Chapter 4 - The Discovery in the Study
Ten minutes later, the door to the study was kicked open.
Sophia raced into the room, her face pale with terror, followed closely by Marcus Vance, Aleandro’s ruthless head of security, and four armed enforcers.
"Emma!" Sophia screamed, dropping to her knees and snatching her daughter into her arms. "What happened?! What are you doing in here?!"
"She saved my life," a deep, gravelly voice echoed from the floor.
Sophia froze. She looked up slowly.
Aleandro Moretti was sitting up against the mahogany bookshelf. His tie was loosened, his collar unbuttoned, and color was slowly returning to his sharp, handsome face. He looked exhausted, but his dark, piercing eyes were locked entirely on little Emma.
Marcus Vance stared in absolute shock. "Boss? What is this? An assassin? Who let this child—"
"Shut up, Marcus," Aleandro interrupted, his voice dropping into the quiet, commanding register that made lieutenants tremble. He pointed a steady finger toward the empty plastic EpiPen casing lying on the Persian rug. "Look at that."
Marcus walked over, picked up the red plastic tube with a gloved hand, and frowned. "An adrenaline auto-injector. But... who spiked your water, Boss? The private kitchen staff tasted every dish—"
"It wasn't the food," Aleandro said slowly, standing up to his full height. He loomed over the room, towering above Marcus and Sophia. He looked down at Sophia, who was shielding Emma behind her trembling body.
"You're the new cleaner," Aleandro stated, his gaze narrowing. "Sophia Carter."
"Yes, Mr. Moretti," Sophia stammered, her voice shaking violently. "I swear to God, we didn't mean to come up here! She got lost! Please don't hurt her—take everything we have, fire us, put us on the street, just don't touch my daughter!"
Aleandro didn't answer immediately. He walked over to his desk, picked up a silver pen, and tapped it against the wood.
"Your daughter just saved my life using her own emergency medication," Aleandro said softly, his voice dangerously calm. "Do you have any idea how rare it is for someone to breach this estate, let alone get into my locked study?"
"She's four years old!" Sophia cried out, tears spilling over her lashes. "She didn't breach anything! She wandered down the hall!"
"Indeed she did," Aleandro murmured. He turned his cold, calculating gaze back to Marcus Vance. "Marcus. Bring me the security logs for the private kitchen between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM today."
Marcus’s face twitched—a micro-expression of panic that lasted barely half a second. But in Aleandro’s world, half a second was an eternity.
"Boss, the security cameras in the kitchen were down for routine maintenance this afternoon," Marcus said quickly, though his voice lacked its usual steady confidence. "You know how the old wiring is—"
"The wiring was replaced last month," Aleandro said, his eyes turning to blocks of ice. "And the kitchen logs show only one person had access to my private decanter of scotch during the afternoon shift."
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Aleandro stepped slowly around the desk, walking toward Marcus.
"You," Aleandro whispered.
