddenly broke free of my hand.
She ran to the desk.
Before I could stop her, she grabbed a framed photograph.
Alessandro’s face went white.
“Emma.”
She turned the photograph around.
It showed a young Alessandro standing beside a woman.
A woman who looked so much like Emma that my heart nearly stopped.
Emma stared at the picture.
Then at Alessandro.
“Mama…”
Her tiny finger touched the woman’s face.
“She looks like me.”
May you like
And Alessandro Moretti whispered the words that shattered everything I thought I knew about my daughter.
“Because she was your mother.”
