CHAPTER 4 SHE WAS FIRED FOR HELPING AN AUTISTIC GIRL — THEN HER MAFIA BOSS FATHER WALKED IN...
CHAPTER 4: THE HOUSE OF SECRETS
Karen Seymour had expected many things after leaving Maison Delacour.
A final paycheck.
A desperate search for another job.
A long subway ride back to Queens while wondering how she would pay next month's rent.
What she had not expected was to find herself sitting inside a black armored SUV worth more than every apartment she had ever lived in combined.
She sat stiffly in the leather seat, hands folded tightly in her lap.
Across from her sat Lorenzo Rossi.
Beside him sat Mia.
The little girl had not released Karen's hand since they left the boutique.
Outside the tinted windows, Manhattan flowed past.
Inside the vehicle, silence reigned.
Karen still wasn't entirely convinced this was real.
Two hours earlier she had been fired.
Now she was riding through New York with one of the most powerful men in the city.
Life could change quickly.
Apparently, it could change in terrifying ways too.
Mia leaned against Karen's arm.
"Are you coming home with us?"
Karen blinked.
Before she could answer, Lorenzo spoke.
"That depends on whether she wants to."
The answer surprised her.
Most powerful men gave orders.
This one asked questions.
At least when it came to his daughter.
Karen cleared her throat.
"I still don't understand why I'm here."
Lorenzo looked out the window.
"For dinner."
"Dinner?"
"People usually eat it in the evening."
Karen stared.
For the first time, she realized the feared businessman had a dry sense of humor.
The bodyguard in the front seat nearly smiled.
Nearly.
Mia giggled.
Karen couldn't help laughing.
The tension eased slightly.
Then Lorenzo's expression became serious again.
"My daughter trusts you."
Karen looked down at Mia.
The child was drawing invisible circles on the seat with one finger.
"That's unusual?" Karen asked.
"Extremely."
Something heavy settled in the SUV.
Karen chose her next words carefully.
"Has she been diagnosed?"
Lorenzo nodded.
"Autism spectrum disorder."
Karen wasn't surprised.
Not after what she had seen.
The sensory overload.
The panic.
The need for pressure and predictability.
It all fit.
"What about therapy?"
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
"We've tried everything."
That wasn't the answer of a man who hadn't tried.
It was the answer of a man who had tried too much.
Karen suddenly felt sorry for him.
Billionaires could buy almost anything.
But they couldn't buy certainty.
They couldn't buy peace of mind.
And they certainly couldn't buy a cure for fear.
The SUV turned through a massive iron gate.
Karen looked outside.
Then looked again.
The estate looked less like a home and more like a private kingdom.
Stone walls.
Perfect gardens.
Security cameras.
Guards.
A mansion that seemed to stretch forever.
"Good Lord," Karen whispered.
Mia smiled proudly.
"This is my house."
Karen resisted the urge to say, Obviously.
The SUV stopped.
A uniformed staff member opened the door.
As Karen stepped outside, she felt as though she had entered another world.
Everything was immaculate.
Everything was controlled.
Everything was expensive.
Yet strangely, the place felt lonely.
Very lonely.
Inside, the mansion was magnificent.
Marble floors.
Crystal chandeliers.
Paintings that probably belonged in museums.
But Karen noticed something else.
No laughter.
No music.
No life.
The place felt more like a fortress than a home.
A woman in her sixties approached.
Silver hair.
Kind eyes.
Warm smile.
"Mia."
The little girl immediately ran into her arms.
The woman hugged her tightly.
Then she noticed Karen.
"And who is this?"
"Mia's hero," Lorenzo answered.
The woman laughed.
"That serious, Lorenzo?"
"Yes."
Her smile faded.
Apparently she knew he wasn't joking.
The woman extended her hand.
"Elena Moretti."
Karen shook it.
"Karen Seymour."
"I've been Mia's nanny since she was three."
Karen immediately liked her.
There was warmth in Elena's voice.
The kind of warmth missing from the rest of the mansion.
Dinner was served shortly afterward.
The dining room alone was larger than Karen's apartment.
She felt painfully out of place.
The silverware looked expensive enough to require insurance.
The silence was awkward.
Until Mia began talking.
Then something extraordinary happened.
The little girl transformed.
She told Karen about her books.
Her favorite animals.
The stars she liked to watch through her telescope.
Even Elena seemed shocked.
Lorenzo noticed too.
Karen saw it in his face.
Hope.
Dangerous hope.
The kind people felt after years of disappointment.
Halfway through dinner, a phone vibrated.
One of Lorenzo's bodyguards entered quietly.
"Boss."
The man's expression was grim.
Lorenzo immediately stood.
"What happened?"
The guard handed him a tablet.
Karen wasn't trying to look.
But she couldn't help seeing the security footage.
A black sedan.
Several men.
Photographs.
Lorenzo's face hardened instantly.
The warmth vanished.
The father disappeared.
Something colder replaced him.
"What is it?" Elena asked.
Lorenzo looked toward Mia.
The little girl was busy eating.
He lowered his voice.
"Not here."
Karen felt a chill.
Whatever was happening wasn't good.
Not good at all.
Minutes later Lorenzo excused himself.
The bodyguards followed.
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Like sunlight disappearing behind clouds.
Elena sighed.
"He's worried."
"About what?" Karen asked.
The older woman hesitated.
Then she spoke quietly.
"There have been threats."
Karen froze.
"Against Mia?"
Elena nodded.
The words hit hard.
Karen looked toward the child.
She was coloring happily.
Completely unaware.
A wave of protectiveness rose inside Karen.
Nobody should threaten a child.
Nobody.
Especially not one who had already struggled so much.
Elena studied Karen carefully.
"You care about her."
Karen smiled softly.
"She's a good kid."
Elena nodded.
"Yes."
Then she added:
"And she needs people who see that."
An hour later Karen was preparing to leave.
Or at least she thought she was.
Until Lorenzo returned.
His expression was grim.
"You're staying."
Karen blinked.
"What?"
"Tonight."
"What?"
He repeated it.
Slower.
"As a guest."
Karen stared.
"I have work tomorrow."
"No, you don't."
She opened her mouth.
Then remembered she had been fired.
Right.
That.
Lorenzo almost smiled.
Almost.
Then his phone rang.
He answered immediately.
Karen watched the color disappear from his face.
"What?"
Silence.
Then:
"When?"
Another silence.
Lorenzo's eyes became ice.
The room felt colder.
"What did they take?"
Karen had no idea who was on the other end.
But she knew bad news when she heard it.
Very bad news.
When the call ended, nobody spoke.
Not even the bodyguards.
Finally Lorenzo looked up.
"What happened?" Elena asked.
His answer changed everything.
"Someone broke into our private records."
The room froze.
"They accessed Mia's files."
Karen felt her stomach drop.
Medical files.
School records.
Schedules.
Information.
The kind criminals could use.
The kind monsters could use.
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
"They knew exactly where she would be today."
Silence.
Karen's heartbeat accelerated.
The boutique.
The timing.
The missing supervision.
The panic.
Suddenly it didn't feel random anymore.
A terrible possibility entered her mind.
"What if someone wanted her alone?"
Every face in the room turned toward her.
Nobody answered.
Because everyone had just thought the same thing.
Lorenzo looked toward the dark window.
For the first time since she met him, Karen saw genuine fear.
Not fear for himself.
Fear for his daughter.
And a frightened father could become a very dangerous man.
Outside, thunder rolled across the New York sky.
Inside the mansion, nobody noticed.
Because a storm far worse than weather had already begun.
And somewhere in the city, someone was watching.
Someone who knew Mia Rossi.
May you like
Someone who wanted something from Lorenzo Rossi.
And Karen Seymour had just stepped directly into the middle of it.
